Metropolis of Mud: The Rise and Sudden Fall of America's Forgotten Indigenous Empire

The traditional narrative of American history begins with European colonists arriving to find a vast, untamed wilderness sparsely populated by nomadic tribes. This persistent myth actively erases the reality of complex, highly structured indigenous civilizations that existed centuries before Columbus set sail.

Just across the river from modern-day St. Louis, the earth still holds the remains of Cahokia. At its peak in the 12th century, this sprawling metropolis was larger than London, featur...