Ancient Indians in Illinois Little information is available

Ancient Indians in Illinois

Little information is available about the ancient Indians in Illinois. Why?

n n 1. Archeology is mainly focused around the Mediterranean Sea shoreline. 2. Most archeologists are more interested in discovery than with disclosure.

Some Basic Historical Information n What does B. C. stand for? n BEFORE n CHRIST What does A. D. stand for? n ANNO Lord DOMINI – in the year of our

The Earliest People in Illinois n Signs of people in Illinois date back to around 12, 000 years ago. n 10, 000 B. C.

Five Periods of the Ancient Indians n n n Paleo-Indian (10, 000 B. C. ) Archaic (8, 000 B. C. ) Woodland (500 B. C. / A. D. 400 -1, 000) Hopewellian (200 B. C. ) Mississippian (A. D. 900 -1, 400)

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The First People Arrive n The first people to live in the Americas came here from Asia. n They crossed over on the frozen Bering Straits.

n They were the Paleo-Indians. n Very few archeological sites have been found from the Paleo -Indian in Illinois. n No campsites or villages have been excavated.

Paleo-Indian Period n n Small Nomadic Population. Mainly hunters who followed the game. n Elk

Paleo-Indian Period Lived near rivers during the summer. n Fish & mussels. n During the Fall they would move to higher ground in the forests. n Gathered nuts. n

Mr Bean

Archaic Period 10, 000 years ago. n Lasted from 8, 000 to 500 B. C. n The Koster Site provides the best evidence of this period. n People lived in communities for several generations. n Hunted and farmed. n

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The Koster Site Located south of Kampsville, Illinois. n Near the Illinois River in Calhoun County. n One of the largest prehistoric villages ever found. n Covers around 25 acres. n

Carbon 14 Dating All living things contain carbon at a certain rate. n After they die they start to lose carbon. n The rate of loss is able to be measured. n The measure is accurate up to around 50, 000 years. n

The Dig at Koster A dig is the name of an archeological excavation. n The different layers in the earth are called horizons. n Koster is the richest archeological site in North America. n

The Horizons at Koster There are 14 known horizons at Koster. n Koster was occupied on & off, for around 7, 000 years. n n. A lack of fire wood is theory as to why they left.

The Horizons at Koster Horizon number 2 dates back to 300 B. C. n Horizon 12 is 34 feet below the ground. (6, 100 B. C. +) n Horizon 13 & 14 are below the water table. n

Audrey-North is another archeological site that is near the Koster Site. n It dates back to the Mississippian Period. (900 -1400 A. D. ) n

Two Phases of the Woodland Period The Early Woodland Phase n The Late Woodland Phase n Divided by the Hopewellian Period. n

The Woodland Period 500 B. C. n The first signs of pottery appeared. n The first pottery was called Marion Thick. n

The Woodland Period n The people who were around during this time were called the Black Sands people. n These people mainly lived around the Mississippi & Illinois River plain.

The Late Woodland Period A. D. 400 to A. D. 1, 000. n Smaller population & less trade with outside groups. n

The Hopewellian Period Around 200 B. C. n Hopewell Indians buried artifacts with their dead leaders. n Hunters, gatherers, & fishermen. n Not much on growing crops. n

The Hopewell Indians n They utilized Effigy Mounds. n Made to look like animals. n Actually tombs for hundreds of people.

The Hopewellian Period They were advanced in their trading. n Goods from all over the U. S. were found among their artifacts. n

The Hopewell Indians n n They were first discovered by a farmer in Ohio. n M. C. Hopewell The Hopewell Indians originally developed in Illinois & spread into other areas.

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Mississippian Period Mound builders. n The Mississippian Culture ended before the Europeans arrived in Illinois. n Corn was extremely important to the Mississippian culture. n

Mississippian Period Indians used corn back in 800 B. C. n It was not used as a crop until A. D. 800. n Settlements were the largest, most populous, and permanent prehistoric towns. n

Cahokia Mounds n n Located just east of St. Louis. There are 120 mounds located at the Cahokia site.

Monk’s Mound n The largest of the mounds at Cahokia. n Measures 700 x 1, 000 x 100 ft covering 15 acres. (Larger than 14 ½ football fields) n Contains 4 levels.

Patrick Phase n The earliest part of the Cahokia settlement started around A. D. 600 to A. D. 800. n Pottery found but no evidence of mound building.

The Occupation Phase n Around A. D. 900 signs of mound building start to appear. n There also signs of fancy burials during this time period.

Borrow Pits Dirt would be dug up using various tools, and placed in baskets. n The baskets full of dirt would then be taken to build up the mounds. n

Borrow Pits There are nine known borrow pits around Cahokia. n The largest is 17 acres & 6 feet deep. n The pits also served as trash dumps and ponds. n

Burial Mounds There are possible signs of human sacrifice at the burial mounds. (Mainly women) n The leaders were buried with many valuable artifacts. n

Fairmount Phase The first Woodhenge was built during the Fairmount Phase. n The purpose of the Woodhenge was to mark the various seasons. n The Woodhenge was built a total of five times. n

The Moorehead Phase Moorehead was the last phase in which the Woodhenge was rebuilt. n Cahokia reached its peak during the Moorehead Phase. n Homes were made out of poles & thatch. n

Basic Facts on Cahokia Named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1982. n 65 of the 120 mounds are within the boundaries of the historical site. n Many of the mounds were destroyed by landowners. n

Basic Facts on Cahokia 50 million cubic feet of earth was moved to create the various mounds. n 22 million cubic feet of earth was moved to create Monks Mound. n The construction of Monks Mound took around 300 years to complete. n

Basic Facts on Cahokia The stockade around Monks Mound was two miles long. n Guard towers were placed every 80 feet. n Mound 72 was filled with around 300 bodies that were ceremonially killed. n

No-Name Phase The final phase at Cahokia is called the No-Name Phase. n A. D. 1500 to 1700 n This was around the time when the Europeans were reaching Illinois. n Why did they fade away? n No one really knows! n