We often have a preconceived notion of the pristine, bison-covered prairie, awaiting the arrival of Native Americans who centered their life around the herds until Euro-Americans arrived and extirpated both bison and Indians, while destroying the prairie. But is this accurate? What do the data and archaeology say about this narrative of the prairie, people and bison in Northeast Illinois?
The archaeological record of the Chicago area reflects people’s interaction with, and use of, the landscapes over the past 12,000 years. Over this period, the landscape has changed—from tundra, to woodland, to prairie. This presentation will describe how archaeologists reconstruct the past environment to understand the complex interaction of humans and their surroundings though time.
Between 1300 and 1400 AD, a sizable Native American village was located on the banks of the Little Calumet River. This presentation describes excavations of this site by the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, which revealed an abundance of resources hunted, grown, and harvested by the inhabitants, and highlights the relationship between the villagers and the 14th century environment of the area.