Artifacts from the Woodland Period are quite common in the Kaskaskia drainage. Virtually any stream will have one or more sites. Any sandy knoll in the Kaskaskia River bottom is littered with flint chips, fire-cracked rock, and, at least until fairly recently, potsherds. It is common to find sites containing  Woodland material along the edges of bluffs and at one time, I have been told by more than one old timer, there were numerous burial mounds on these bluffs. I know of two areas on the Kaskaskia that still have more or less intact mound complexes containing nearly thirty mounds each of various sizes and condition. These are on private property and the landowners are very protective of them. In addition to the riverine sites there is a
kettle-kame moraine south of Vandalia in Fayette County where I have found quite a few Woodland artifacts. I think this area was probably never a major settlement area as the sites are small, but was maybe used seasonally. Even today some of the old ponds have survived and still hold water. During the spring and fall they are a haven for ducks and geese, a resource I am sure was exploited. I have never found a "pure Woodland site". They are always found on sites that contain older Archaic sites and/or later Mississipian sites. I have, however, found two sites that are predominately Woodland. Both are bluff-top sites, one of which has produced classic Hopewell Snyders points and the other a late Hopewell site which produces mostly Lowe points. On both of these sites the predominate flint is Indiana Hornstone, indicating a southeast trade influence. Most of these sites have been farmed for many years, some for over a century. As a result all the different site material has been mixed together in the plow zone and it is often impossible to  determine if a point is archaic or woodland. Also many points and tools have been "recycled" by later people who found them in the course of digging storage pits or building huts. I have, however, found a few diagnostic point types, most notably Snyders points of the Middle Woodland Period. In addition to points, I have quite a number of celts, some of which are probably Mississippian. Since I usually find Mississippian points and pottery on these same sites I can't say for sure who they belonged to. There is also a wide variety of flint tools. One can only wonder what kind of bone tools and ornaments there were. The soil is too acidic for bone preservation and I have only one site that has ever produced bone. It has been  said that the Middle Woodland, or Hopewell Culture, was the "golden age of prehistory", and they did produce many beautiful artifacts from exotic material. I have never been fortunate enough to find any of this treasure. That stuff usually winds up with burials and I collect from habitation sites. Usually what I find is, quite literally, their trash. I suspect that at one time there was some spectacular finds on these sites but after as much as a hundred years of cultivation the best I have come up with in the artistic or ceremonial area is a broken gorget and a couple of discoidals.
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said that the Middle Woodland, or Hopewell Culture, was the "golden age of prehistory", and they did produce many beautiful artifacts from exotic material. I have never been fortunate enough to find any of this treasure. That stuff usually winds up with burials and I collect from habitation sites. Usually what I find is, quite literally, their trash. I suspect that at one time there was some spectacular finds on these sites but after as much as a hundred years of cultivation the best I have come up with in the artistic or ceremonial area is a broken gorget and a couple of discoidals.
