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Numerous partial bison skeletons were excavated this summer along
the shoreline of the Illinois River, south of Peoria. Originally
believed to be the remains of animals that died from natural causes
200-300 years ago, radiocarbon dates and the recent discovery of
stone artifacts, including a spear point, now suggest that local
American Indians hunted the bison approximately 2,300 years ago.
"This discovery sheds new light on early life ways and human use of
the environment 2,300 years ago and provides unparalleled
information on early bison herds and human hunting in the Midwest,"
said Dr. Michael Wiant, director of the Dickson Mounds Museum.
This summer's drought caused a low water level in the Illinois
River, presenting an extraordinary opportunity to excavate a site
along the Illinois River where bison bones had previously been
collected. With the water level lower than previously experienced,
significant new areas became available for exploration.
Dickson Mounds Museum archaeologist Alan Harn, David Stiles from
the Illinois Valley Archaeological Society and Illinois State Museum
curator of anthropology Dr. Terrance Martin excavated and carefully
examined about 200 linear feet of 1-meter-wide, mechanically dug
trenches across the site during August 2005.
Two new concentrations of large mammal bones were discovered. One
of these was especially significant because it included a bison
skull, a chert spear point between two ribs and a rib with old cut
marks. This discovery provides evidence that bison were hunted,
killed with spears and butchered by Native Americans at this
locality.
Bison remains were first discovered from this site during the
mid-1990s. Rick Scott, a local maintenance technician from Mapleton,
collected a skull and bones and brought them to the Dickson Mounds
Museum. Harn and Martin confirmed they were bison bones. More than
350 bison bones and teeth were excavated from the site after the
initial discovery, and some of the bones were radiocarbon-dated.
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 The assemblage was initially interpreted as the result of a
catastrophic drowning event, such as one witnessed by Lewis and
Clark on the frozen Missouri River in the 1800s, when hundreds of
bison broke through the ice.
Although the modern species of bison were known to have roamed
throughout Illinois for thousands of years, historical and
archaeological information suggested that herds did not expand east
of the Mississippi River much before the 16th century. Many
archaeologists have suggested that bison herds did not expand in
Illinois until the late prehistoric and early historic periods.
Of the five samples of bones from the site submitted for
radiocarbon dating, four yielded dates clustering between 265 and
365 B.C. Scientists were surprised to find evidence for a
2,300-year-old bison kill site in Illinois because bison bones are
rarely found in village sites of this age. The site predates village
sites with numerous bison bones by about 1,700 years.
The bison skeleton discovered on the last day of fieldwork in
August was the most complete skeleton found to date. A stone spear
point, snapped at its shaft from impact, was found imbedded in
sediment between the bison's ribs.
The Illinois State Museum acknowledges Caterpillar, Lonza Inc.,
Altorfer Inc, Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, anonymous
benefactors, and the Illinois Valley Archaeological Society for
their assistance with this project.
Photographs of the site are available at
http://www.museum.state.il.us/pub/images.
[News release from the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources and
Illinois
State Museum] |
