The Archaeology of Downtown Cahokia II: The 1960 Excavation of Tract 15b

by Timothy R. Pauketat

This volume represents the final part of the analysis of those early Cahokia salvage efforts by IDOT. It reports on the information, interpretations, and conclusions garnered by Dr. Pauketat on Tract 15B which was excavated contemporaneously with Tract 15A (previously published) and the Dunham Tracts (available in electronic format only). Despite the challenging conditions under which the Tract 15B excavations were conducted, this analysis yielded significant new insights into pre-Mississippian complexity, the changing patterns of public and private uses of space, and the late prehistory of downtown Cahokia. The volume does a very nice job of placing Warren Wittry’s work in its historical context and inserting the results in a current interpretive framework. Everyone may not agree with the interpretations proffered. However, thanks to the ample space devoted to data tables, color photographs, and detailed archaeological description, the basis for those interpretations is clear.... ...Since this book is essentially a report of Wittry’s early work at the site, it contains more methodology and description than is typical of recent research monographs. That makes it especially relevant for American Bottom Mississippianists who want to parse every interpretation made. It does a very nice job of laying out the process by which archaeological data are organized, classified, and interpreted, and this makes it a very informative study for students to read as well. —Dr. Adam King, SC Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Tim Pauketat is an archaeologist and professor of Anthropology and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He previously taught at the State University of New York in Buffalo and the University of Oklahoma. Professor Pauketat is interested in the study of ancient religion and urbanism, and has been excavating the pre-Columbian colonies and pilgrimage sites of the Cahokian civilization around St. Louis north into Wisconsin. The author or editor of a dozen scholarly books, Tim also writes for nonprofessional audiences, recently including a book entitled Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi (Penguin, 2010).