CHAPTER 1 LAND OF LINCOLN Most Most sports fans in Illinois look to Chicago That is where all of the state’s major league teams play But sports thrive throughout the state Whether it’s pro college or participation sports Illinois has lots to offer sports fans Long before Chicago was the Windy City native people lived on the windy plains of what is now southern Illinois Even the state’s name reflects the first people Europeans encountered Chicago’s location on Lake Michigan helped it grow into the biggest city in Illinois 5
Visitors can still explore the Cahokia Mounds at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site The Koster Site in the lower Illinois River valley has evidence of human life from approximately 9,000 years ago The American Indians who lived there practiced many aspects of modern society They kept dogs as pets for example And they established cemeteries for burying their dead Cahokia was farther south near modern-day St Louis Missouri For a time Cahokia was one 6
of the largest civilizations in North America It was home to 10,000 people at its peak around the year 1000 CE The people of Cahokia built huge mounds out of the earth Cahokia had 120 of these mounds But over time Cahokia began to decline due to struggles for power among leaders poor crops and disease By 1250 just a few thousand people were left The descendants of these people spread out around the region When French explorers arrived in the 1600s they called these people the Illinois which was a French version of the word Illiniwek That word came from a native word meaning to speak the regular way However the Illinois people didn't call themselves Illinois In their native language they referred to themselves as Inoka But the name Illinois stuck 7
