ThePlum Island Eagle Sanctuary (Plum Island) is a 52-acre island in theIllinois River owned by the IllinoisAudubon Society.[1] It was purchased March 24, 2004, to act as a wildlife sanctuary[1] and to protect foraging habitat for winteringbald eagles.[2] It is close toMatthiessen State Park and adjacent toStarved Rock State Park.
Remains found on Plum Island date to around 2000 BC.[3] The large number of human remains of the island have led to it being called "Massacre Island"; another former name is Wooded Island.[4]
In 1950, the park acquired a state charter to use the island as an airstrip known as Starved Rock Airpark.[5] Acable car shuttled visitors from the park to the island, where they could go on a plane ride for a fee. Severe flooding destroyed the cable car infrastructure in 1970. Plane rides stopped being offered in 1975, with the airstrip finally closing just before 1980.[6]
When purchased in 2002, it had been slated by developers for development of fifty high-priced homes, and fully half of the island would have been bulldozed, destroying both bald eagle habitat and Native American burial sites.[7] Audubon Society and its supporters successfully prevented Plum Island from being developed into a resort area and upscale condominiums.The group of supporters who accomplished this was led by theIllinois Audubon Society with substantial support from Friends of Plum Island, Midwest SOARRING Foundation, Starved Rock Audubon Society, Eagle Nature Foundation, Save Our American Raptors, theSierra Club of Illinois, and then Illinois Lt. Governor (later Governor)Pat Quinn.
Funds to purchase the island were provided by a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.The Trust For Public Land also assisted with the purchase by negotiating with the developers and other legal aspects.
After acquiring the island, the Illinois Audubon Society gained the support of Living Lands and Waters, a river cleanup group led byChad Pregracke. LL&W removed unsightly buildings and structures from the island during a month-long effort, hauling away the debris on their barge.
TheIllinois Environmental Protection Agency provided a small grant to help fund removal of debris, old cabins and a boat from the island.[8]
The island is closed to the public, except for restoration activities.[9] The Illinois Audubon Society wanted to save the island for the eagles, to preserve the scenic view from Starved Rock, and to protect the Native American archaeological sites which are there.[9]
The first release of rehabilitated eagles at the sanctuary occurred on November 12, 2011.[10][1] Two juvenile bald eagles were rescued on June 2, 2011, after their nest fell 85 feet in a windstorm at the Mooseheart facility nearBatavia, Illinois. They were rescued and raised by the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation organization and were released back to the wild at Plum Island to blend with the current eagle population.[10][1]
| Plum Island Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | on theIllinois River in LaSalle County,Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°19′17″N88°59′25″W / 41.32139°N 88.99028°W /41.32139; -88.99028 |
| Area | 3 acres |
  Location in United States Show map of the United States | |
ThePlum Island Site (Ls-2) is located in theIllinois River nearStarved Rock, LaSalle County,Illinois, in the vicinity of theHotel Plaza site and the Zimmerman site (akaGrand Village of the Illinois). It is a multi-component site representing prehistoric,Protohistoric and earlyHistoric periods, with the main occupation being a late Prehistoric to early Historic component withUpper Mississippian affiliation.[11]
Excavations took place in 1930 under the auspices of theUniversity of Illinois and overseen byArthur Randolph Kelly. A total of 7,316artifacts was collected, but the site report was not done until 1964 when Gloria Fenner of the University of Illinois did a Master's Thesis and followed it up with an article in theIllinois Archaeological Survey. Unfortunately, in the interim between excavation and the report, many of the artifacts were misplaced and some stratigraphic information was lost.[11]
Excavations at the site yielded prehistoric andHistoric artifacts, pitfeatures,burials, animal bone and plant remains.[11]
Several prehistoric and Historic components were identified at the site:[11]
There were no house structures noted at the site. However, the entire site was honeycombed with pitfeatures, totaling 470, some of them overlapping. Three types were recognized: refuse pits,firepits and "unidentified" or uncategorized. Up to fourteen burials were also excavated, with four of them having grave goods.[11]
The refuse pits were thought to have first been storage pits that were converted into refuse pits once their contents began to sour. They contained animal bone, charcoal and artifacts.[11]
The firepits appear to correspond to what has ethnographically been described as "macoupin roasting pits" by the early French explorers Deliette andLaSalle and described from theZimmerman site.[11][12] The macoupins are apparentlytubers from a species ofwater lily, perhaps the American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea).[12] Tubers of Nelumbo lutea have been recovered from similar roasting pits at the Elam[13] andSchwerdt[14][15] sites on theKalamazoo River in westernMichigan; and tubers of the white water lily (Nymphaea tuberosa) have been recovered from roasting pits at theGriesmer site in northwesternIndiana.[16] This particular cooking technique may have been used prehistorically for several species of similar water lilies, or other similar root plants. No tubers were specifically recovered from the Plum Island site, however. This may be due to the fact that there was no systematic effort by the excavators to collect plant remains.
Fourteen possible burials were investigated during the 1930 excavation. Several burials were found at depths of less than 1.5 feet (0.46 m), with at least two burials in pits between 3 feet (0.91 m) and 5.25 feet (1.60 m). The original field notes are described by Fenner as "confused". She proposes that 8 burials were excavated. In addition to these burials, Kelly notes the following in his 1930 field notes.
"Grim reminiscences of the destruction of the Illinois Indian town and the massacre of some of the inhabitants on the spot were uncovered in the first year of exploration, in the form of charred wood and unburied skeletons strewn about on the old site of the village just a few inches below the present surface of the plowed field."
No photographs or detailed descriptions of these remains were present in the assemblage of data from the 1930 excavation[11]
Remains from a wide variety of species were recovered from the site. The main species present werefish (especiallychannel catfish andfreshwater drum),deer,elk,raccoon,beaver,dog,turtle,snails and fresh watermussels. In addition,bison,mink andbobcat were recovered in smaller amounts.[11] These remains were not modified into tools like the bone tools described in the Artifacts section below, and may be considered food remains or, in the case of the dog, the remains of ceremonial activities. Dog sacrifice and dog meat consumption was observed to have ceremonial and religious implications in early Native American tribes.[18][19]
Plant remains were not systematically collected via theflotation technique as that did not become standard archaeological practice until the 1970s. The excavators did however recovermaize in the form of kernels and corncobs. The maize was an earlier type than that found at theZimmerman site.[11]
Archaeologists often findpottery to be a very useful tool in analyzing a prehistoric culture. It is usually very plentiful at a site and the details of manufacture and decoration are very sensitive indicators of time, space andculture.[20]
No whole or completely reconstructable vessels were found at the site. Therefore, the researchers looked primarily at rim sherds and distinctive body sherds to analyze the pottery.
TheEarly andMiddle Woodland periods are represented by a small scattering of pottery at Plum Island. The Early Woodland is represented by Marion Thick, the first pottery ever made in this part of North America, and traces of a few other early types. The Middle Woodland is represented by Havana Ware and Naples Ware, among others.[11] The Havana Culture was thought to be a local variant of the more prominent Middle Woodland cultures such as theAdena andHopewell cultures of the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. Middle Woodland cultures are characterized by their largeburial mounds, some of which are still visible today; as well as their distinctive pottery forms,ceremonial practices,agricultural activities, and widespreadtrade networks.[21]
A total of 6,989 sherds were collected from the site, of which 6,838 were assigned to theUpper Mississippian component at Plum Island.[11]
Two types of pottery were found within this component; shelltempered Fisher ware and grit-tempered Langford ware (which is grit-tempered).[11]
Fisher Ware was first described at the Fisher Mound site in northeasternIllinois near the mouth of theIllinois River.[22][12][23] It has also been noted at theAnker[24] andHoxie Farm[25] sites near Chicago, Illinois.
This pottery is characterized by shell tempered, globular vessels withcordmarked surfaces and straight to excurved rim profile. Decoration, when present, consists of trailed or incised decoration forming arches and festoons, often combined with punctates. Notched lips and rim lugs are also common.[11][12][23]
Three types of Fisher ware were reported:[11]
Langford Ware was also first reported at the Fisher site, and has also been found at the nearbyZimmerman and Gentleman Farm sites. It is a grit-tempered ware usually with smoothed surface. Decoration, when present, consists of incised and trailed lines, punctates and finger impressions, combined to form arches and festoons. Rim profile is excurved and sometimes collared. Lugs and loop handles are present on some vessels and nodes are also sometimes present.[11][12][23]
The following types of Langford Ware were reported:[11]
Non-pottery artifacts recovered from the site included:[11]
The non-pottery artifacts found at an archaeological site can provide usefulcultural context as well as a glimpse into the domestic tasks performed at a site; ceremonial or religious activities; recreational activities; and clothing or personaladornment.[26]
Some of the most prominent and diagnostic non-pottery artifacts are presented here in more detail:
| Material | Description | Image | Qty | Function / use | Comments / associations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipped stone | Small triangular points (aka Madison point) |  | 3 | Hunting/fishing/warfare | Also known as "arrowheads"; are thought to be arrow-tips forbows-and-arrows. The usage of the bow-and-arrow seems to have greatly increased after AD 1000, probably as a result of increased conflict.[21][27] |
| Bone | Game counter |  | 1 | Entertainment function | These have been found at Fisher, Huber, Langford andOneota (especially Grand River focus and Lake Winnebago focus) sites and may have been used in agambling game.[16] Gambling was noted to be a popular pastime among the earlyNative American tribes.[19][18] |
| Bone | Harpoon |  | 1 | Fishing function | Similar harpoons made of bone or antler have been recovered from otherUpper Mississippian sites in theMidwest, including Fisher,Fifield andOak Forest.[22][16][11][28][29] |
| Bone | Beamer |  | 1 | Domestic function / de-hairing hides | Commonly found atUpper Mississippian sites in northernIllinois.[16] |
The Plum Island site reflects a series of occupations going back thousands of years, but the main occupation consists of a late prehistoricUpper Mississippian component. This component apparently lasts until theProtohistoric or earlyHistoric period based on theEuropean trade goods present at the site.[11]
No house structures were present at the site, but the presence of numerous pitfeatures indicates intensive occupation took place, possibly to harvest and roast plants like macoupins in the fire pits. Very littlebison bone was found in the food remains, possibly because bison were not present until after AD 1600 in most ofIllinois.[11][23]
The trait list of Plum Island was compared to that of other sites in Illinois to gauge regional relationships in material culture. It was found that Plum Island shared 79% of traits with the Heally Component at theZimmerman site; 75% with the Fisher Period B; and 67% with the Gentleman Farm site. The trait lists combined all attributes including pottery, other artifacts, features, plant remains and animal remains.[11]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)41°19′32″N88°59′49″W / 41.32544°N 88.99698°W /41.32544; -88.99698
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