After less than a week of excavations, an archaeological dig along the tree-filled banks of the Kankakee River in Porter County (Indiana, USA) produced artifacts dating back nearly 8,000 years. Leading the all-volunteer group of diggers was Mark Schurr, head of the anthropology department at the University of Notre Dame. This is Schurr's fifth year returning to the Collier Lodge site just south of Kouts. Since Schurr began conducting the digs with the Kankakee Valley Historical Society, his group has found tens of thousands of artifacts from various time periods, including arrowheads, pottery, archaic points and animal bones. With an overall goal of getting a glimpse into 10,000 years of Porter County history, every artifact adds another piece to the story.
     During last year's dig, the group discovered a dense concentration of animal bones, which Schurr believed to be part of a fur trading camp. This year, the group found a second area with various animal remains from a different time period. Identifying the bones could take up to a year, however, as the remnants are sent off to specialists to be identified.
     Because the site is at a part of the Kankakee River that was more easily crossed than others, the land was used for many millennia as camp sites and settlements. This helps explain the immense number of artifacts found from this 3/4-acre piece of land.

Source: nwi.com (27 July 2007)