The LIVING MUSEUM Vol. XV OCTOBER, 1953 No. 6 Devoted to a better understanding of living things and fine surroundings in which we live _MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI MAN—by Art Sieving_ THE ILLINOIS STATE MUSEUM Fifth Floor of the Centennial Building Springfield, Illinois, State Capitol Group ALWAYS FREE Hours: Daily, 8:30 to 5. Sundays, 2 to 5 p. m. Open every day except New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. _Dept. of Registration and Education_ _State of Illinois_ Hon. Vera M. Binks, _Director_ Hon. William G. Stratton, _Governor_ _Museum Board of Advisers_ Hon. Vincent Y. Dallman, _Chairman_ Editor, Illinois State Register, Springfield Hon. Robt. H. Becker, _Outdoor Editor_ Chicago Tribune, Chicago M. M. Leighton, Ph.D., _Chief_ State Geological Survey, Urbana Virginia S. Eifert, Editor Thorne Deuel, Museum Director (Printed by authority of the State of Illinois) Illinois Fashions a Thousand Years Ago 418 Scalamandre Textiles in the Art Gallery 420 The Badger, Master Excavator 421 Science Adventure Program for School Age Young People 423 The Program 423 Three Rivers South by Eifert: A Review 424 ILLINOIS FASHIONS A THOUSAND YEARS AGO by Melvin Fowler, _Curator of Anthropology_ Museum visitors often wonder about the appearance of the prehistoric peoples of Illinois, but pictures of unearthed skeletons and pieces of aboriginal jewelry in museum cases do not wholly satisfy this interest. Anthropologists also are deeply concerned with ancient fashions of dress, yet remains or evidence of garments, cloth, and hair styles seldom come to light. True, anthropologists are able to determine something from beads, ear ornaments, and bracelets found with the dead in graves, and the relationship of these objects to the skeleton sometimes gives clues about the uses of the objects. For instance, it is a fair presumption that disc-shaped ornaments found near the ear region of a skull were ear pendants or decorations.