Schurr, Mark R. (Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame)
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF SETTLEMENT PATTERN CHANGE ALONG THE KANKAKEE MARSH:
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL DATA FROM
LAPORTE COUNTY
Over the last three millennia, the Kankakee Valley of northwestern Indiana has
witnessed three distinct episodes of agricultural intensification when the human
inhabitants of the valley increased their reliance on cultivated crops. The first
of these began during the Early Woodland period (between 700 and 200 B.C.) and
reached its peak during the following Middle Woodland period (200 B.C. to A.D.
350) when prehistoric Native Americans domesticated several species of indigenous
seed-bearing annual plants and intensely harvested (and perhaps cultivated) non-
domesticated plants as well. The second period of agricultural intensification
also occurred during the prehistoric period when maize (corn, or Zea mays), a
plant originally domesticated in Mexico, was introduced into North America sometime
after A.D. 500 (during the Late Woodland period). By A.D. 1000, maize agriculture
was well-established in the region, and aboriginal subsistence practices depended
on the production and consumption of maize as the single most important dietary
staple. The third and final episode of agricultural intensification began during
the Historic Period when populations of European descent (both Euroamericans and
European immigrants) began to enter the Kankakee Valley in large numbers around
A.D. 1830. The introduction of intensive, European-style agriculture into the
region caused dramatic changes in the ecosystem, with wholesale deforestation,
plowing of the prairies on the uplands north of the marsh, and the eventual drainage
of the Kankakee marsh in the early twentieth century to convert what was once
an enormous wetland into some of the most productive agricultural land in Indiana.
During the 1992-1993 academic year, a field crew from the Department of Anthropology,
University of Notre Dame, conducted field reconnaissance surveys, reviewed historic
records, and interviewed residents of LaPorte County, Indiana. These activities
were conducted to obtain new information about human adaptations to the Kankakee
marsh ecosystem over the past 3,000 years. Site locations obtained during this
project were used to explore how human adaptation to the Kankakee ecosystem changed
over time in relation to agricultural intensification. One result of this study
was the development of an updated chronological framework for the prehistoric
cultures of the region over the last 3,000 years
(Table 5). This framework provides a summary of the occupations of the region
and indicates where additional investigations are needed.
According to the results of this study, the largely pre- agricultural Early Woodland
period (700 - 200 B.C.) inhabitants of the region primarily occupied marsh islands
and dispersed to small sites in the uplands during the wetter months of the year.
The introduction of domesticated plants into the region led to intensified use
of the marsh and to the concentration of sedentary populations in uplands immediately
adjacent to the marsh. These trends first appeared during the Middle Woodland
period around 200 B.C. The same trends were significant during the Pioneer period
when the first Euro American settlers established farms and towns on the prairie
margins to the north of the Kankakee marsh (Figure
18). This settlement pattern is remarkably similar to that of the Middle Woodland
period (200 B.C. to A.D. 400) and is still maintained today.
The long-term similarities in settlement patterns over the last 3,000 years suggest
that human societies practicing very different types of agriculture face similar
constrains on their settlement patterns within the region. This study also shows
that understanding the prehistory and early history of the region can help us
to better understand modern uses of the Kankakee Marsh ecosystem.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by a Survey and Planning Grant from the U.S. Department
of the Interior. The grant was administered by the Division of Historic Preservation
and Archaeology, Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Additional support was
provided by the University of Notre Dame. The project could not have been completed
without the help of the many residents of LaPorte County who provided us with
information and permission to conduct field surveys. I am also grateful to Jeff
Sutliff, my assistant during the course of the project. He participated in field
surveys, studies of historic records, and organized the artifact collections and
reams of required paperwork. The students of Notre Dame's Department of Anthropology
1993 Archaeology Field School also participated in some of the field surveys.
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