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Dickson Mounds Museum Hosts a Cemetery Tour & Lecture

Lewistown, IL – Dickson Mounds Museum is hosting a cemetery tour and lecture titled Guide to Understanding Illinois’ Historic Cemeteries on Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.  Spend an afternoon learning about prehistoric and historic burial practices as the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act Coordinator, Dawn Cobb and the Department of Natural Resources Archaeological Cultural Resource Manager, Hal Hassen illustrate these unique customs.

Euro-American cemeteries, in particular, are places with specific above ground visual and material features including graves, grave markers, landscaping, fences, and a recognizable spatial arrangement.  The placement and arrangement of these items reflect specific choices and provides insight into how people structured and ordered their social and physical landscape.  Because cemeteries are dynamic they also reflect changing cultural and social values.  Understanding these visual characteristics and their changes through time provides a deeper meaning of what is represented in burial grounds and cemeteries.  This knowledge, and respecting the laws that protect them, will ensure their preservation for the future.

The lecture will run approximately 90 minutes in the Dickson Mounds Museum auditorium and participants must transport themselves to Oak Hill Cemetery in Lewistown for the second part of the program.  Please allow the entire afternoon for this program.  Wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for the weather.  Bathrooms may be unavailable for an extended period of time during the cemetery tour.

This program is a collaborative effort between Dickson Mounds Museum, the Fulton County Arts Council, and the Spoon River Reads project.  The Fulton County Arts Council is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.  Admission is free.

The Illinois State Museum - Dickson Mounds is located between Lewistown and Havana off Illinois Routes 78 and 97.  The museum is open free to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day.  Tours and special programs are available for groups with reservations.  For more information call 309.547.3721 or TTY 217.782.9175 or visit the museum's web site at www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/dickson/ or www.experiencedicksonmounds.com.  Remember to *Like* Illinois State Museum-Dickson Mounds on Facebook.