[Illustration: Fig. 5. Rock shelter near Cobden. Such shelters were
used by Archaic and succeeding peoples. (Photograph by Irvin
Peithmann)]
If Archaic man in Illinois lived as do present-day Archaic peoples, the
family or local group, though they restricted themselves during most of
the year to their hunting grounds which they guarded jealously from
trespassers, did not camp continuously in one spot. At appropriate
seasons of the year they rotated from one hamlet site to another to take
advantage of the food resources of that locality. In winter perhaps they
moved to a rock shelter, like that of Modoc in Randolph County,
Illinois, near the wooded valleys of streams emptying into the river
where deer and elk sought protection from the rigors of winter; in
spring to upland lakes for duck and other waterfowl; and in autumn to
wooded parklands to harvest acorns, hickory nuts, and berries. The spot
chosen for each hamlet location was generally one that had been so used
at that same season from time out of mind by the family and its
forebears.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Primitive woman carrying a load with the aid
of a tumpline. (J.C.)]
It is probable, as among most primitive peoples, that men did only work
thought suitable to men, and women that appropriate for women. Men made
the weapons and tools they used, did the hunting and fishing, and the
fighting (when quarrels developed into feuds or wars between local
groups of the same tribe). The rest of the labor fell to the
women—caring for the children, collecting edible plants, clams and small
animals, preparing the food, and carrying burdens. All work was done by
hand; loads were carried on the back. It is possible that boats, perhaps
of dugout type, were used as among present-day Archaic peoples living on
waterways. There was no other specialization and each “household”
provided for the needs of all its members to the best of its ability. No
food was grown and no domestic animal except the dog was known.
Once or twice a year when food was easily and bountifully available,
local groups from nearby hunting territories met together for religious
rites. These local groups spoke the same dialect, had the same way of
life, and considered themselves a unit or tribe. They had no political
form of government but were kept in order through habits formed by early
training and by extension of the kinship system to the whole tribe. Thus
the tribal elders were considered fathers and mothers, and to them were
due obedience and respect, just as children they had been taught to
regard their own blood fathers, uncles, and other older relatives. The
elders knew the tribal customs; and to be accepted as a tribal member,
boys must respect, learn and conform to these customs.
The object of these annual gatherings was to teach the young the tribal
customs and to perform solemn ceremonies, the purpose of which was to
insure the security and well-being of the tribe, a continuing abundance
of the favorite foods, and to express gratitude and thanksgiving to
unseen Spirits who watched over the game animals (and possibly the
edible plants) for the blessings received during the past year. These
gatherings and cooperative undertakings served, on the one hand, as a
welcome change from the usual daily grind and afforded opportunities for
the young to get acquainted and choose mates and, on the other, to unify
the language and customs of the constituent local groups, to enhance the
influence of the tribal elders and keep fresh in the minds of all the
history of the tribe, the importance of its activities, and its sacred
tradition, all essential to the way of life of dynamic Archaic peoples
of recent times.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. Fertility rites were probably performed by
Archaic peoples to ensure the abundance of game animals for the next
year. (J.C.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 8. Archaic weapons: A, Hidden Valley type
spearhead; B, prismatic atlatl weight of polished red shale; C,
throwing a spear with an atlatl; D, socketed antler spearhead; E,
short thrusting spear or javelin. A, B, and D are from Modoc Shelter
in Randolph County, Illinois.]
In the later (Medial) Archaic period at Modoc, the dead were buried in
the floor of the rock shelter. Burial probably indicates a belief in
life after death. Care in preparing the body for burial, in the funeral
rites and burying, and in the customary mourning thereafter was highly
important so the dead man could go promptly to the spirit world in peace
and not remain in the neighborhood to disturb his kinsmen. Immediately
after the burial, it is probable that the little settlement removed to a
distant location as is customary with peoples in this stage of culture.
The rites for important dead in the Terminal period probably began with
the conventional mourning of relatives, with painting the body with red
ochre and grease and adorning it with the dead man’s jewelry, followed
at the appropriate time by the conveyance of the body to the grave side,
where the corpse was deposited in a pit together with personal insigne
and weapons. The grooved stone axe, large spearheads, daggers,
bannerstones, spearthrower with weight and more rarely copper articles
were placed alongside or on the corpse. In some instances large stones
were laid upon the grave probably for one or more of the following
reasons: (a) to mark the grave of an important tribesman; (b) to keep
the body from being disturbed by animals; and (c) to hold the dead man’s
ghost until he departed for the spirit world.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Grooved stone axes are frequently found in
Archaic graves but were not buried with the dead after this period.
(J.C.)]
It is very probable that, on occasions of social and religious import,
Modoc man and other Archaic tribes in Illinois bedecked themselves in
their best paint and jewelry. Possibly the colorful and intriguing
bannerstones, which were undoubtedly developed from the spearthrower
weight, were carried or worn by the local group headmen who had won that
right because they were skillful hunters, courageous fighters, or
learned in the tribal customs and beliefs and thus recognized by the
tribe as leaders for the time being.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. Anculosa shell necklace with flat pendant of
water-worn stone from the Archaic period. Anculosa necklaces were
worn by many Illinois peoples probably up to the European contact
period.]