(Note that this is the formal abstract originally published with the paper – you can read a more informal overview on the home page here.)

            The Toltec Module of 47.5 m has been proposed as a standardized unit of measurement employed in the layout of the Toltec Mounds site in central Arkansas (Sherrod and Rolingson 1987).  Other researchers have hypothesized that this and other standardized measurements were employed in the construction of numerous late prehistoric mound sites throughout the Southeast.  Many of these studies have not taken into account the methodological issues of an appropriate margin of error, the expected occurrence of the proposed measurements by chance, possible fractionations of the measurements in question, or the change in shape and size of the mounds through time.  These studies have also lacked theoretical justification for inferring a prehistoric cognitive template (the unit of measurement) from distances measured at the sites today.  I propose that as it is currently formulated, the Toltec Module is untenable as a prehistoric unit of measurement.  Using GIS to measure all distances between features considered key locations in the Sherrod and Rolingson study reveals that the Toltec Module does not rise above the statistical background as significant.  I also explore several theoretical issues concerning historical metrology (the study of past units of measurement), particularly as it applies to the prehistoric Southeast.