Human remains from the Dickison South Mound Group (11P787)

The Dickison South Mound Group (11P787) is a group of three Middle Woodland burial mounds in the Central Illinois River Valley that were excavated in 1957 by investigators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The mounds were constructed above subfloor log tombs that contained several extended and bundled burials. Reanalysis of the human remains was recently conducted according to modern analytical standards. Twenty-nine individuals and isolated remains representing at least 16 additional individuals were identified. Dental disease and various skeletal pathologies are prevalent in the mortuary population, and cultural modification and unusual taphonomic changes were also observed. Standardized analysis of the human remains provides data on the mortuary population that can be used in comprehensive studies on a regional scale.