The Bottlemy Site (11MH495): an emerging and mature Late Woodland occupation in northeastern Illinois

The Bottlemy site (11MH495) is a well-preserved Late Woodland period site located in the remote uplands of northeastern Illinois. The site contains two horizontally discrete occupations: an emerging Late Woodland component (A.D. 425 ± 20) confined to the lower portions of an undisturbed A horizon, and an early-to-mature Late Woodland component (A.D. 870 ± 15) within a 10 cm-thick buried A horizon. Shallow features and artifact concentrations contain diagnostic ceramic and lithic materials in association with plant and animal remains. Although a handful of Late Woodland sites have undergone subsurface testing in the area, few of these have contained many intact features to speak of and none have contained an intact buried living surface as is present on the Bottlemy site. Information recovered from the site thus far suggests that while ceramic and lithic tool assemblages changed markedly within a 500 year period (from the emerging to mature Late Woodland periods), subsistence patterns may have remained relatively unchanged for groups living in this region.