MONROE — The Green County Genealogical Society will hold its monthly meeting May 6 at 10 a.m. in the Monroe Public Library second floor meeting room. 

There will be a presentation by Mark Peterson titled “Cahokia and the Mississippian Culture”. Visitors are welcome and there is no cost to attend. 

This presentation looks at Cahokia, which was the largest and most influential urban settlement of the Mississippian Culture dating from 700 to 1400 AD. 

In 1150, it had a larger population than London, England. Cahokia Mounds is considered the largest and most complex archaeological site north of the great, pre-Columbian cities in Mexico. There are 80 mounds in the 3.5 square mile site and the tallest earthen pyramid is 100 feet tall, with a base area equal to the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. It is located just east of St. Louis, Missouri in Illinois between East St. Louis and Collinsville.  

Mark Peterson is a native of Northern Illinois and served in the U.S. Navy for six years. He achieved a master’s degree in History at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He has many teaching experiences including Math at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, HVAC and Building Automation for Barber-Colman for 17 years, VFDs for Danfoss Drives, a Danish company just north of the German border. He took a total of 10 trips to Europe. He taught “Historical Methods” for Concordia University Wisconsin in Beloit for 12 years. 

Currently, Peterson is teaching at Lifelong Learning for Highland Community College in Freeport. 

For any questions about the meeting or presentation, call Ginny at 608-426-1796 or Donna at 608-921-1537. The GCGS Research Center (located in the lower level of the Monroe Public Library) is available to the public for research each Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and other times is available by appointment by calling 608-325-7436 on Tuesday, or Bill at 608-325-2990.