Krista and Sir Francis go to Millstone Bluff Archaeological Area

Latitude: 37º 27.995 N

Longitude:  88º 41.264 W

Total Miles: traveled 94.16 by car and 1 mile on foot and paws

            Krista Brouwer and I, Sir Francis, went to Millstone Bluff Archaeological Area located in the Shawnee National Forest in Robbs, Illinois on August 24, 2013.  This is off the Vienna I-57 exit in Southern Illinois and is located right on Route 147.  There is a visitor’s sign right at the entrance, so be sure to look for this if you go and visit.  We had a great time (even though it has hot and buggy) as we learned information about the Mississippian and Woodland Indians through the interpretive signs along the trail.  This historical site is protected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture because of the rare artifacts that have been found there.  The reason it is called “Millstone Bluff” is because that is what the local people, who settled here around one-hundred years ago, called the area.  They came here and created large millstones using the surrounding sandstone to grind their grain.  I had Krista take a picture of me sitting on top of the large stone circle that is a millstone.

             One of the first things we saw on the trail was evidence of an old stone wall.  So far, archaeologists have discovered ten of these “stone forts” in the Southern Illinois region, indicating that there were conflicts among the Woodland Indians in the area.  There are also visible signs of a community burial area, which you can see here in the picture that has the rectangular-stone outline coming up from the ground.  Krista thought it was cool, but I thought it was a bit spooky!  Unfortunately, this community cemetery has been raided by looters and those seeking to find Indian artifacts.  This is very inappropriate behavior.  How would you feel if someone stole something from your loved one’s grave?

            Petroglyphs are carved into the rocks in a central location.  Several of these stone-carved pictures are of animals.  Indians highly revered animals as their equals and believed many of them to be spiritual.  The picture with me and a stone with lines carved in it is an actual carving of a Thunderbird.  The Thunderbird is a legendary creature embraced by many North American natives that is supposed to have magical powers.  Boys and girls, it is extremely important that if you go to visit Millstone Bluff that you do not disturb these rocks that have the petroglyph carvings or any other artifacts that are there.  You can do this by simply staying of the trail. 

            Krista and I continued up a small incline where we found evidence of the Indians’ individual homes and a community gathering area.  You might wonder how historians know this.  Historians believe Mississippian homes were built in a rectangular fashion; however, after hundreds of years of decay, a circular-like divot was formed.  When archaeologists find several divots about the same size, in the same area, this is a clue that they may have run across an old Indian Village.  Because community gatherings were, and still are, an important part of any culture, archaeologists many times find evidence of large clearings with larger divots than that of individual homes.  Many times there was a large clearing for outdoor community gatherings and another large area for a community building where special meetings could take place.   These community areas are usually in a central location, with evidence of smaller ground impressions surrounding it.  Do you know of a building in your community where people gather for meetings?  What kinds of decisions are made there?  

            Krista and I ended our hike by reading the last interpretive sign that has a quote by Abraham Lincoln.  It reads, “A country with no regards for its past has little to remember in its future.”  What do you think this means and why would historians feel that this is an important to quote to end the trail with?  Krista and I talked about it, and we think it means that the past, present, and future are all very closely linked.  Learning about those in the past help all of us make decisions about what we do today.  When today becomes the past tomorrow, what will we have learned that helps us make better and smarter decisions to make the world a better place tomorrow?