Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1980. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-270).

In the summer of 2007, magnetic and electromagnetic conductivity surveys were performed on the third (front) terrace of Monks Mound, Cahokia, 6 miles (~10 km) east of St Louis in Illinois. A 17 m by 40 m rectangular grid was established on the third terrace of the 850 year old mound surface. Readings were taken on the rectangular grid at one meter spacing. A Geometrics G-856 proton precession magnetometer and a Geonics EM38 conductivity meter were used for the survey. The survey was designed and executed to detect anomalous features within the very shallow subsurface (one to two meters deep). It was hoped to delineate and categorize the sources of the anomalies. The causes are known to be natural (in this case limited to lightning strikes), prehistoric (pottery, kilns, hearths), historic (metal, fire pits, structure remnants), or modern (metal). The larger, better-defined anomalies were numbered and discussed. Magnetic anomaly interpretations include a root cellar (4), outhouse (10), house (6), and metal features (7, 8, 14, 15). The certainty of the interpretations varied and there was often multiple interpretations possible. The EM anomaly interpretations proposed include metal, pit, grave, and animal burrowing. Good correlation is observed between some of the anomalies for the magnetic and electromagnetic methods, while other anomalies were observed using only one method. Further testing suggested to confirm the interpretations is outlined in the thesis.

This thesis examines the approaches used in the study of health in prehistory, focusing in particular on the potential of archaeology to contribute to this field. Archaeological data have been under-used in studies of prehistoric health; obstacles to their utilization include the popular conception of archaeological information as less direct than osteological data, the idea that scientific research must produce testable hypotheses to be valid, and the challenge of integrating large quantities of information of different temporal scales into synthetic interpretations. Alternative conceptions of scientific research, and the use of the Braudelian model of historical time as an organizing structure,circumvent these obstacles and permit a fuller use of archaeological data in reconstructing patterns of past health. In particular, archaeological information about social behaviour as well as subsistence and factors pertinent to disease ecology, can form a basis of inferences about health in prehistoric communities. A demonstration of this approach, using recent archaeological data and interpretations for the Mississippian site of Cahokia, suggests that prevailing negative opinions of the health of Mississippian groups and early agriculturalists may not be supportable with regard to the people of Cahokia. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Mobility is not just a synonym for movement. It is the combination of movement and the situation, meaning, and context in which that movement takes place. One way that geographers can examine mobility and its context, including mobility in contexts of the past, is through the use of geographic information systems (GIS). A historical GIS incorporates data from historical sources to combine spatial, attribute, and temporal information to visualize spatial patterns as well as see how those patterns change over time. But what if the time period under study is prior to a written language or other documentation? Is a GIS applicable for an examination of a prehistoric landscape? One method employed to visualize spatial patterns of movement is a least cost analysis which can be used to study migration, trade, transportation, or rituals. A case study of the exchange network of the Middle Mississippian center of Cahokia was conducted to test applicability of using GIS on a prehistoric landscape. Input locations included archaeological sites where objects or structures associated with Cahokia (such as platform mounds and certain types of pottery and chert hoes) have been found as well as possible source locations for exotic objects found at Cahokia (such as copper and a certain type of clay). An examination of the least cost paths at varying scales revealed some problems at larger scales including vector/raster mismatches and gaps between datasets. Even though this type of analysis would not typically be used at larger scales, the problems and the root causes of those problems could possibly impact any analysis at any scale. An understanding of the limitations involved with using a GIS to examine a prehistoric landscape (data availability/accuracy, processing requirements, etc.) as well as the scope of any individual project will dictate whether GIS is applicable for that project. / Introduction -- Literature review -- Case study : Middle Mississippian exchange : background -- Case study : Middle Mississippian exchange : model -- Case study : Middle Mississippian exchange : results -- Discussion -- Conclusion. / Department of Geography