Emma Mccutchin, “History of UWM Involvement at the Cahokia Mound Center”
Mentor: Megan Thornton, Anthropology, Letters & Science (College of)
Poster #167
This project was started to trace back the origins of fieldwork conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) at the Cahokia Mound Center in Illinois. Using records from the Archaeology Research Laboratory Center (ARLC) archives, I pieced together an overview of archaeological investigations at the site, focusing on those done by UWM. I organized archival material and created a timeline of events of the work done by archaeologists at UWM. Archival material provides context to the archaeological investigations and serves as an important resource when understanding the history of a site or excavation. This work also provides a summary of the archival material, making it more accessible for future students, faculty, and researchers. The Cahokia Mound Center was excavated and mapped by UWM students and faculty between the years of 1966-1998. Professor Melvin Fowler was the faculty member who led many of these studies. Students participated in a number of excavations at varying locations throughout the site including Mound 72 and Woodhenge. I also developed an overview of publications about Cahokia that were at UWM; some are written by Melvin Fowler, and others are written by fellow academics in the field. While my research did not include reviewing archaeological material, the results of my project will be used for future projects regarding the site, including providing greater detail to the material items and excavation history.