These timbers had to be cut, transported to the site, and set in carefully prepared trenches.

The forests of the American Bottom did not produce timber of this quality in unlimited quantities, and the demand for construction timber was likely a significant pressure on the woodland resources of the region.

The maintenance of the city’s physical infrastructure — the mounds, the palisade, the buildings — required ongoing labor input.

The mounds settled and required periodic reinforcement.

The wooden buildings needed repair and replacement.

The palisade, constructed of wood, was vulnerable to fire and rot and required reconstruction even without deliberate attack.