The object of these annual gatherings was to teach the young the tribal customs and to perform solemn ceremonies, the purpose of which was to insure the security and well-being of the tribe, a continuing abundance of the favorite foods, and to express gratitude and thanksgiving to unseen Spirits who watched over the game animals (and possibly the edible plants) for the blessings received during the past year. These gatherings and cooperative undertakings served, on the one hand, as a welcome change from the usual daily grind and afforded opportunities for the young to get acquainted and choose mates and, on the other, to unify the language and customs of the constituent local groups, to enhance the influence of the tribal elders and keep fresh in the minds of all the history of the tribe, the importance of its activities, and its [sacred tradition], all essential to the way of life of dynamic [Archaic] peoples of recent times.
Fig. 7. [Fertility rites] were probably performed by [Archaic] peoples to ensure the abundance of game animals for the next year. (J.C.)
Fig. 8. [Archaic] weapons: A, Hidden Valley type spearhead; B, prismatic atlatl weight of polished red shale; C, throwing a spear with an atlatl; D, socketed antler spearhead; E, short thrusting spear or javelin. A, B, and D are from Modoc Shelter in Randolph County, Illinois.
In the later (Medial) [Archaic] [period] at Modoc, the dead were buried in the floor of the [rock shelter]. Burial probably indicates a belief in life after death. Care in preparing the body for burial, in the funeral rites and burying, and in the customary mourning thereafter was highly important so the dead man could go promptly to the spirit world in peace and not remain in the neighborhood to disturb his kinsmen. Immediately after the burial, it is probable that the little settlement removed to a distant location as is customary with peoples in this [stage] of [culture].
The rites for important dead in the Terminal [period] probably began with the conventional mourning of relatives, with painting the body with red ochre and grease and adorning it with the dead man’s [jewelry], followed at the appropriate time by the conveyance of the body to the grave side, where the corpse was deposited in a pit together with personal [insigne] and weapons. The grooved [stone] axe, large [spearheads], daggers, bannerstones, [spearthrower] with weight and more rarely copper articles were placed alongside or on the corpse. In some instances large stones were laid upon the grave probably for one or more of the following reasons: (a) to mark the grave of an important tribesman; (b) to keep the body from being disturbed by animals; and (c) to hold the dead man’s ghost until he departed for the spirit world.
Fig. 9. Grooved [stone] axes are frequently found in [Archaic] graves but were not buried with the dead after this [period]. (J.C.)
It is very probable that, on occasions of social and religious import, Modoc man and other [Archaic] tribes in Illinois bedecked themselves in their best paint and [jewelry]. Possibly the colorful and intriguing bannerstones, which were undoubtedly developed from the [spearthrower] weight, were carried or worn by the local group headmen who had won that right because they were skillful hunters, courageous fighters, or learned in the tribal customs and beliefs and thus recognized by the tribe as leaders for the time being.