Three fragments of human bone were screened from the dis- 

 turbed upper level which suggests that at least one burial 

 took place there, but the important difference between the 

 sites is the degree to which human remains are lacking at 

 the Horton Site. 



Debbie Loeff and Marlene Dubas remove the plow zone down to undisturbed 

 occupation level, while Terry Patten sifts out the mixed cultural content. 



A total of 23 10-foot squares was excavated by the stu- 

 dents during the two seasons of excavation. Besides the 

 several thousand pot sherds and hundreds of stone artifacts, 

 fragments of animal bone, and flint chips, 53 post impres- 

 sions and 13 pit features were recorded. Most pits appeared 

 to be filled with water-laid silt, suggesting that the pits were 

 refilled by the natural process of erosion. Two large pits, 

 both located within the walls of the house, contained many 

 large pieces of pottery and animal bone and appear to have 

 been filled in rapidly with this refuse material. These pits 

 undoubtedly were used as storage containers in the floor of 

 the house, probably for food and tools. Most of the other 

 pits were shallow basins and appeared to be roasting ovens 

 or disturbed hearths rather than storage containers. 



Thirty-one of the recorded post molds form part of an 

 oval-shaped house. The larger posts, which form the out- 

 side perimeter of the structure, are 8-12 inches in diameter, 

 while the internal supporting posts are only 4-5 inches in 

 diameter. This framework of wooden poles was then cov- 

 ered over, probably with thatching or animal skins. Similar 

 oval houses have been found at other Upper Mississippian 

 sites in the area. The post size of the Horton house indicates 

 that it was a fairly substantial structure, approximately 30 

 feet wide. Post molds recorded in other squares suggest that 

 additional houses existed on the site, but these areas were 

 not sufficiently exposed during our excavations to determine 

 their size and shape. 



On the basis of all the evidence at hand we suggest that 

 the Horton Site was a hunting settiement occupied by a 

 small group of people during the fall and winter months. 

 At this time of year deer hunting is most successful in the 



sheltered secondary valleys like the Butterfield Creek area. 

 In the spring and summer these people might join with 

 others to form a larger agricultural villages during the corn- 

 growing season. The Anker Site has been interpreted as 

 such a summer agricultural settlement. At sites of this type 

 the inhabitants would manufacture tools and grow corn 

 which would then be stored there for consumption the fol- 

 lowing spring. Part of the corn crop might also have been 

 taken to winter himting camps, like Horton. 



The fact that the recorded house appears to have been 

 of substantial construction, when combined with the abun- 

 dant evidence for deer hunting and the lack of agricultural 

 tools, argues for a repeated winter occupation of the Horton 

 Site for several years during the Upper Mississippian Period. 



Diminishing Archaeological Resources 



Numerous prehistoric sites, like Horton, have been and 

 are being destroyed as a by-product of the residential and 

 industrial expansion of Chicago. These sites, and others like 

 them throughout North Ainerica, are the only "books" that 

 record the history of man's occupation of this continent be- 

 fore the time of Columbus. Once destroyed, these sites can 

 never be replaced and the historical information contained 

 in them is lost forever. This makes the science of archaeol- 

 ogy truly a race against time. Today, Chicago and other 

 cities are expanding rapidly over the areas formerly occu- 

 pied by prehistoric peoples. In most cases the historical 

 record is destroyed without being investigated. 



Lunch 



The opportunity to carry out the urgently needed exca- 

 vations at the Horton Site was fortunately provided by the 

 Field Museum's Summer Anthropology Program. This pro- 

 gram begins — earlier than is customary — the process of in- 

 troducing students to archaeology as the scientific study of 

 man's past. From their experience at the Horton Site, Field 

 Museum's students all learned the critical reason for exca- 

 vating sites in urban areas. Only by carrying out excava- 

 tion programs now can archaeologists hope to reconstruct 

 the prehistory of these metropolitan areas. 



MARCH Page 13 



