Dickson Mounds
Encyclopedia
Dickson Mounds is a Native American
settlement site and burial mound complex near Lewistown, Illinois
, is located in Fulton County
on a low bluff overlooking the Illinois River
. It is a large burial complex containing at least two cemeteries, ten burial mounds, and a platform mound. Dickson Mounds was founded by 800 CE and were in use until after 1250 CE. The site is named in honor of chiropractor Don Dickson, who began excavating it in 1927 and opened a private museum that formerly operated on the site.
The Dickson Mounds Museum is a museum
erected on the site in 1972 by the U.S. state
of Illinois
; it describes the life cycles and culture of Native Americans living in the Illinois River valley over a period of 12,000 years since the last Ice Age
. The museum is part of the Illinois State Museum
system.
cultures travel extensively or even practice a nomadic lifestyle, the exceptional productivity of the Illinois River valley in fish
, shellfish
and game
made it possible for semi-permanent settlements to develop. Archaeological examination of these sites have generated significant insights into the living conditions of Native Americans over time and the levels of technology they possessed.
A large parcel of the adjacent river bottomland is undergoing preservation and ecosystem restoration as part of the Emiquon Project
. The Emiquon wetlands generated much of the food eaten by the people who lived on or near this blufftop site. In 2009, an excavation by Michigan State University
turned up shards of pottery, arrowheads and the foundations of houses and other structures that date back to about 1300 CE.
Some of the people who lived here were actually buried in Dickson Mounds itself. Their skeleton
s were excavated and displayed to the public from the 1930s until 1992, when in a controversial move the burial display was resealed due to Native American concerns. It is estimated that there are at least 3,000 burials at this site. The earlier burials were in mounds, while later burials were in cemeteries. "One group of four Mississippian people buried together appear to have been sacrificed at the Dickson Site" (Archaeology of Native North America, 2010, Dean R. Snow, Pennsylvania State University)
After the sealing,the museum was renovated as a series of galleries that attempt to portray the history of the site. For example, the River Valley Gallery exhibition attempts to depict indigenous life patterns here since the close of the last Ice Age, while the "Reflections on Three Worlds" Gallery exhibition attempts to describe how scholars have used archeological findings to generate inductive evidence on the residents' life and culture.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
settlement site and burial mound complex near Lewistown, Illinois
Lewistown, Illinois
Lewistown is a city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,522 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Fulton County. Located in central Illinois, it is southwest of Peoria. It is the source of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, who lived there...
, is located in Fulton County
Fulton County, Illinois
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 37,069, which is a decrease of 3.1% from 38,250 in 2000. Its county seat is Lewistown. Canton is the largest city. Both cities are southwest of Peoria, and the county is considered...
on a low bluff overlooking the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
. It is a large burial complex containing at least two cemeteries, ten burial mounds, and a platform mound. Dickson Mounds was founded by 800 CE and were in use until after 1250 CE. The site is named in honor of chiropractor Don Dickson, who began excavating it in 1927 and opened a private museum that formerly operated on the site.
The Dickson Mounds Museum is a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
erected on the site in 1972 by the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
; it describes the life cycles and culture of Native Americans living in the Illinois River valley over a period of 12,000 years since the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The museum is part of the Illinois State Museum
Illinois State Museum
The Illinois State Museum is the official museum of the natural history of the U.S. state of Illinois. The headquarters museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets, one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, the state capital...
system.
Native life site
While the members of most hunter-gathererHunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
cultures travel extensively or even practice a nomadic lifestyle, the exceptional productivity of the Illinois River valley in fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
and game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
made it possible for semi-permanent settlements to develop. Archaeological examination of these sites have generated significant insights into the living conditions of Native Americans over time and the levels of technology they possessed.
A large parcel of the adjacent river bottomland is undergoing preservation and ecosystem restoration as part of the Emiquon Project
Emiquon Project
The Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge is a wetland wildlife refuge located in Fulton County, Illinois across the Illinois River from the town of Havana. It is in the Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion....
. The Emiquon wetlands generated much of the food eaten by the people who lived on or near this blufftop site. In 2009, an excavation by Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
turned up shards of pottery, arrowheads and the foundations of houses and other structures that date back to about 1300 CE.
Some of the people who lived here were actually buried in Dickson Mounds itself. Their skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
s were excavated and displayed to the public from the 1930s until 1992, when in a controversial move the burial display was resealed due to Native American concerns. It is estimated that there are at least 3,000 burials at this site. The earlier burials were in mounds, while later burials were in cemeteries. "One group of four Mississippian people buried together appear to have been sacrificed at the Dickson Site" (Archaeology of Native North America, 2010, Dean R. Snow, Pennsylvania State University)
After the sealing,the museum was renovated as a series of galleries that attempt to portray the history of the site. For example, the River Valley Gallery exhibition attempts to depict indigenous life patterns here since the close of the last Ice Age, while the "Reflections on Three Worlds" Gallery exhibition attempts to describe how scholars have used archeological findings to generate inductive evidence on the residents' life and culture.