The Mack Lithics Collection reserach project officially launches!

The Warrenville Historical Museum is proud to curate a large lithic (stone tools) collection donated by John and Gertrude Mack, often referred to as the Mack Arrowhead Collection. Containing over 1,000 objects, this collection was assembled by John Mack on the family farm and surrounding area from 1960-1975. John also collected other artifacts during visits out west, especially to Colorado.

As we feature these items this month, we are happy to announce that we are launching a new investigation project to gather further research and information about this important legacy collection. Working in collaboration with local archaeologist and College of DuPage (COD) anthropology instructor Dr. Dale F. Simpson Jr., the Mack lithics will be catalogued with further research around their uses, the sources of the stone they are made of, and comparisons to other northern Illinois collections. We will also be exploring new technologies that can provide us information on hunting and gathering practices of the Native Peoples who lived in this area and 3D scanning and printing to make the large collection more accessible to students, researchers and the general public. Thank you to the Warrenville Museum Guild for funding this first step of the project.

Stay tuned for regular updates about this work as we kick off 2021 with two wonderful interns, COD student Sofia Walendziak and COD Alumnus Jamie McGinty, who are assisting in the project.