America’s 900 Year old Pyramid : The Rise and Fall of Cahokia

900 years ago a vast Native American city rose along the Mississippi — home to Monk’s Mound, one of the largest pre-Columbian earthworks in the Americas, and the center of the Mississippian world. In this lecture, archaeologist Ed Barnhart walks through Cahokia’s beginnings, explosive growth, shocking burials at Mound 72, its peak, the construction of a massive palisade, and its mysterious decline — and explains why Cahokia shaped the later Mississippian cities across the eastern United States. If you’re into archaeology, ancient North America, or the untold stories of pre-Columbian civilizations, this deep dive is for you. Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro: Cahokia in a nutshell 2:04 — Founding & background: Woodland/Hopewell legacy 3:47 — Plum Bayou (Toltec) & early feasting sites 5:47 — Rapid growth and Mound 72 — the burials 6:43 — Mass sacrifices and violent burials (Mound 72 details) 10:41 — City transformation and the start of Monk’s Mound 11:26 — Neighborhoods, plazas, and the game “chunky” 12:11 — Cahokia’s peak: population, corn, and monuments 13:26 — Palisade construction, defense, and decline 15:13 — Aftermath & Cahokia’s legacy (SECC and Mississippian world) 17:33 — Support & Patreon note from Ed Barnhart