The document describes a borrow pit, which was a shallow depression where villagers obtained clay and dirt to build a nearby temple mound. Villagers carried heavy basket loads of 30-40 pounds of earth from the borrow pit to deposit on the mound. The borrow pit and mound construction involved the labor of common villagers.

1. -The Borrow Pit-
THE SHALLOW DEPRESSION BELOW, extending to the left, is physical evidence of the borrow pit from which villagers
obtained earth for the nearby Low Temple Mound. Members of the common class dutifully carried 30-40 pound basket loads of dirt
and clay to be deposited on the mound.
Illustrations by Nola Davis