Archaeologists have estimated that the pre-Columbian Native American city of Cahokia located across the Mississippi River from modern-day St.Louis, Missouri, had as many as 20,000 inhabitants in the year 1150 __ . it one of the largest cities in North America at the time. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A. CE making B. CE. Making C. CE, making D. CE; making

## Step 1<br />The sentence is discussing the year 1150 CE (Common Era). The term "CE" is an abbreviation for Common Era, which is a term used to denote years in the Gregorian calendar. The abbreviation "CE" is typically followed by a comma when it is used in a sentence.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />The phrase "making it one of the largest cities in North America at the time" is a dependent clause that provides additional information about the city of Cahokia. This clause is introduced by the word "making".<br /><br />## Step 3<br />The correct punctuation to use in this sentence is a comma. The comma is used to separate the abbreviation "CE" from the rest of the sentence and to introduce the dependent clause "making it one of the largest cities in North America at the time".