[5] While the members of most hunter-gatherer cultures travel extensively or even practice a nomadic lifestyle, the exceptional productivity of the Illinois River valley in fish, shellfish and game made it possible for semi-permanent settlements to develop.

Archaeological examination of these sites have generated significant insights into the living conditions of Native Americans over time and the levels of technology they possessed.

A large parcel of the adjacent river bottomland is undergoing preservation and ecosystem restoration as part of the Emiquon Project.

[6] In 2009, an excavation by Michigan State University turned up sherds of pottery, arrowheads and the foundations of houses and other structures that date back to about 1300 CE.

After that, three excavated dwellings now remain open to visitors at the site and the museum displays chronicle prehistoric life in the region.

[10] From 1050 to 1175, Dickson Mounds underwent a transitional phase, moving towards a mixed economy of hunting and gathering combined with agriculture, particularly the cultivation of maize.

After analyzing trends in bone growth, enamel development, lesions, and mortality, archaeologists determined that there was a major decline in health following the adoption and intensification of agriculture.

[10] Compared to the hunter-gatherers before them, skeletons of farmers at Dickson Mounds indicate a significant increase in enamel defects, iron-deficiency anemia, bone lesions, and degenerative spinal conditions.

[9] The decline in health of Dickson Mounds’ population over time can be attributed to the increased reliance on agriculture, which led to a less varied and less nutritious diet, more strenuous physical labor in the fields, and more crowded permanent settlements that facilitated the spread of infectious diseases.

[9] Some also say the decline in health is due to the expansion of long-distance trade with larger economic systems, such as Cahokia, which resulted in exploitative relations in which residents of Dickson Mounds were giving away needed food for items of symbolic value.

[10] Analysis of mortuary behavior from excavations of burial sites at Dickson Mounds provides important insight into the social organization of early Native Americans.

[12] For example, an abundance of tools, copper ornaments, and objects made from imported raw materials suggest high rank of an individual.

[12] Deep class divisions in the society at Dickson Mounds are also apparent through analysis of the health and heights of the individual skeletons.

[10] The trade of foodstuffs for luxury goods required individuals at Dickson Mounds to generate a surplus of food, resulting in an intensification of agricultural production, which bore serious health and social consequences.