Archaeological Investigations on the Emerald Avenue, a Potential Mississippian Period Roadway in Southwestern Illinois

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we present our investigations on the Emerald Avenue, a potential Mississippian period (a.d. 1050–1400) roadway in southwestern Illinois. It is hypothesized that this road connected the pre-Columbian city of Cahokia to the Emerald Acropolis, a shrine complex 24 km to the east. To confirm the presence of the Emerald Avenue and document its physical characteristics and chronology, we performed an electrical resistivity tomography survey, magnetometer survey, and excavations on portions of the Avenue near the Acropolis. These investigations revealed that the Avenue is an early 19th century road that was used by early Euro-American settlers in the area. We present evidence that suggests that this historic road was actually a reused pre-Columbian route, possibly the Mississippian period Emerald Avenue. The presence of a Mississippian period road connecting the Emerald Acropolis to other important places throughout the region indicates that religious journeys were conducted throughout Cahokia’s history.

KEYWORDS:

• Roads
• Cahokia
• Emerald Acropolis
• pilgrimage
• procession

Acknowledgments

The resistivity survey and two years (2012–2013) of excavations at Emerald were funded by the Boston Historical Society’s Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs, backed by the John Templeton Foundation. Larson conducted the resistivity survey, and Alt and Pauketat served as co-PIs for the project. Another grant from the John Templeton Foundation (51485) funded an additional three years of excavation at Emerald (2014–2016), with Pauketat and Alt as co-PIs. These grants were awarded under the auspices of Indiana University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Much of the excavations during these years were conducted by graduate and field school students from the University of Illinois and Indiana University. The magnetic survey and excavations were funded by the National Science Foundation doctoral dissertation improvement grant (BCS-1349157) awarded to Skousen. The magnetic survey equipment was loaned by Alt and Indiana University and conducted by Watts Malouchos. Many thanks to Michael DeLucia for his help with the resistivity survey and Giannis Malouchos for his help with the magnetic survey. We also thank Dr. Thomas Emerson, retired director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, for his support during this project. Also, thanks to Alan Begole, Edward Hock, Jr., Mike Richter, Wilbur “Red” Schiefer, Sr., and Wilbur “Rusty” Schiefer, Jr. for allowing us to access their property for the surveys and excavations. Anton (Tony) Fritz of Lebanon Township gave us permission to excavate portions of the Emerald Avenue along Midgley Neiss and Emerald Mound Grange Roads. We maintain full responsibility for any errors or misinterpretations of the data.

Disclosure Statement

The authors know of no financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of this research.

Notes on Contributors

B. Jacob Skousen (Ph.D. 2016, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a Research Archaeologist at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and a part-time instructor at Parkland College. His current research focuses on understanding the role of pilgrimage and other forms of human travel in the creation of cities, religion, place, identity, and memory. Geographically, his research is on Late Woodland and Mississippian societies in the Midwest, with an emphasis on the ancient city of Cahokia.

Timothy H. Larsen (Ph.D. 1990, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is Principal Geophysicist with the Illinois State Geological Survey. He has over 35 years of experience in applied geophysics, specializing in characterizing and mapping near-surface materials, especially within the glacial sediments of central North America, using an assortment of electrical, seismic, magnetic, and electromagnetic methods.

Elizabeth Watts Malouchos (M.A. 2014, Indiana University, Bloomington) is a Research Scientist at the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology and a PhD candidate in the Anthropology Department at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her research aims to more thoroughly understand how Mississippian household and community organization and group identities changed from the onset of the Mississippian period in southwestern Indiana.

Jeffery Kruchten (M.A. 2004, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is Chief Archaeologist at the Illinois Historic Preservation Office. He is also a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on pre-Columbian peoples of the Midwest, particularly those associated with the Mississippian phenomenon of Cahokia.

Rebecca M. Barzilai (Ph.D. 2019, Indiana University, Bloomington) is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Midwestern Archaeology with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Focusing on Mississippian and Late Woodland communities in the Middle Mississippi and lower Ohio River valleys, her research emphasizes the ontologically linked cultural and geological landscapes of the Midwestern United States, specifically around the ancient American Indian area of Greater Cahokia.

Susan M. Alt (Ph.D. 2006, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University, Bloomington, with research interests in the ontological relationships of water, earth, gender, ritual, and human society. Her archaeological research focuses on the lower Ohio and central Mississippi valleys, particularly the American Indian city of Cahokia and its upland shrines and settlement complexities.

Timothy R. Pauketat (Ph.D. 1991, University of Michigan) is the Director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and Professor of Anthropology and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is interested in the relationships of urbanism, climate change, affect, agency, and history in North America and beyond.

ORCID

Timothy H. Larson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3684-9922