Clear Lake Site is an archaeological site located in Sand Ridge State Park from Manito,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The site was occupied for the majority of the period from 500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.; cultures which have occupied the site include the Early Woodland, Havana Hopewell, and Mississippian. The site consists of a village area and two burial

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

archaeologists conducted the first excavations at the site in 1932. Significant further excavations were conducted by George and Ethel Schoenbeck of the Peoria Academy of Science; the couple recovered 24,000

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

shards from the site which represent every pottery type found in

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...

. The Illinois State Museum, which received all artifacts recovered by the Schoenbecks, conducted its own excavations at the site in the 1950s.Maruszak, Kathleen. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Clear Lake Site''.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, 1977-01. The site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on November 28, 1978.

Notes

{{NRHP Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Geography of Mason County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Mason County, Illinois Mounds in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Tazewell County, Illinois

See also

Notes