Archaeology students dig into history

On Monday, June 2, 12 students from Northern Illinois University, Oakton College, and North Central College began excavating the culturally rich Boat Stone Grove site on the grounds of Macktown Living History, 2221 Freeport Road, Rockton, Illinois.

Under the instruction of Dr. Chris Davis, an archaeology educator at McHenry Community College, students searched for evidence that Native Americans once lived at the Boat Stone site. They were looking for historic and cultural evidence beneath the Earth's surface. The team found small limestone chunks and lapidary evidence of jasper and agate, as well as bottles from early settlers. They also found stones and chert. The stones and chert may have been used by Native Americans to create weapons.

"What they did not find was pottery or evidence of hearths," archaeologist Dr. Chris Davis said, which indicates that villagers may have lived nearby during this period, but not on the Boat Stone Grove site. "The area was probably used for stone workshops." In 2023, a nearby excavation of the Late Woodland period found pottery shards from the Effigy Mound building people, but mostly evidence of stone tools.

Davis teaches archaeology at McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, Illinois. He directed the field school at Macktown. Davis said the goal of the dig was to teach students what an archaeologist does, the history of the site, and how to set up an excavation.

Archaeologist Dr. Zack Nazer worked with the students processing artifacts. Professor Nazer works for the Illinois Archaeological Survey, which is dedicated to preserving and identifying archaeological resources.

Peter Czyzewski has assisted at digs for several years. He has years of volunteer experience helping out wherever he is needed at Macktown.

After two weeks of hard work, students learned that excavating an archaeological dig is tedious, methodical, and dirty work, but can also be rewarding.