Melvin "Doc" Fowler is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is best known for his pioneering archaeological research over four decades at Cahokia and Modoc Rockshelter in southwestern Illinois(Archaeology).
However, he has worked in Peru and Mexico such as in 1961. Fowler started with Richard Macneish and the Tehuacan Archaeological-Botanical project at Coxcatlan Rockshelter in Puebla, Mexico. This was called the Puebla Preclassic project. It sought to investigate the rise of early village farming communities and the role of water-control technologies in the emergence of complex societies. Fowler's University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee research developed into a long-term program in the Valle de Puebla region of Puebla, Mexico. Through surface survey, archaeological excavation, and geoarchaeological studies, the Puebla Preclassic project sought to investigate the rise of early village farming communities and the role of water-control technologies in the emergence of complex societies(Latin).
The UWM has a long history of contributions to Cahokia archaeology, which is the main area for which Fowler is known. UWM's involvement in the archaeology of Cahokia is directly linked to the addition of Melvin L. Fowler to the university's faculty in 1966. At the time of his arrival at UW-Milwaukee, Fowler had been awarded the first of several National Science Foundation grants funding investigations at Cahokia. Fowler's first Cahokia project began simply enough with the compilation of an accurate map of the site that could then be used to guide subsequent research efforts. Melvin Fowler retired from his position as professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 1995(School's).
In 1999 Melvin Fowler published a book with Biloine Whiting Young called “Cahokia, the Great Native American Metropolis,” which was about an ancient city in the Mississippi River Valley area in present day Illinois. Its main structure “Monks Mound” was larger on its base than some of the great pyramids and stood ten stories tall. Melvin Fowler was considered the “dean” of Cahokia archaeologists due to being one of the major archeologists in the study of the mounds by Cahokia (Cahokia).The mapping of the mounds started in 1967 has now finally been formatted digitally, but due to inaccuracies it took time to change them and to make them digital.
More recently he has been working on the Latin American Archaeology Program in Peru with other faculty and students, in the winter of 2002(Latin).
References:
“Archaeology Research Laboratory.”11 Dec. 2001. 24 Feb 2003.
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArchLab/personnel.html
“Cahokia Mapping Project, The.”10 May 2002. 24 Feb. 2003. http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArchLab/cahokia/mapping.html.
“Latin American Archaeology Program”. 26 Sep. 2001. 24 Feb. 2003.
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArchLab/latinamerica/http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArchLab/latinamerica/ .
Cahokia, the Great Native American Metropolis. 24 Feb. 2003. http://www.press.uillinois.edu/f99/young.html.
“School's Out.” 24 Feb 2003.www.uwm.edu/News/report/old/may95/6590.html
Written by: Andrew Franke, 2003