American Indian Ways of Life: An Interpretation of the Archaeology of Illinois and Adjoining AreasDeuel, Thorne
History
American Indian Ways of Life: An Interpretation of the Archaeology of Illinois and Adjoining Areas
Deuel, Thorne
Illinois -- Antiquities; Indians of North America -- Illinois
Cabins in Fulton County (Fout’s Village) and at Cahokia were rectangular
in floor plan but wall posts were probably bent over to be joined with
corresponding opposite members to form an arched or vaulted roof, the
precursor perhaps of the “barrel-shaped” Illini cabins reported by
French explorers. Floors were sunk somewhat below the ground level.
Remains of cabins with circular floors occur also at Cahokia and in
Fulton County.
[Illustration: Fig. 28. Petroglyphs from southern Illinois sites
probably made by Middle Mississippian peoples. All figures are
hollowed out or _intaglio_. (Photographs by Irvin Peithmann.)]
[Illustration: Back wall of rock shelter near Gorham, Illinois.]
[Illustration: Figure of buffalo calf painted yellow over entire
depressed area. The outlines were chalked in for the purpose of
photographing.]
Walls and wall posts of the Fulton County cabins appear in some
instances to be formed of bundles of small branches or cane set in
trenches possibly a foot deep. There is no evidence of the
wattle-and-daub structure. Walls may have been covered with mats, or
with rectangles of bark. Roofs were probably thatched.
Possibly the Cahokia subculture peoples constituted a single tribe, a
small nation, or a confederation of tribes. At its most powerful period,
the Cahokia settlement was perhaps the capital and religious center. The
region south of a line joining the mouths of the Kaskaskia and Wabash
rivers at one time probably belonged to another tribe or subtribe whose
chief village was the Kincaid community in Pope and Massac counties and
who, linguistically and culturally, were closely related to peoples in
Tennessee and Kentucky and at the Angel site in Indiana.
Archaeologically speaking, the Middle Mississippi contrasts sharply with
the Hopewellian culture. Certain artifacts are readily distinguishable
and easily identified with the craftsman’s cultures. Actually the
Mississippians differ from the Hopewellians chiefly in having
substantial cabins, athletic games and the bow and arrow.
Remains of Hopewellian dwellings are rare, but the three or four found
up to now are characterized by round or oval floor plans outlined with
post holes of three to four inches in diameter. These seem to indicate
hemispherical wigwams. No further evidence of wall or roof structure has
been recovered. The rarity of these dwellings certainly suggests a less
permanent dwelling than the Mississippi cabin. However, it will be
remembered that some peoples pattern their tombs upon their dwellings.
The upper caste Hopewellians built rectangular burial chambers which
were walled up with logs laid one on another and roofed over with
half-logs or bark. Similar log house surface structures would seldom
leave discernible remains on decay. It is possible, though by no means
certain, that the Hopewellians of highest caste, and perhaps of the
other castes, built log cabins for dwellings.
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