Paul Mickey Learning Series

Each month, the Illinois State Museum hosts the Paul Mickey Learning Series which features a variety of topics and expert speakers. This month Duane Esarey, director of Illinois State Museum at Dickson Mounds, will discuss the Mississippian history of central Illinois during the 11th through 14th centuries. The history of the Mississippian people of Illinois has been understandably dominated by the story of Greater Cahokia – a large, three-part metropolitan area that arose near the area of present day St. Louis around A.D. 950. In recent decades, as archaeologists have learned more about the history of the Cahokian metropolis, attention is shifting to central Illinois in the time before, during and after the development of Cahokia. Several institutions have been studying the 500 year Mississippian history of central Illinois, providing information on 21 prehistoric towns in the mid-state area. Illinoisstatemuseum.org.