It grew rapidly after a French mission and fur trading post (see, Illinois Country) were established there in 1675, to a population of about 6,000 people in about 460 houses.

[3] Around 1691 the Kaskaskia and other Illiniwek moved further south, abandoning the site due to pressure from an Iroquois invasion from the northeast.

In the 1940s, historian Sarah Tucker of the University of Chicago was able to pinpoint the probable location of the village based on the historical record.

The university and the Illinois State Museum conducted archaeological excavations and confirmed Tucker's research, finding substantial evidence of the village.

[2] A prominent local landmark, Starved Rock, stands on the south bank of the river directly opposite the Grand Village site.

In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet visited the village, which at that time contained approximately 1,000 people.

Although terminally ill, Marquette returned to the Grand Village in early 1675 to celebrate Mass, and founded the mission of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin.

[6] The Native Americans of the Eastern Woodland culture were severely affected by epidemic infectious diseases brought to North America from Europe, as they had no natural immunity.

Reports from La Salle and others in the 1680s indicate that the Grand Village of the Illini temporarily increased in size during that decade to 400 cabins housing as many as 6,000 people.

The inhabitants of the Grand Village largely dispersed under pressure from invading Iroquois bands (see, Beaver Wars).

[7]: 41 ) References are made to the journals and maps of the explorers and to the original plats of Illinois drawn in the early 1800s, before the rivers had been altered.

After the villagers dispersed, a tale was repeated in local folklore that members of the Illini Confederacy had been pinned by tribal enemies to a last stand atop Starved Rock.

Later in 1704 when he was dying of yellow fever, Tonti described the treasure's location to the priest who was giving him last rites.

According to this story, the Pottawatomi, who were closely allied to Pontiac's kinfolk, made war on the Illini, forcing many of them to take refuge on the bluff that would become known as "Starved Rock."

The bluff extending along both sides of the Illinois River was an oak forest and the bottomlands supported vegetation tolerant of wetlands such as willow, maple, ash and cottonwood.

[10] Early French explorers Joliet, Marquette, Allouez and Tonti were present at the Grand Village of Kaskaskia between 1673 and 1680.

[9] In the 1940s, Sara Jones Tucker of the University of Chicago initiated a project to determine the exact location of the Kaskaskia village site by reviewing the early French records.

Four grids were established: A, B, C and D.[9] From 1970-1972 further excavations were conducted under the auspices of the LaSalle County Historical Society in Utica, Illinois.

The later excavations focused on revisiting Grids A and B to obtain clarifications on some of the research problems identified in the initial project.

[10] Excavations at the site yielded Prehistoric and historic artifacts, house structures, pit features, burials, animal bone and plant remains.

[9] A large number of post molds present in Grid C implied the existence of additional houses, but none could be successfully delineated.

They contrast with the houses found at two Huber sites, Oak Forest and Anker, which were elongated oval in shape.

They contained culturally rich fill with potsherds, stone tool debris, animal bone, plant remains, etc.

[9] Tubers of Nelumbo lutea have been recovered from similar roasting pits at the Elam[14] and Schwerdt[15][16] sites on the Kalamazoo River in western Michigan; and tubers of the white water lily (Nymphaea tuberosa) have been recovered from roasting pits at the Griesmer site in northwestern Indiana.

[9] This complex is represented by the Swanson Series pottery, a Late Woodland ware similar to that found in other sites ranging from Moccasin Bluff[23] in Michigan to Hotel Plaza in Illinois.

[29] The Swanson people cultivated maize but a large part of their diet was supplied by hunting a wide variety of game, and gathering nuts (particularly hazelnut) and berries.

They have been noted to have cultivated the Eastern Agricultural Complex (EAC) of small seed plants such as knotweed, little barley and goosefoot, among others.

[13] Huber pottery is a distinctive shell-tempered ware that occurs on a series of sites centered in the Chicago area, but also ranging to northwestern Indiana and southwestern Michigan.

[17] The Anker site near Chicago has produced a number of artifacts that seem to come from outside the area, especially from the Middle Mississippian cultures of Arkansas; indicating a wide-ranging trade network.

With a greater reliance on bison hunting, it may have been advantageous to have a more mobile settlement pattern in order to move with the herds.