Registration of Archaeological Sites:
An Update       March 14, 2002
By Margo Hupe
Site reports were sent in to Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program last fall regarding this acreage. The nine previously unrecorded sites have now been added to
the record and each has received a permanent site designation number from the State of
Illinois. I will be writing these numbers on the artifacts that were found at each archaeological site so a permanent record stays with each item. 

This brings to mind the subject of what to do with the artifacts that I have collected, my uncle's artifacts, along with Don Schultz's artifacts that I purchased. I was originally going to leave my personal collection and my uncle's collection from Crete, Illinois, to my niece. Since learning more concerning archaeology and the importance of the archaeological record, I have done some serious rethinking on this subject. The Historical Society of Greater Peotone has now incorporated the prehistory in their interests and we would like to have a museum that would incorporate the artifacts along with the town's history. If this would not materialize, then I suppose that Will County or the State of Illinois should be the recipient of these collections so that there can be a permanent record of the archaeology of this general area housed somewhere safe for the use of future generations and study. 

So much of the older collections have already been lost to the record and much of what remains can only be assigned to a general area and not a specific site. These issues are making me think long and hard concerning the artifacts that are now in my possession. They don't really belong to me. They were made by individuals from a bygone age and though I am thrilled to find them I am only the caretaker at present. They tell a story of this area and need to be given to someone or some organization that will take good care of them also, and share the story with others after I am no longer here.

I would again like to publicly thank Mr. Dale McElrath and the staff at ITARP for all their help in this matter. The group not only took time off to teach Claude Werner and myself how to record sites, they have been very nice when I have made a few errors
along the way. Learning how to fill out the form and the information required has been
a real learning experience and Mary Simon and Dale McElrath have been most helpful...
and their patience with an amateur is much appreciated.

Margo Hupe

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