VIRTUAL MAPS OF REAL MOUNDS: THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AT ANGEL MOUNDS, A.D. 1000-1400

Mound A at the Angel site (12VG1), a Mississippian town in southwestern Indiana, is among the largest extant Middle Mississippian mounds in the Ohio Valley and consists of upper and lower platforms joined by an offset conical peak. Because so little is known about its absolute age or construction, a program was initiated to reconstruct the mound's internal structure through solid-earth coring and downhole geophysics combined with multi-method geophysics survey. Preliminary results indicate that mound construction began ca. 900 B.P. by stacking 10-15 cm-thick turf blocks two meters high at the junction of the upper and lower platforms and was probably built outwards from there. By ca 890 B.P. the upper platform was built to nearly its full 8m height.

When compared with other 14C ages reported from the Angel site, the new Mound A dates are among the earliest yet recorded and indicate that Middle Mississippian occupation may have begun soon after A.D. 1000. This age is similar to the initial occupations at most other major Middle Mississippian town sites in the Ohio and upper Mississippi valleys (e.g., Kincaid and Cahokia). The early erection of Mound A implied by these new dates also suggests that earthwork construction probably coincided with the initial occupation of the site and was one of the first tasks undertaken. These conclusions indicate that the Angel population probably immigrated to the site as a group from elsewhere and brought with them a clear town plan that was immediately implemented.

The age of structural features (post moulds, burned roof, etc) in the near-surface of the upper platform of Mound A that was partly buried by the conical peak is similar to those of the terminal occupation of the site. The only other excavated mound at the site (Mound F) also underwent a significant rebuilding at the same time. These data indicate that a final episode of mound building at the Angel site, possibly related to an attempt to rejuvenate the town and environs, probably occurred just prior to site abandonment.