Modoc Rock Shelter

Significant dates
Modoc Rock Shelter
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Part of the site
Location	Randolph County, Illinois, USA
Nearest city	Modoc, Illinois
Architect	Natural Feature
Architectural style	Prehistoric Erosion
NRHP Reference #	66000328
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966^[1]
Designated NHL	January 20, 1961^[2]

Modoc Rock Shelter is a rock cliff at the edge of the Mississippi River Valley that was undercut by Ice Age floods. This site is significant for its archaeological evidence of the Archaic period in the Eastern United States. The site has over 28 feet of sediment that contain artifacts. Evidence from the site, including four separate periods of Archaic occupation and one of a later period, suggests that the cultures of the Eastern Woodlands may have been comparable in age to the big game hunting cultures of the Great Plains. Based on the analysis of artifacts, archaeologists discovered that 9,000 years ago this rock shelter was used as a short-term camp by small hunting groups; by 6,000 years ago this rock shelter was used for long-term based camps by several families which were involved in activities of everyday life; and, by around 4,000 years ago evidence found in the sediment layers suggests the site was again used by small hunting parties as a short-term camp.^[3] There tools included concave projectile points, scrapers, choppers, hammer stones, and bone awls. Evidence has shown that during occupation, the inhabitants had a diet that consisted of deer, raccoon, opossum, birds, and fish.

Many of the footpaths leading to these caves still exist, although they are almost impossible to access due to deterioration.

The Modoc Rock Shelter site was discovered in 1951 by archaeologist Irwin Peithmann, who is known for teaching himself about the customs of Native Americans by living among them. The site is a rock cliff located in the Mississippi River Valley.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.^[2]

References

↑ Staff (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
1 2 "Modoc Rock Shelter". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
↑ "Illinois State Museum". Retrieved October 11, 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 38°03′46″N 90°03′49″W / 38.06278°N 90.06361°W / 38.06278; -90.06361

Pre-Columbian North America

Periods Lithic Archaic Formative Classic Post-Classic

Archaeological cultures	Adena Alachua Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) Baytown Belle Glade Buttermilk Creek Complex Caborn-Welborn Calf Creek Caloosahatchee Clovis Coles Creek Deptford Folsom Fort Ancient Fort Walton Fremont Glacial Kame Glades Hohokam Hopewell List of Hopewell sites Leon-Jefferson Mississippian List of Mississippian sites Mogollon Monongahela Old Cordilleran Oneota Paleo-Arctic Paleo-Indians Patayan Plano Plaquemine Poverty Point Red Ocher Santa Rosa-Swift Creek St. Johns Steed-Kisker Tchefuncte Tocobaga Troyville

Archaeological sites	Angel Mounds Bandelier National Monument The Bluff Point Stoneworks Cahokia Casa Grande Chaco Canyon Coso Rock Art District Crystal River Archaeological State Park Eaker Effigy Mounds National Monument Etowah Indian Mounds Eva Folsom Site Fort Ancient Fort Center Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Holly Bluff Site Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Kincaid Mounds Kolomoki Mounds Marksville Meadowcroft Rockshelter Mesa Verde Moorehead Circle Moundville Mummy Cave Nodena Site Ocmulgee National Monument Old Stone Fort Parkin Park Pinson Mounds Portsmouth Earthworks Poverty Point Pueblo Bonito Recapture Canyon Rock Eagle Rock Hawk Russell Cave National Monument Salmon Ruins Serpent Mound Spiro Mounds SunWatch Taos Pueblo Toltec Mounds Town Creek Indian Mound Winterville Wupatki National Monument

Miscellaneous	Black drink Buhl Woman Ceremonial pipe Chunkey Clovis point Container Revolution Eastern Agricultural Complex Eden point Effigy mound Falcon dancer Folsom point Green Corn Ceremony Horned Serpent Kennewick Man Kiva Medicine wheel Metallurgy Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing Mound Builders N.A.G.P.R.A. Norse colonization of the Americas Piasa Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Stickball Three Sisters agriculture Thunderbird Underwater panther

Related Genetic history Portal of Indigenous peoples of North America Pre-Columbian era

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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Category Portal WikiProject

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Modoc Rock Shelter

See also

References

External links