Local collections can be a big source of information. Many of these collections reside in Museums, Historical Societies, and in the hands of private collectors and finders.
Here we detail some of the local collections and finds that have helped add to our understanding of the past use of the landscape that we now call Chicago. We use this information to help us predict where additional sites that merit attention or preservation may be located.
Butkis Collection
As Chicago, Cook County and the surrounding region have developed throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, archeology enthusiasts have collected and helped preserve pieces of the archaeological record. One such collector, Ed Butkus, who has been working in the region for over 50 years, has recently donated his documentation to the Illinois State Archaeology Survey. Over the years, he has carefully documented his collection, writing site summaries, recording locational data, and photographing corresponding artifacts. As part of the First Peoples Project, we will be using these records to document previously unrecorded sites and add to the existing record. Without this thorough documentation, most importantly locational data, the information these artifacts can provide to researchers would be completely lost. So far, his records have contributed 7 new paleo and early archaic sites within Cook County alone and contributed additional knowledge to 8 other later sites. Now, we are using his work in surrounding counties to identify which landforms and environments Paleo peoples were drawn to and to identify where those remain within Cook County and the Forest Preserves.
