27-498: The Kolmer Site is an archaeological site in the far southwest of the U.S. state of Illinois . Located near Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher in western Randolph County , it lies at the site of an early historic Indian village from the French period . Because it occupies a critical chronological and cultural position, it has been given national recognition as a historic site . Under René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle ,
54-494: A Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and that will contain both locational information and a combination of various information. This tool is very helpful to archaeologists who want to explore in a different area and want to see if anyone else has done research. They can use this tool to see what has already been discovered. With this information available, archaeologists can expand their research and add more to what has already been found. Traditionally, sites are distinguished by
81-456: A new village rather than restoring the old, it is likely that most artifacts that survived the village's burning yet remain in situ . For these reasons, Kolmer is significant for its potential to yield information about the late Illini period, but its importance is greatly expanded because of its inhabitants' relationship with the French. As original artifacts from the site must be dated within
108-683: A sequence of natural geological or organic deposition, in the absence of human activity, to constitute a site worthy of study. Archaeological sites usually form through human-related processes but can be subject to natural, post-depositional factors. Cultural remnants which have been buried by sediments are, in many environments, more likely to be preserved than exposed cultural remnants. Natural actions resulting in sediment being deposited include alluvial (water-related) or aeolian (wind-related) natural processes. In jungles and other areas of lush plant growth, decomposed vegetative sediment can result in layers of soil deposited over remains. Colluviation ,
135-412: A site as well. Development-led archaeology undertaken as cultural resources management has the disadvantage (or the benefit) of having its sites defined by the limits of the intended development. Even in this case, however, in describing and interpreting the site, the archaeologist will have to look outside the boundaries of the building site. According to Jess Beck in "How Do Archaeologists Find Sites?"
162-453: A site worthy of study. Different archaeologists may see an ancient town, and its nearby cemetery as being two different sites, or as being part of the same wider site. The precepts of landscape archaeology attempt to see each discrete unit of human activity in the context of the wider environment, further distorting the concept of the site as a demarcated area. Furthermore, geoarchaeologists or environmental archaeologists would also consider
189-482: A third of a century, comparisons of Kolmer artifacts with artifacts from other French-influenced sites would enable archaeologists to gain a far clearer understanding of previously undated sites, while the significant changes inherent in the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to European-influenced civilization are also likely to appear in the site's artifacts. Finally, as the Kolmer Site was intimately connected to
216-500: Is a branch of survey becoming more and more popular in archaeology, because it uses different types of instruments to investigate features below the ground surface. It is not as reliable because although they can see what is under the surface of the ground, it does not produce the best picture. Archaeologists still have to dig up the area in order to uncover the truth. There are also two most common types of geophysical survey, which is, magnetometer and ground penetrating radar. Magnetometry
243-412: Is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record . Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground, to buildings and other structures still in use. Beyond this,
270-629: Is the technique of measuring and mapping patterns of magnetism in the soil. It uses an instrument called a magnetometer, which is required to measure and map traces of soil magnetism. The ground penetrating radar is a method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures. There are many other tools that can be used to find artifacts, but along with finding artifacts, archaeologists have to make maps. They do so by taking data from surveys, or archival research and plugging it into
297-782: The Kingdom of Great Britain . British dominion, in turn, was ended by the American Revolution : while the French settlers and local Indians were originally favorable toward the British, skillful manoeuvering by George Rogers Clark won the support of both populations for the Americans. The influence of the Catholic faith may have waned by this time, as Clark addressed the inhabitants of Kaskaskia and Cahokia using traditional religious terms instead of Christian words, and by
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#1732791229581324-516: The Michigamea . Here the flickering light of civilization grew for little more than thirty years before it was unexpectedly snuffed out: in 1752, a confederation of the Fox , Sioux , and Cherokees came up against the village suddenly, and although it had been fortified with a stockade , the inhabitants were unable to hold off the invaders. Many were savagely killed and numerous others captured, and
351-601: The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were discovered and explored for the first time, and claimed as part of New France . The earliest explorers were soon followed by Catholic Christian missionaries led by Jacques Gravier , who soon won converts among the Illini , and some of these praying Indians founded riverside villages at Cahokia , Kaskaskia , and Peoria . These villages were small by modern standards, although they remained comparable in size to European settlements in
378-524: The levee system that has been built to keep the river in its banks. Now used for agricultural purposes, the soil is a mixture of sandy humus and gumbo . The area's original character has been well preserved, due largely to the lack of modern development that it has experienced. Because of the suddenness of the attack that destroyed the village in 1752, the Michigamea are believed to have abandoned most of their possessions, and because they established
405-583: The area, and if they have the money and time for the site, they can start digging. There are many ways to find sites, one example can be through surveys. Surveys involve walking around analyzing the land and looking for artifacts. It can also involve digging, according to the Archaeological Institute of America, "archaeologists actively search areas that were likely to support human populations, or in places where old documents and records indicate people once lived." This helps archaeologists in
432-516: The area; according to letters by one missionary written in 1750, three Illini villages in the American Bottom together numbered fewer than eight hundred inhabitants, while the five French villages in the same region comprised eleven hundred Frenchmen and three hundred blacks. Established in 1720, the village at the present Kolmer Site was inhabited by a subgroup of the Illini known also as
459-573: The areas with numerous artifacts are good targets for future excavation, while areas with a small number of artifacts are thought to reflect a lack of past human activity. Many areas have been discovered by accident. The most common people who have found artifacts are farmers who are plowing their fields or just cleaning them up, and they often find archaeological artifacts. Many people who are out hiking and even pilots find artifacts, and they usually end up reporting them to archaeologists for further investigation. When they find sites, they have to first record
486-428: The burial of a site by sediments moved by gravity (called hillwash ) can also happen at sites on slopes. Human activities (both deliberate and incidental) also often bury sites. It is common in many cultures for newer structures to be built atop the remains of older ones. Urban archaeology has developed especially to deal with these sorts of site. Many sites are the subject of ongoing excavation or investigation. Note
513-428: The definition and geographical extent of a "site" can vary widely, depending on the period studied and the theoretical approach of the archaeologist. It is almost invariably difficult to delimit a site. It is sometimes taken to indicate a settlement of some sort, although the archaeologist must also define the limits of human activity around the settlement. Any episode of deposition, such as a hoard or burial, can form
540-841: The early nineteenth century Kaskaskia was home to numerous Protestant churches, such as the Episcopalians , the Baptists , and the Reformed Presbyterians . Nevertheless, the Kolmer residents' church endured: the parish of the Immaculate Conception in Kaskaskia survived the great nineteenth-century flood that saw the Mississippi abandon its banks and leave Kaskaskia an island on the western side of
567-420: The future. In case there is no time or money during the site's discovery, archaeologists can come back and visit the site for further digging to find out the extent of the site. Archaeologist can also sample randomly within a given area of land as another form of conducting surveys. Surveys are very useful, according to Jess Beck, "it can tell you where people were living at different points in the past." Geophysics
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#1732791229581594-624: The most prominent French settlements in the upper Mississippi valley, it is a critical component of a region without parallel in the United States for its preservation of colonial France, especially as the larger village of old Kaskaskia has lain under the Mississippi River since its course changed. In the spring of 1974, the Kolmer Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in two different ways. It
621-662: The other contributing properties are truly ancient sites such as the Modoc Rock Shelter and important French or French-influenced structures such as the Creole House , the Pierre Menard House , Fort de Chartres , and the site of Fort Kaskaskia , as well as the Waterman Site where the Michigamea lived after their first village was razed. Archaeological site An archaeological site
648-471: The presence of both artifacts and features . Common features include the remains of hearths and houses. Ecofacts , biological materials (such as bones, scales, and even feces) that are the result of human activity but are not deliberately modified, are also common at many archaeological sites. In the cases of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, a mere scatter of flint flakes will also constitute
675-403: The river, and although the village had fallen to a population of fourteen by the time of the 2010 census , Mass is still celebrated at the church weekly. When the Michigamea lived at the Kolmer Site, it sat on the riverbank along the Mississippi, but subsequent course changes have stranded the site from the river: it now lies a full mile (more than 1.5 km) away from the shoreline, behind
702-519: The survivors fled to Kaskaskia. The invaders withdrew, but only after burning the abandoned village; instead of rebuilding their destroyed homes, the Michigamea established a new village nearby at a location known to modern archaeologists as the Waterman Site. French dominion in the American Bottom ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, by which all lands east of the Mississippi were ceded to
729-584: Was individually added to the Register in early May, qualifying because of its archaeological significance, while one month previously it had been added as part of a large historic district . This district, the French Colonial Historic District , preserves 22 square miles (57 km) of land connected to early French settlement in the region, and the Kolmer Site was named one of its most significant contributing properties . Among
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