Announcements
(courteous of the venerable Neal Chamberlain)

Illini Rotaract will host a cookout starting at 5:30pm on Tuesday, Oct 2nd at the Northwoods Pavilion in Crystal Lake Park.  Several C-U Sunrise Rotarians have already indicated they would attend, including Grillmaster Simpson.

Thoughts and prayers were sent out for Barb Lintner who is recovering from pneumonia.

Program

Mary introduced our speakers/visitors from the Illinois State Archeological Survey (ISAS), Madeleine Evans and Andrew C. Fortier.

Madeleine presented the program, “Archaeological Investigation, Past and Present in East Central Illinois”.  Madeleine described Cahokia Mounds, (near the convergence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers) a site that has continued to be excavated in search of artifacts.  This is an area which once was a city of approximately 20,000 people.  Much of local artifacts are in the hands of private collectors.  Arrow points which are judged to be 1200 years old (that’s older than Neal) are often found in farmland in Champaign County.

Madeleine described some characteristics of various time periods in which native people were in East Central Illinois:

-Paleoindian period – (15,000 – 13,000 b.c.), Traveled as a group, bands of hunters, migrated.

-Archaic Period – (5,000 – 900 b.c.), Artifacts include wood picks, gourd dippers, wood working tools, dugout canoes.  Locally, the area of Brownfield Woods (big grove on airport road has yielded archaic period artifacts).

-Woodland Period – (900 b.c. -1000 a.d.), Artifacts include large pottery, mounds (approximately 16) of this period are still visible in this area.

-Period of (350 – 800 a.d.), This is the time frame when technology for hunting (and fighting) changed from spears to bow-and-arrow. Corn was not in their diet – not until 400 years later.

Madeleine explained that viewing of the excavations of graves and mounds have become more spiritual and respectful, using photos instead of displaying actual skeletal remains of the natives.

In conversation with Andrew Fortier, he described a game that was played by natives in early historic days.  They rolled a round stone (shaped like a small tire) down a slope.  They would then aim spears at the rolling stone.  The competition was severely competitive – they would bet prized positions – they would bet their family members, children and wives.  Andrew Fortier, who is a Cardinal fan, said they found no evidence of a winning Cubs team in the artifacts. The story above is true, except that thing about the Cubs.

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Sept 27th Oct 4th Oct 11th Oct 18th
Introductions Robb Patton Allan Penwell Ed Perry Marsha Reardon
Invocation Paul Conforti Ata Durukan Patrice Grant Bruce Hatfield
Greeters Robb Patton Allan Penwell Ed Perry Marsha Reardon
Alan Chalifoux Neal Chamberlain Reuben Chambers Paul Conforti
Song Leader Kris Young Harold Adams Curt Anderson Oktay Baran
Notetaker Perry Penwell Hodson Lintner

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Upcoming Schedule

Sept 27 – Ida Simila, RYE student

Oct 4 – Dr. Jennifer Quirk, Associate Director, Institute of Genomic Biology

Oct 11 – Leah Matchett, ROTEX

Oct 18 – John Groce, Illinois Men’s Basketball Coach