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  Exploring a 14th Century Multicultural Village   

Exploring a 14th Century Multicultural Village

  • Location: ISM Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown
  • Date: Wednesday, November 07, 2012, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

The next Illinois Valley Archaeological Society (IVAS) lecture will be Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. featuring Dr. Michael Conner, Associate Curator of Archaeology, presenting "Exploring a 14th Century Multicultural Village".  The monthly program is held at the Dickson Mounds auditorium.

For five years, archaeologists from Dickson Mounds Museum and Michigan State University have conducted excavations at the Morton Village site in Fulton County. The site was a major Native American village during the 1300s that contained as many as 100 houses and other buildings, though how many would have been in existence at one time is not known. The village contains abundant evidence of occupation by people of the Oneota cultural tradition, which is more commonly found in areas to the north such as Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The Oneota at Morton represent a migrant group that entered the region about A.D. 1300. The goal of the project is to understand the relationship between the Oneota and local people of the Mississippian cultural tradition who had occupied the area for several centuries. Previous work indicated trade links between Mississippian and Oneota but there is also evidence that the Oneota lived with chronic raiding, though their enemies can not be pinpointed. Excavations at Morton Village have revealed evidence that Oneota and Mississippian people were living at the site together, indicating the site will provide a rare example cultural amalgamation in prehistory. The 2012 excavations also found a unique pit with abundant artifacts and food remains that may hint at complex social interactions between the two groups. 
 
IVAS programs are free of charge and the public is welcome.  Meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month.  For more information call 309.547.3721.

For more events at ISM Dickson Mounds Museum.