From Gray to Gold: A Reexamination of the Woodland Period in Northeastern Illinois Using Legacy Collections and Gray Literature

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Northeastern Illinois is an understudied, underappreciated region of focus in current archaeological discourse, particularly in Woodland period studies. Historically, archaeologists have concentrated on areas with the most conspicuous signs of ancient activity to the exclusion of the areas that connected them. In the Riverine-Great Lakes region most of the intensive archaeological work has been conducted at large villages and mound sites along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, however in recent decades more emphasis has been put on lesser studied regions. The Woodland period in Northeastern Illinois has received little attention despite its important strategic location connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River valley via its many rivers and overland routes. The archaeological record of northeastern Illinois may not be as rich as other regions, but it can still provide answers to important anthropological and archaeological questions. The goal of this paper is demonstrate how disparate data from past surveys and excavations, historical sources, and personal communications can be used to test theories regarding diachronic changes in interregional interaction, settlement and subsistence, technology and religious practices during the Woodland period in the Riverine-Western Great Lakes region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38006.0