About 2200 years ago, Native Americans embraced a new way of life.
- Cultivated foods became a larger part of the diet.
- There were advances in stone tool technology.
- People acquired a variety of exotic raw materials, ranging from copper to volcanic glass.
- There appears to be a substantial change in religion, included building mounds to mark burial grounds of ancestors.
- Many of them were laid to rest with objects that suggest life after death.
Among the sites throughout Illinois that have contributed to our understanding of this way of life is the Albany[, IL,] Indian Mounds State Historic Site. It is “one of the largest prehistoric Hopewell Mound groups in Illinois.”
This topic will be the subject of a presentation by Dr. Michael D. Wiant, presented by The Whiteside Forum at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, October 22, 2015. Dr. Wiant will speak at the Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL.
“Dr. Wiant is a big deal!” stated Marc Adami. “He may not be as famous as Indiana Jones as an archaeologist, but he is smarter and a great speaker. Plus, he is in the throes/fight for the Illinois Budget.”
Dr. Wiant is the Director of the Illinois State Museum–Dickson Mounds, a museum that chronicles 12,000 years of Native Americans history in the Illinois River valley. He graduated from Illinois State and Northwestern Universities, studying anthropology and archaeology, in particular the development of Native American culture in the American Midwest. Dr. Wiant is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Illinois State University, where he teaches courses on museums and Illinois archaeology.
For more information about this event or The Whiteside Forum, please contact Marc Adami at 815-772-4949 or by email at ardami@mchsi.com.
The Whiteside Forum is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit, community group which sponsors presentations and discussions of issues of importance and interest to the public. Issues chosen for conferences have an international dimension as well as local interest and importance. The organization is supported entirely by individual, special, and business contributions. All events are free and open to the public.