Archaeologists trying to unravel why ancient southwestern Illinois city ended

[Antamond]

Archaeologists trying to unravel why ancient southwestern Illinois city suddenly ended


By Associated Press

8:40 a.m. CST, December 28, 2010


sns-ap-il--eaststlouis-archaeologists
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Archaeologists who have uncovered the remains of a prehistoric city beneath what is now East St. Louis are trying to unravel why that ancient city was abandoned while another one just to the east managed to survive two more centuries.

Archaeologists believe Native Americans abandoned the city of roughly 3,000 or more people around the year 1200. That's 200 years before a bigger settlement at nearby Cahokia Mounds ended inexplicably.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the East St. Louis settlement appeared to have been ravaged by fire in the late 1100s, although the cause of that blaze isn't clear.

The archaeological work began in 2008 ahead of the construction of a planned Mississippi River bridge.

___

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

http://www.wqad.com/news/sns-ap-il--eaststlouis-archaeologists,0,2561017.story