Investigators Michael F. Kolb

I am a geomorphologist/geoarchaeologist with Strata Morph Geoexploration, Inc. Over the last 35 years I have worked on hundreds of archaeological projects in a wide range of geomorphological contexts including numerous large river valleys, and archaeological contexts ranging from Paleoindian mammoth kill sites to large Woodland and Mississippian habitations and mounds. My role in archaeological research is to use soil-stratigraphic data obtained from core sampling and trenching to compliment the archaeological and geophysical research with a combination of the following:
-Build a stratigraphic framework for site/project areas as a tool for subsequent investigations.
-Locate or determine the potential for buried archaeological sites and/or features.
-Investigate the physical context of archaeological phenomena at a variety of scales.
-Provide “ground truth” stratigraphic data when working with geophysicists.

In the greater Cahokia area I have been an integral part of the 20 years of investigations at the Metro East St Louis Mound Complex and the Janey B. Goode site, two large Mississippian occupations buried in the city of East St Louis, Illinois. I have also been involved in the investigation of Monks Mound and the west palisade at Cahokia as well as numerous localities around the Cahokia site. Outside of the Cahokia region I have conducted geoarchaeological investigations with archaeologists and geophysicists at the Aztalan site, a large Mississippian occupation in southern Wisconsin.

Education and Credentials

Ph.D, Geology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
M.S., Anthropology/Archaeology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
B.S., Anthropology, University of Wyoming
Licensed Professional Geologist State of Wisconsin (#511)