Dickson mounds

[mainejman]

As a kid growing up in Henry Illinois.A small river town on the Illinois river.My days were filled with baseball,cubscouts,and bullhead fishing on the river with my family.Dont get much simpler than that.My dad took us to Dickson mounds.This was in the mid-sixties.Putting me at about seven or eight years old.The sights i saw there were pretty horrific .To a kid of that age archaeology was not on my list of things to know.Im sure the museum had lots of interesting artifacts and information all lost to me.What it did have was SKELETONS and lots of them.I wont go into the history of the mounds or all the controversy they caused.But it is very interesting and i would recommend those who arent familiar with its story to check it out.I would be interested in peoples input on the moral issues surrounding this magnificent archaeological site.While visiting my parents this holday.I came across a photograph purchased at the museum.Gone are my childhood feelings of fear and amazement.They are replaced with a certain amount of disgust.Anyways check it out on line.See what you think...

 

[jamey]

and to think the white man called them savages.

 

[Red Earth]

I live near dickson mounds. Been there many times

 

[outlawatheart]

do they allow showing of human remains now a days? I think if they can be attributed to their ancestry that they cannot be displayed...seems like I heard that somewhere lol.

 

[Red Earth]

They have that exhibit covered by a kind of tarp wall. If that makes any sense. Lol

 

[mainejman]

Thats what they settled on? Im not sure thats sufficient in my opinion.I read that they were going to fill it in.I also read that between the Smithsonian and other museums they have over 600,000 skelaton remains.Thats alot of bones .I would think by now that any useful information that could be used both archaelogically and medically would have been gotten.The question is,in my mind when they would be finally laid to rest and how.

 

[IlliniGuy]

I know more than a little about Dickson Mound. I first visited it in 1961 with my parents and have been there many times since. It was treated as a reverent place, no cameras and loud behavior would get you a fast exit. Please, for those of you not old enough, the attitudes were much different back then. The three Dickson brothers opened the burial chamber in 1927. The 253 souls buried there were left completely in situ with no artifacts removed. I am in no way trying to justify the previous situation just giving some facts. When the burial chamber was closed by our Gov. Edgar in 1992, the graves were covered with a wooden layer to protect it and then a concrete cap. This was all negotiated with Native American representatives. It is still an amazing place to visit with a fine museum and several covered dwellings that have been excavated.