Domestic areas in the Merrell Tract II/Tract 15B area of downtown Cahokia: structure and dynamics of change

Between 2011 and 2017 the University of Bologna (UNIBO) and the Washington University at St. Louis jointly organized a research project in the so-called Merrell Tract II, an area within the monumental epicenter of the Mississippian site of Cahokia (Illinois, USA). The excavated area, which was occupied during the whole Cahokia sequence suffering various functional transformations, yielded abundant data on both ceremonial and residential activities. Herein, based on our excavation data as well as on comparisons with other areas of the site, we describe the architecture and spatial organization of the investigated residential area, exploring its dynamics of change and its relationships with the wider developmental processes of the great Mississippian urban center.