High Resolution Lidar Drone Imagery Assessment of the Rattlesnake Mound Complex at Cahokia, Illinois, USA

Abstract In this article, we report the results of a high-resolution lidar drone survey focused on the Rattlesnake Mound Complex at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Using lidar imagery supplemented by aerial photographs, we present new data concerning a series of low mounds that surround Rattlesnake Mound. To date, only two of these mounds have been documented in detail. We also provide an analysis of the effects of erosion caused by unfilled trenches left by Warren K. Moorehead during his 1927 excavation of Rattlesnake Mound. Lastly, we offer new findings concerning the bundle burials and “spirit house” structure uncovered within Rattlesnake Mound.