Daily Village Life

Daily Village Life. . , Historic Accounts , Several early explorers left accounts of Illinois lifeways. Foremost among these was Sieur Pierre Deliette, nephew of Henri de Tonti, who lived in the Illinois Country for over 3o years between 1687 and ca. 1721. His memoir of 1705 is invaluable. , Subsistence/Seasonal Round , Illinois subsistence was based on a seasonal migratory round of hunting, planting, and harvesting. In March or April, the Illinois returned to their summer village from winter camp. They planted their crops and stayed in the village until the corn, beans, and squash were well established. In June, many occupants then went off on summer hunt, returning in July to harvest their crops. They stayed in the village until November, when they split into small groups and went to winter camps. Winter camps were not far away, since corn and other crops were stored in houses at the village and they returned frequently to replenish supplies. , Settlements , Summer settlements (like the Iliniwek Village) were often large, containing several types of structures; longhouses for extended families, small oval houses for individual families, small round structures and large round houses. Houses were built by sinking posts into the ground, bending them, and tying them at the top. Smaller wooden supports were placed between the posts, and cattail mats covered the top of the frame. Mats also covered interior walls and the house floor. As houses were often hot in the summertime, arbors (a roofed structure with no walls) were often added. , Material Culture , The Illinois used the raw materials around them to produce utensils of daily life. Clay was used to make ceramic vessels for storage and cooking. Chert (or flint) was chosen for projectile points, woodworking and digging tools. Mortars, grinding slabs, nutting stones, hammerstones, axes, whetstones and hand stones were fashioned of other types of stone. Utensils such as awls, punches, hide working tools, combs, eating utensils, projectile points and tools for working chert were also carved of bone and antler. , Many implements were made of natural materials that do not survive today. Wood was employed for building houses, and for crafting travois (for transporting materials), bowls, containers, bows, arrows, spears, handles, canoes, storage racks and for use in cooking fires. Both tanned and untanned hides were utilized for clothing, house coverings, containers, shoes, binding and furniture. Plant fbers were used as raw materials for containers, woven mats and baskets. Plant fibers were also twined and woven to make clothing and for sewing and binding. Nets of twined fibers were utilized in fishing and for catching birds. Animal hair (particularly from bison) was also twined to make string for sewing and for making netting and bags. Animal tendons provided sinew for sewing and binding. , Once European materials became available to them, the Illinois incorporated metals and glass beads into their everyday lives. They used some items, such as knives and cloth, in the same ways Europeans used them, but others were absorbed with new uses and different meanings. For instance, copper and brass kettles were traded for use as cooking vessels, but the Illinois cut the metal up and reformed the fragments into shiny ornaments. The Illinois considered guns more of a novelty. They were valued primarily for the smoke and noise they produced. The Illinois found that the bow and arrow was quicker and more accurate both in warfare and in hunting.