What caused the decline of the Mississippian Period?

What caused the decline of the Mississippian Period?

Researchers have developed several explanations for these changes, including the introduction of European diseases, social and economic collapse, and soil depletion. Several scholars have documented nutritional stress associated with the collapse of Mississippian societies in Alabama.

What caused the rise and fall of the Cahokia civilization?

Then, Climate Change Destroyed It : The Salt The Mississippian American Indian culture rose to power after A.D. 900 by farming corn. Now, new evidence suggests a dramatic change in climate might have led to the culture’s collapse in the 1300s.

What factors contributed to the decline of the Cahokia civilization?

Cahokia was abandoned during the 13th and 14th centuries. Although Cahokia’s demise has been attributed to flooding, a new study suggests that drought-like conditions may have been to blame. The researchers collected sediment from the bottom of Horseshoe Lake, which lies north of the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

What happened to the people of Cahokia Mounds?

The story of Cahokia’s decline and eventual end is a mystery. After reaching its population height in about 1100, the population shrinks and then vanishes by 1350. Whatever, the Mississippians simply walked away and Cahokia gradually was abandoned.

What did the Mississippian civilization do?

The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earthen platform mounds, and often other shaped mounds as well.

When did the Mississippian culture begin to decline?

These elements were delicately engraved, embossed, carved, and molded. The Mississippian culture had begun to decline by the time European explorers first penetrated the Southeast and described the customs of the people living there.

Where was the center of the Mississippian culture?

About 700 ce a new cultural complex arose in the Mississippi valley between the present-day cities of St. Louis and Vicksburg…. Researchers studying the pre-Columbian copper work from the Cahokia Mounds, southwestern Illinois, U.S. The site was the primary centre of the Middle Mississippian culture.

What kind of settlements did the Mississippians live in?

Typical settlements were located on riverine floodplains and included villages with defensive palisades enclosing platform mounds and residential areas. Etowah and Ocmulgee in Georgia are both prominent examples of major South Appalachian Mississippian settlements. Both include multiple large earthwork mounds serving a variety of functions.

Who are the descendants of the Mississippian culture?

Related modern nations. Mississippian peoples were almost certainly ancestral to the majority of the American Indian nations living in this region in the historic era. The historic and modern day American Indian nations believed to have descended from the overarching Mississippian Culture include: the Alabama, Apalachee, Caddo, Chickasaw,…