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Archaeologists look to forest preserve for area history

There's treasure in Cook County's forest preserves, Paula Porubcan of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey says.

And archaeologists in August will make their way to preserves in the Northwest suburbs to survey land for pieces of Illinois history that could date back 10,000 years.

Cook forest preserves are home to at least 550 archaeological sites, and people have called the county home for the past 10,000 years, officials said.

"There were sites all over Chicago, and most were destroyed," Porubcan said. "The only way of knowing about the area's early inhabitants is by the information preserved in the forest preserves."

A team of archaeologists will survey parcels to determine locations of different historical sites. Porubcan says only 10 percent of forest preserve lands have been surveyed.

Director of Resource Management John McCabe says most people don't realize the history contained in the preserves.

"But right near your favorite picnic area are potentially historic resources," McCabe said.

Over thousands of years, many groups have called the area home, said Harper College Archaeology Professor Patricia Hamlen. Included in those groups were members of the Potawatomi, Fox and Miami American Indian nations.

Hamlen says it's hard to tell what the archaeologists will find, but projects like this often turn up arrowheads and broken pottery.

The project is a group effort among The Prairie Research Institute's State Archaeological Survey, Illinois State Water Survey and the Forest Preserves of Cook County, and is outlined in the forest preserve's Natural and Cultural Resources Master Plan, released in 2014.

Archaeologists already have uncovered settlement sites in South suburban preserves.

They've also found small campsites where groups of people stayed for days or weeks at a time.

But there's still more to uncover.

"In general, there are sites from every time period from 10,000 years ago when people first came to northeastern Illinois up until now," Porubcan said.

While findings may not all be made public to protect the sites from damage, they will be recorded with the Cook County Forest Preserve. With the information, the forest preserve can avoid the archaeological sites when planning recreational developments.

"If we found something of great public interest, we'd have to find a way to present it to the public in a controlled environment," McCabe said. "And that's where our work with Prairie Research Institute on policies and guidelines comes in."

Porubcan says the archaeological survey's part of the plan doesn't have a specific end date, but is an ongoing effort.

"There's always things to be learned and things to be protected," Porubcan said. "So there's no end to that."

Halley McLean with the Prairie Research Institute runs soil through a screen in the South Suburban Cook County Forest Preserve archaeological dig. courtesy of the forest preserves of cook county
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