Making Mountains Out of Molehills: Visiting a Native American Metropolis

Long before Philadelphia became the largest city in the fledgling United States in 1780, the distinction of the city with the largest population on American soil belonged to a sophisticated Native American settlement that had emerged on the banks of the Mississippi River a millennium prior. Known as Cahokia, its inhabitants, a culture known as the Mississippians, built it up over several generations, turning it from a sleepy backwater into a thriving religious and commercial center. But then, in the mid-14th Century, it was abandoned for reasons that are unclear. Join me as we explore this most fascinating city, the greatest North of the Mayan and Aztec metropolises of Mexico and Mesoamerica!