January 14, 2015

The Oldest City North of the Rio Grande Discoveries

Archaeologists are continuing to excavate at the East St. Louis site. This site is the oldest and largest city north of the Rio Grande. It preceded the site of Cahokia, and continued contemporaneous with Cahokia. It lasted as a large city for 150 years, and it was at its largest at 1000 CE. It is now becoming clear that it was bigger than Cahokia. Like Cahokia, immigration to the site was large. This could have been the result of a religious movement. Pottery from Southern Missouri, Northern Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin has been found there. As time went on, immigrants adapted the local pottery style. The Illinois State Archaeological Survey has uncovered 500,000 objects at the site. Arrowheads from North Dakota, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wisconsin are among the items. The number of arrowheads means warfare. And at 1200 CE, the site was abandoned. There is evidence of drought, which may have led to war.

The Pekin Times had the story here; http://www.pekintimes.com/article/20150212/News/150219646