AE Harmon facts for kids

The AE Harmon site is an ancient place where people lived a long, long time ago. It was used during several different time periods: the Archaic, Late Woodland, Emergent Mississippian, and Mississippian periods. This important archaeological site is located near the American Bottom area in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Archaeologists have dug at AE Harmon three times. One dig happened in the 1990s, and two more in the early 2000s. These digs uncovered many interesting things, like old tools, pottery, and plant remains. These finds help us understand how people lived and what they ate. Scientists believe AE Harmon was a place where people grew their own food, a practice called horticulture.

Digging Up the Past

In 1990, a team from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) did a small test dig, called a shovel-test, at the site. They found part of a structure shaped like a keyhole, which was from the Late Woodland Period.

Later, in 2000, another team from the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program (ITARP) dug near AE Harmon. They found evidence from the Late Woodland, Emergent Mississippian, and Mississippian Periods.

The biggest dig happened in 2002, when students from the SIUE archaeology field school worked at AE Harmon. They explored a small part of the site, about 0.2% of it. During this dig, they uncovered eight special areas, called "features." The students found new evidence about ancient plants, which showed that people lived and used the site during the Late Woodland and Emergent Mississippian Periods.

What Was Found

During the 2002 digs by the SIUE archaeology field school, eight main features were explored. These features were like clues that helped archaeologists understand the past.

Feature 101 (F101)

Feature 101 was a deep pit, about 50 centimeters (20 inches) deep. It was on the western side of the site. This pit had dark soil, lots of organic material, and many artifacts. Archaeologists found pottery from the Late Woodland period here. They think it was first used to store food, and then later became a place to throw away trash.

Feature 102 (F102)

This pit was on the eastern side of the site and was even deeper, about 75 centimeters (30 inches). Like F101, it had dark, rich soil and many artifacts. Pottery from the Late Woodland and Late Woodland Sponemann phase (around 750-800 CE) was found here. These pots had special marks, like "Z-twist" cord-markings, which helped archaeologists date them. Several arrow points from the Late Woodland-Emergent Mississippian period were also found in this pit.

Feature 103 (F103)

Feature 103 was not a pit, but a small structure on the eastern side of the site. It looked like a keyhole because it had a ramp for entry and 25 post molds. Post molds are marks left in the ground where wooden posts once stood, showing where walls might have been. This structure was found when archaeologists were expanding the dig around F102. Many types of pottery, like vessels, jars, and stump-ware, were found in the middle of the structure. A piece of a pot rim with Sponemann markings was also found. This suggests that F103 and nearby features, like F102, were from the Sponemann phase.

Feature 104 (F104)

Feature 104 was a shallow pit, only about 10 centimeters (4 inches) deep, on the western side. It had light-colored soil and fire-cracked rock (FCR). FCR is rock that has been heated in a fire and then cracked, often used in cooking or heating. Only a few pieces of pottery were found here, which archaeologists think might have fallen in by accident. Because there were so few artifacts and the soil was pale, this pit is believed to be from the much older Archaic period.

Feature 105 (F105)

Similar to F104, this pit was also shallow, had pale soil, and contained FCR. It was the third pit found on the western side of the site. This pit was also dated to the Archaic period.

Feature 106 (F106)

Feature 106 was the deepest pit on the eastern side, about 46 centimeters (18 inches) deep. It was similar to F101 and F102, with dark, rich soil and many artifacts. Pottery from the Late Woodland period was found here. It was likely used for storage and then became a trash pit as new people settled in the area. One unique pot rim from the Late Woodland Patrick phase (650-900 AD) was found, but it was likely mixed in from another area. Some "bloated pottery" suggests this feature was also used for making pottery during the Sponemann phase.

Feature 107 (F107)

No artifacts were found in Feature 107, which was on the eastern side. It appeared to be the result of an earlier shovel-test from a previous excavation.

Feature 108 (F108)

Feature 108 was a deeper pit, about 30 centimeters (12 inches) deep, located on the eastern side. Like F104 and F105, it had pale soil and FCR. However, it also contained several cobble stones not found in the other two. Because there was no pottery and the soil was pale, archaeologists believe this feature also dates back to the Archaic period.

Other Finds

In the "plow zone" (the top layer of soil disturbed by farming), archaeologists found arrow points. These suggest that the people at AE Harmon hunted during the Late Woodland period, in addition to growing food. Other tools like "hoe flakes" (pieces of stone from hoes) were also found, supporting the idea that they were farmers. Flake tools, manos (grinding stones), and hammerstones were also recovered. These tools show that people made stone tools and processed food throughout all the time periods the site was used.

Ancient Plant Life

Even though the 2002 dig was small, archaeologists used a special method called flotation to find tiny plant remains. Flotation involves using water to separate light plant bits from heavier soil. This gave them lots of paleoethnobotanical evidence, which is the study of ancient plants. Not all pits had plant remains, as they were used for different things.

Wood

The most common type of wood found at the site was oak. Different kinds of oak, like white oak and red oak, were found as charcoal in Sponemann phase features (F102, F103, F106). Red oak was the most common. Other woods like elm, hackberry, black walnut, butternut, sycamore, and sassafras were also present. Features from the Edelhardt phase (1000-1050 AD) had very little wood charcoal.

Nutshells

Acorn shells were the most common type of nutshell found, especially in F106. In one layer of F106, 139 acorn samples were found! Before the Late Woodland period, acorns were not as common in this area. Archaeologists think people might have preferred other nuts because acorns needed extra work to prepare. Other nutshells found included thick-shelled hickory and black walnut.

Seeds

Many seeds were found in the Sponemann phase features (F102, F103, F106). These included erect knotweed and maygrass, which are believed to have been grown by people. Other seeds like goosefoot, little barley, purslane, blackberry, and raspberry were also found. In the Edelhardt phase F103, goosefoot was the most common seed. New cultigens (plants grown by people) and edible seeds found in F103 included sunflower, bean family plants, panic grass, rush, prickly mallow, and nightshade.

Gourds and Squash

Small pieces of rinds from cucurbitaceae (like gourds or squash) were found in both Sponemann and Edelhardt phase features. It's unusual to find these, as squash usually doesn't preserve well unless special steps were taken. It's also not certain if these plants were native to the AE Harmon area.

Corn (Maize)

Only a small amount of corn (maize) was found: one kernel in F106 (Sponemann phase) and one embryo and seven kernel pieces in F103 (Edelhardt phase). The kernel in F106 might have been moved there by natural processes, like animal digging. Even a small amount of corn is important for the American Bottom area. It shows a shift from families growing their own food to more communal food systems. Corn is often linked to Sponemann groups, suggesting they might have brought it to the area. Families with fewer resources were often the first to try growing corn.

Why This Site Matters

Even though the 2002 dig was small, the amount of artifacts and plant remains found was very important. It clearly shows that AE Harmon was used for a long time, from the Archaic period all the way through the Mississippian periods. The way the site was used changed over time. Studying all these findings helps archaeologists understand how people settled and used the land. It's good to remember that these digs were small, so the findings might mostly represent only a small part of the entire site.

• Julie Zimmermann Holt, Toshia Evans, Marge Schroeder, Shannon L. Moore & Cassandra Buskohl (2010) Late Woodland-Emergent Mississippian Occupation and Plant Use at the AE Harmon Site (11MS136), Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 35:1, 57–90, DOI: 10.1179/ mca.2010.004