Wild rice, also called Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus Zizania, and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China, but eaten less in China, where the plant's stem is used as a vegetable.
The Grand Village of the Illinois, also called Old Kaskaskia Village, is a site significant for being the best documented historic Native American village in the Illinois River valley. It was a large agricultural and trading village of Native Americans of the Illinois confederacy, located on the north bank of the Illinois River near the present town of Utica, Illinois. French explorers Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette came across it in 1673. The Kaskaskia, a tribe of the Illiniwek people lived in the village. It grew rapidly after a French mission and fur trading post were established there in 1675, to a population of about 6,000 people in about 460 houses. Around 1691 the Kaskaskia and other Illiniwek moved further south, abandoning the site due to pressure from an Iroquois invasion from the northeast.
The Modoc Rock Shelter is a rock shelter or overhang located beneath the sandstone bluffs that form the eastern border of the Mississippi River floodplain at which Native American peoples lived for thousands of years. This site is significant for its archaeological evidence of thousands of years of human habitation during the Archaic period in the Eastern United States. It is located on the northeastern side of County Road 7 southeast of Prairie du Rocher in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
Hester Site is a major prehistoric archaeological site in Monroe County, Mississippi. It is a multicomponent site whose major occupation took place during the Archaic period with artifacts dating from 9000 to 8000 BCE, and other occupations during the Woodland and Mississippian periods. The site is one of the largest Archaic sites in the southeastern United States, and its well-stratified nature was critical in providing for accurate relative dating of finds at other sites throughout the region. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001.
Accokeek Creek Site, also known as Moyaone, is an archaeological site in Prince George's County, Maryland, located along the Potomac River across from Mount Vernon in today's Piscataway Park, which was inhabited intermittently since 2000 BC. Accokeek Creek Site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
The archaeology of Iowa is the study of the buried remains of human culture within the U.S. state of Iowa from the earliest prehistoric through the late historic periods. When the American Indians first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a Pleistocene glacial landscape. By the time European explorers visited Iowa, American Indians were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems. This transformation happened gradually. During the Archaic period American Indians adapted to local environments and ecosystems, slowly becoming more sedentary as populations increased. More than 3,000 years ago, during the Late Archaic period, American Indians in Iowa began utilizing domesticated plants. The subsequent Woodland period saw an increase on the reliance on agriculture and social complexity, with increased use of mounds, ceramics, and specialized subsistence. During the Late Prehistoric period increased use of maize and social changes led to social flourishing and nucleated settlements. The arrival of European trade goods and diseases in the Protohistoric period led to dramatic population shifts and economic and social upheaval, with the arrival of new tribes and early European explorers and traders. During the Historical period European traders and American Indians in Iowa gave way to American settlers and Iowa was transformed into an agricultural state.
The Mines of Spain State Recreation Area and E. B. Lyons Nature Center is a state park in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is near Dubuque, the eighth-largest city in the state. The park features picnic areas, 15 miles (24 km) of walking/hiking trails, 4 miles (6.4 km) of ski trails, and the Betty Hauptli Bird and Butterfly Garden. It also includes archaeological sites of national importance as an early lead mining and smelting venture led by French explorer Julien Dubuque, as well as Dubuque's gravesite. These sites were collectively designated a National Historic Landmark District as Julien Dubuque's Mines.
The Upper Mississippian cultures were located in the Upper Mississippi basin and Great Lakes region of the American Midwest. They were in existence from approximately A.D. 1000 until the Protohistoric and early Historic periods.
The Plum Island Eagle Sanctuary is a 52-acre island in the Illinois River owned by the Illinois Audubon Society. It was purchased March 24, 2004 to act as a wildlife sanctuary, to protect foraging habitat for wintering bald eagles. It is close to Matthiessen State Park and adjacent to Starved Rock State Park.
The Summer Island Site, designated 20DE4, is an archaeological site located on the northwest side of Summer Island, in Delta County, Michigan. It is classified as a stratified, multi-component site with Middle Woodland, Upper Mississippian and Early Historic/Protohistoric occupations. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Chippewa Nature Center (CNC) is both a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization and a protected wildlife area in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, encompassing over 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of forest, rivers and wetlands. Located in Midland County, they are one of the largest and most prominent private non-profit nature centers in the United States.
The Moccasin Bluff Site is an archaeological site located along the Red Bud Trail and the St. Joseph River north of Buchanan, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and has been classified as a multi-component Prehistoric site with the major component dating to the Late Woodland/Upper Mississippian period.
The Bugai Site, designated 20SA215, is an archaeological site located near Bridgeport, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Schwerdt Site (20AE127) is located on the Kalamazoo River in Allegan County, Michigan. It is classified as a single-component Berrien Phase site dating to the late prehistoric period. The Berrien Phase is associated with the late Woodland but also has some Upper Mississippian influences.
The Griesmer site (La-3) is located on the Kankakee River in Lake County, Indiana, about a mile southeast of Schneider, in Northwestern Indiana. It is classified as a Prehistoric, multi-component site with Middle Woodland, Late Woodland and Upper Mississippian occupations. The deposits were not stratified, but observation of the types of artifacts present, together with radiocarbon dates, helped to define the sequence of occupations at the site.
The Oak Forest Site (11Ck-53) is located in Oak Forest, Cook County, Illinois, near the city of Chicago. It is classified as a late Prehistoric to Protohistoric/Early Historic site with Upper Mississippian Huber affiliation.
The Anker Site (11Ck-21) is located on the Little Calumet River near Chicago, Illinois. It is classified as a late Prehistoric site with Upper Mississippian Huber affiliation.
The Hotel Plaza Site (Ls-36) is located near Starved Rock, on the Illinois River across from the Zimmerman Site (aka Grand Village of the Illinois. It is a multi-component site representing Prehistoric, Protohistoric and early Historic periods, with the main occupation being an early Historic component associated with the French Fort St. Louis.
The South Flats earthwork enclosure is one of less than 10 intact earthworks, located in Western Michigan alongside the Muskegon River, it was originally discovered and excavated by George Quimby, the earthwork itself is about 25 to 30 meters in diameter near a bluff with an overview of the Muskegon. Excavations and surveys suggest and attribute, possibly, an Algonkian speaking small-scale society to the formation of the site. Archaeologists are yet to grasp a full understanding of the South Flats and other similar earthworks spread across the state of Michigan dated between AD 1350-1650.
The Yellow Bluffs archeological site was occupied by people of the Middle Woodland Havana Tradition and consists of a habitation area and various burial mounds. The primary occupation of the Yellow Bluffs site, be it continuous or discrete, can be traced back to 200 B.C.E through 400 C.E. but the site represents activity from numerous prehistoric eras. The archaeological site can be found in Logan County, central Illinois and is closely linked to the Sangamon River drainage network. It is one of the larger known sites in the Sangamon River valley.
