THE GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF MONKS MOUND

Located within the Cahokia site in the Middle Mississippi Valley of southern Illinois, Monks Mound is the largest prehistoric earthen construction to the north of central Mexico. After a millennium of relative stability this monument has since 1984 experienced a series of massive slope failures. Beginning in 1985 and continuing for almost 20 years a field program of limited excavation, coupled with coring and remote sensing was conducted on and around the mound. Concurrently, documentary research and laboratory analysis of recovered samples took place. Based on this work the engineering principles, differential selection and placement of materials, sequence of construction, questions of stability, and diachronic use of the mound are addressed.