After Cahokia: Indigenous Repopulation and Depopulation of the Horseshoe Lake Watershed AD 1400–1900

A significant population rebound occurred in the Cahokia region following its decline around AD 1400, reaching a peak by AD 1650 before declining again. This finding challenges the narrative of Native American disappearance and highlights their persistence through complex historical changes. The study used fecal stanol data from Horseshoe Lake, combined with archaeological, historical, and environmental records, to reconstruct demographic trends. It links indigenous repopulation to favorable conditions for maize agriculture and bison hunting, while subsequent depopulation corresponds to 18th-century warfare, disease, Christianization, and environmental shifts.

White, A. J., Munoz, S. E., Schroeder, S., & Stevens, L. R. (2020). After Cahokia: Indigenous Repopulation and Depopulation of the Horseshoe Lake Watershed AD 1400–1900. American Antiquity, 85(2), 263–278. https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2019.103