"[In the background is] Monks Mound, Cahokia. It is 100 feet tall and covers 14 acres. The Emergent Mississippian Period (ca. 800-1000 A.D.) saw a state-level society exploiting the rich agricultural resources of the Great Bottom (Missouri and Mississippi River confluence). Ultimately, the city's commercial and cultural impact was felt from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, and from Oklahoma to the Atlantic Coast. Cahokia's rulers governed from a temple atop this mound. Cahokia's population in 1050-1150 A.D. was likely to have been 10-20,000, much larger than Paris at the time, one of Europe's major cities. It declined in 1200-1400 A.D." -- Mississippian Civilization (900-1750 A.D.): Cahokia
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