Temple and/or priest-chief's house on Monks Mound.

It would be a mistake to believe that all mounds, even those with similar shape served the same purpose. Archaeological data and ethnohistorical accounts indicate that Mississippian mounds may be classified by their presumed function as temple, burial, or house mounds. The difficulty of course is assigning function to mounds that have not been adequately investigated. Small mounds may often be considered house mounds, for example, but without archaeological testing this function cannot be assumed. The same is true of ridge and conical shaped mounds that are often assumed to be burial mounds.

Ridge-topped mounds are also interpreted as boundary markers for Cahokia because Powell (Mound 86) and Rattlesnake mounds (Mounds 64 and 66) are located on the periphery of the main mound concentration. Other mounds may have served as markers or lines of site from Monks Mound for certain celestial events. Finally, it is likely that many larger mounds, often assumed to be the temple mounds, also served to elevate the residence of an elite family.

Without a doubt, more detailed information on the construction sequence and function of more mounds would significantly improve our understanding of socio-political and religious aspects of American Bottom Mississippian society and culture. Melvin Fowler's recent work (Fowler 1998) at Mound 72 amply illustrates the rich story of Mississippian people that lies in American Bottom Mounds.

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