Shawnee National Forest

Archaeology at Millstone Bluff

USDA Forest Service Shawnee National Forest
Millstone Bluff is the site of an unplowed prehistoric Mississippian village, stonebox
cemetery, and rock art site, as well as, a Late Woodland stone fort. The bluff, itself is a
unique topographical feature rising 320 feet above the surrounding comparatively flat
terrain. It appears as an “island” amidst the hills. It was so named because the early
settlers in the area carved milling stones along the base of the northwestern edge of the
bluff. These hand carved millstones were used to mill local farmers’ grains into flour.
The Shawnee National Forest’s Passport in Time volunteer program and the SIUC’s
Department of Anthropological Methods Field School conducted archaeological
investigations at Millstone Bluff during the summers of 1996, 1997, and 1999. We
collected information concerning construction practices of the prehistoric Native
Americans inhabitants. The inhabitants of Millstone Bluff lived in semi-subterranean
houses. They excavated rectangular holes in the ground and then excavated deep
(approximately two feet deep) trenches along the exterior of the pit. Upright posts were
placed in trenches and smaller branches were woven in and out of the upright posts
similar to a basket. The walls were then packed with clay to make it cool in the summer
and warm in the winter. The houses were constructed solely of wood and mud, and often
accidentally burned. At other times, the houses were deliberately set afire, perhaps to rid
the settlement of bugs and other vermin that infested the houses. When houses of this
type burn, brick-like burned clay chunks with stick impressions from the woven walls are
still visible and charred wall logs and roof poles are found. These houses were occupied
for about 20 years and then disposed of and a new structure built to take its place.
In addition to being semi-subterranean, dirt was piled around the outside walls to form a
high embankment around the exterior of the house. Generally, Mississippian era
summerhouses were larger and more airy. The walls were often left open with woven
cane mats providing the only shade. The woven mats could be rolled up for extra
circulation in the house interior. Winter houses had internal clay-lined hearths, whereas in
the summer cooking was done out of doors. Doors were located near a cornet and not in
the center of the wall. Roofs were either thatched or covered over with woven cane mats.
After the house was abandoned and burned, the remaining hole was then filled with the
village’s refuse such as broken pots, scorched or burned food remains, animal bones, and
broken and discarded tools. All that is left to see is the partially filled in depressions that
represent the semi-subterranean portion of the house.
Charcoal was taken from wall logs yielding Carbon 14 dates from 1350-1510, indicating
the site was occupied relatively late in prehistory. To put the prehistoric occupation at
Millstone Bluff into correct context, the site was being occupied after Columbus’s
“ discovery” of the New World (1492) and before Hernando De Soto’s 1540 march
through the southeastern United States.
Many of the artifacts recovered during the excavations were found in the house basins
and represented the garbage generated by the village occupants. The types of artifacts
found include Mississippian arrow points, stone knives, and celts (small polished axes),
small pieces of chert from resharpening their stone hoes, lots of plain, undecorated
pottery, a cannel coal lip or ear plug, a small piece of galena (lead), and food remains.
Food remains included deer bone along with smaller mammal bones, carbonized maize
kernels, and hickory nuts. The hoe fragments and maize kernels suggest the residents of
Millstone Bluff were farming in the area, perhaps down in the floodplain of Bay Creek.
These excavations are the first time professional archaeologists have worked at Millstone
Bluff. In the past, the site had been badly vandalized by looters that wanted to dig up the
burials interred in the stone box cemetery. This particular culture often buried their dead
in rectangular stone boxes. They were also known to include funerary items in the grave
that the deceased individual would need in their afterlife. These artifacts have since
become very valuable in the antiquities market, which has unfortunately encouraged
people to vandalize, and loot prehistoric Native American graves. In 1979, Congress
passed the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) to help reserve or nation’s
heritage. Conviction of a criminal case under ARPA can result in incarceration, fines,
restitution payments or a combination of all three. In addition, there are many other state
and federal laws protecting human remains from vandalism and desecration.
One question that everyone asks is: Where did they get their water? It appears that there
may have been enough water seeping through the rock to form seep springs along the
edge of the bluff top. The occupants of Millstone Bluff probably only had to go down to
Bay Creek during the driest months of the year. Another question that often gets asked is:
Why did they live up here on this bluff? We still don’t know why they were living up on
Millstone Bluff. However, given the late date of this site, it may be that there may have
been warfare in Southern Illinois during this time period and they were living in this
fairly inaccessible location for protection. Native American population numbers were
continuing to grow all throughout prehistory. That means more people were competing
for the same number of resources, which may have let to conflict over those resources.
These resources would have included not only access to food items such as deer and
arable land for gardens, but also access to fluorspar for making jewelry and animal effigy
figurines, highly prized chert types from which they made stone tools, access to galena
from Missouri or northern Illinois which was used as a paint, access to copper from the
Great Lakes which was used in manufacturing breast plates and other personal
ornaments.
Millstone Bluff is a very special place. Nowhere else in Southern Illinois have the former
Native American occupants left such diverse evidence of the prehistoric past. Please help
us protect our nations prehistoric past and fragile archaeological resources by walking
softly in the footsteps of the Mississippian villagers. Remember, these resources belong
to all of us. For information about volunteer heritage programs in the Shawnee or other
National Forests call the Passport-in-Time Clearinghouse at 1-800-281-9176 or ask at
any Forest Service office for a PIT Traveler.