Woodland habitations in the interior of Western Illinois: a view from White bend

This book breaks new ground in Woodland studies within the interior of west-central Illinois, presenting a comprehensive report on several of the poorly known Woodland cultures in the LaMoine Valley. Beginning with a late Middle Woodland society around AD 250 and ending with late Late Woodland inhabitants at ca. AD 900, at least five different groups (consisting of late Middle Woodland, two Weaver, Adams variant, and unnamed late Late Woodland peoples) occupied the White Bend site intermittently over that 650-year period. While some of these features are scattered across the site area, the earlier Weaver features are arranged in a semicircular pattern around a plaza area that is generally devoid of pits from that time. This feature arrangement, as well as the botanical and faunal assemblages, indicates that the earlier Weaver occupation was permanent and year-round. In addition to discussions on feature distribution\morphology and activity areas (including a siltstone pipe manufacturing locus), highlights include thorough analyses of the extensive lithic, ceramic, faunal, and floral assemblages (the lithic, ceramic, and faunal materials alone total 447,000 items). The book concludes with an in-depth discussion of Weaver in the LaMoine Valley that draws in data from numerous Weaver sites in the area and allows for the definition of two Weaver phases (Camp Creek and Crooked Creek) in the valley and its upland margins. Illustrated with more than 100 figures and containing links to 25 online appendices, this report is a welcome and necessary addition for those researchers interested in the Woodland period of Illinois and the Midwest in general.