Did a Mega-Flood Doom Ancient American City of Cahokia?

Clues found near the site of Cahokia (above) indicated
that a flood occurred at the height of the city's population and power.
Image courtesy of Ira Block, National Geographic.

Glenn Hodges, of National Geographic, has written an interesting article about a possible new cause for the abandonment of Cahokia, a large Native American village site from the Mississippian culture.

"One thousand years ago, on a floodplain of the Mississippi River near modern-day St. Louis, the massive Native American city known today as Cahokia sprang suddenly into existence. Three hundred years later it was virtually deserted.

The reasons for Cahokia's quick emergence and precipitous decline have been among the greatest mysteries in American prehistory, but new research suggests a possible cause of the city's demise: a catastrophic flood."

-Glenn Hodges, National Geographic

For the full text, click here.