Current Research—Southern Illinois

The CAI conducts ongoing research and excavations in southern Illinois. Here are descriptions of some of our most recent projects.

Rose Hotel, Hardin County

In 1997 and 1998 Mark Wagner directed excavations at the Rose Hotel (11Hn116), a multi-component historic and prehistoric archaeological site overlooking the Ohio River at Elizabethtown, Illinois. The standing brick structure was the subject of extensive renovation and rehabilitation work in 1998, under the auspices of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. CAI conducted archaeological excavations around the foundations and underneath interior portions of the building. The largest block of controlled excavation was under the north wing of the structure. The work revealed a complex deposit consisting of an unplowed layer of debris and artifacts associated with the extant structure, dating back to the 1830's, below which was a prehistoric midden that generally ranged between 30 and 60 cm in thickness.

Ephemeral Early Archaic occupations were present, but the prehistoric midden mainly represents occupations that ranged from the late Middle Archaic (ca. 5000 to 3000 BC) through Mississippian (ca. AD 1000 to 1450). The late Middle Archaic occupation was substantial, but the heaviest occupation, and the one responsible for most of the midden accumulation and pit features, was an early Middle Woodland component of the Crab Orchard tradition dating between 100 BC and AD 100. Radiocarbon dates and diagnostic point types indicate the presence of a substantial early Crab Orchard occupation (ca. 600 to 300 BC) that is not well represented in the ceramic collection. The late Woodland and Mississippian components are minimal. The majority of the prehistoric features (18), most of which are large storage pits, relate to the Crab Orchard occupation. Artifacts and subsistence remains indicate that the Middle Woodland occupation was a major multi-season base camp.

The Rose Hotel per se appears to have been constructed ca. 1835 rather than in 1812, the date ascribed to it by local tradition. It operated continuously as a tavern/hotel and boarding house from at least 1842 until the 1970s. Historic period archaeological features discovered by the project include a series of post molds in front of the building, interpreted as the remains of brick masons scaffolds, an early to mid-19th century cistern, and the foundation remains of a pre-1860s north addition located beneath the existing two-room north addition. The presence of a layer of water-deposited silt within the foundation suggests that this earlier addition may have been damaged or destroyed by the Ohio River flood of 1867, which was one of the greatest floods of the 19th century. The addition apparently was demolished and used to fill in the adjacent cistern after which the east wall of the current addition was built over the cistern. Late 19th century artifacts recovered from beneath the north room of the north addition indicate that this room was built ca. 1890. Historic artifacts recovered by the investigations primarily date to ca. 1835-1890 and provide a wealth of information on the material culture and foodways of mid-to-late 19th century taverns/hotels in the lower Ohio River valley. Copies of the 1999 report, CAI Technical Report 99-3, can be obtained from CAI.

Hills Branch Rock Shelter, Pope County

Mark Wagner directed two seasons of work in Dixon Springs State Park in western Pope County, under the sponsorship of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The Hills Branch site (11Pp508) is a small (45 m2) sandstone rock shelter in a narrow gorge along Hills Branch Creek in Dixon Spring's State Park. The site had been extensively vandalized, and initial work at the site in 1997 was intended to restore the looter holes as well as gather data on the Late Woodland component that was indicated by artifacts on the surface. Excavation showed that the site was deeper and far more complex than anticipated, containing some stratified deposits and an occupational history that extended back to Late Paleoindian times. Additional work was done in 1998 to further explore the stratified deposits and to gather information on the early components.

There is a minor Dalton occupation, including a Beaver Lake and Greenbrier points, but the principal early occupation is represented by Kirk Corner Notched points and small uniface endscrapers. Kirk and Dalton materials were found in intact deposits only within a small area near the back wall of the shelter, where a radiocarbon date of 9130±200 BP was obtained. The next major use began in the Middle Archaic. There is a dark midden deposit representing occupation from the late Middle Archaic through the end of Early Woodland. The deposit contained abundant evidence of burning and charred materials as well as mortars and manos.

The next intensive use of the site was near the end of the Late Woodland period (ca. AD 800 to 1000). A late Lewis phase ceramic assemblage is represented in the shelter, including a Yankeetown Fillet trade vessel. There is also a minor late Mississippian component. The Late Woodland and Mississippian deposits were most heavily impacted by the looting and are largely co-mingled. The deposits produced large numbers of triangular projectile points, even after screening by the looters. A substantial faunal assemblage is also related to these two components. The final report, CAI Technical Report 00-2, has been completed and will be available at cost in November, 2000.

Cache River Lowlands, Johnson County

In the spring, 1999, Brian DelCastello conducted work on site 11JS321, a large (ca. 6.9 ha.) and generally low density lithic scatter along an alluvial ridge in the Cache River lowlands in southwest Johnson County. The work was done for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Investigations focused on three definable artifact concentrations and consisted of a controlled surface collection of ca. 19,300 sq. m and plowzone stripping of ca. 1600 sq. m. Two feature groups, comprising 7 pit features (mostly hearths), 2 postholes, and one rock concentration, were found. The site represents a record of numerous short-term Archaic Period occupations. Multiple Archaic components are represented as well as an ephemeral Late Woodland occupation, but most of the surface debris appears to reflect late Middle Archaic and Late Archaic use. One hearth yielded a calibrated radiocarbon date of ca. 830 BC. Copies of the report (CAI Technical Report 00-1) are available at cost.

US Highway 51 Investigations, Jackson County

In October-December, 1999, the CAI undertook excavations at the Unity Point site (11J639) in Jackson County. The work was undertaken for IDOT and the University of Illinois (ITARP) as a result of realignment of US Highway 51 south of Carbondale. The project area is in the northern fringes of the Shawnee Hills and is a part of the Big Muddy River drainage. The ca. 1.7 ha. site occupies an interior upland ridge spur that is on a drainage divide. The site proved to be a substantial early Late Woodland site (ca. AD 400-600). Little pottery survived on the surface but a controlled surface collection indicated an intensive occupation, and plowzone removal of some 1450 sq. meters on the highest portion of the ridge crest exposed approximately 120 pit features. The site is for most purposes, single component; some Middle Woodland surface debris is present but all the excavated features are Late Woodland. The site will make an important contribution to the local Woodland sequence as it is the first substantial early Late Woodland site to be excavated in region south of the Kaskaskia Valley. Analysis of materials is currently underway.

Giant City Stone Fort, Jackson County

In August, 2000, Mark Wagner directed small scale excavations on the stone fort site in Giant City State Park (11J35) under the auspices of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. This is one of ten so-called "stone" or "hill forts" identified in the Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois. These are bluff-top promontories or isolated hilltops demarcated by stacked stone walls. These sites are known to be Late Woodland but are otherwise poorly understood and have received only minimal professional attention. Giant City is one of the smallest of these sites, with an area of just over an acre. Systematic shovel testing showed that a light scatter of artifacts, especially flakes and broken rock as well as some badly weathered ceramics, existed over most of the site interior. Localized concentrations of artifacts, including numerous projectile points, were detected in close association with highly clustered pit features. Examples of shallow basins, postholes, and deep ovens/storage pits were found. Diagnostics indicate a Raymond phase Late Woodland occupation. Materials are currently undergoing analysis.

Millstone Bluff Archaeological Project 1999 and 2000, Pope County

In 1999 the SIUC field school in archaeology conducted its third season of work, the second with NSF funding, at the Millstone Bluff site (11Pp3) in Pope County, Illinois, under the direction of Brian Butler and Charles Cobb (SUNY Binghamton). The Millstone Bluff Project is a multiyear effort to examine the late Mississippian presence in the interior uplands north of the Ohio River. The project is a cooperative endeavor with the Shawnee National Forest and its Passport in Time volunteer program. Millstone Bluff is an unplowed late Mississippian village located on top of an isolated sandstone escarpment in the upper Bay Creek drainage. The 1999 work sampled two midden deposits, expanded work on two previously sampled structure basins, and investigated three others. The 1999 work retrieved the best artifact samples to date including 5 complete miniature vessels from the fill of abandoned house basins. A total of 16 radiocarbon dates from the site indicate an occupation span of ca. AD 1275 to around 1450 (calibrated). Analyses of faunal remains (Emanuel Breitburg) and botanical materials (Kathryn Parker, Great Lakes Ecosystems) are now underway. A concurrent survey effort searched for Mississippian occupations along Bay Creek and nearby tributaries, an area with little row crop agriculture and requiring extensive shovel testing. The 1999 work identified 27 new sites and revisited 5 previously known ones, documenting a total of 5 Mississippian components.

In the summer 2000, the Field School completed a second season of work at the Hays Creek site (11Pp199). Hayes Creek is a contemporaneous village located only 3 miles away, whose spatial organization and structural features have revealed unexpected complexity. The 1998 work demonstrated that the site was a small formally organized village with two unusually large wall trench structures (up to 12 x 8 m) at the north end. The summer 2000 work, under the direction of Richard Herndon, focused on this area and documented a complex building sequence, of which the outsized structures are only the middle portion. The presence of large communal structures in a site so close to Millstone suggests that the political history and power relations within the Millstone Bluff polity are much more complex than anticipated.

John A. Logan Birthsite, Jackson County

In September, 2000, the Center commenced excavations at the General John A. Logan birth site (11J592) in Murphysboro, Illinois, in cooperation with the John A. Logan Museum and the Murphysboro Middle School archaeology program, under the direction of P. Michael Jones. The focus of the work is the foundation and cellar remnants of the original Logan family house that stood from 1824 to ca. 1870, at which time the remainder of the Logan farm was incorporated within the expanding city of Murphysboro. The location of the structure had been forgotten, and was only relocated by the middle school excavations (under CAI direction) in 1998. The work is being funded by the John A. Logan Museum under a state DCCA grant.