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UID:riverbender-event-53559-20260910T180000@riverbender.com
DTSTAMP:20260803T130852Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260910T180000
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SUMMARY:Visions of the Alton Piasa – Dr. Mark J. Wagner\\\, Emeritus P
rofessor of Anthropology\\\, SIU Carbondale
LOCATION:Hayner Library\, 132 Alton Square\, Alton\, IL 62002
DESCRIPTION:Visions of the Alton Piasa – Dr. Mark J. Wagner\, Emeritus
Professor of Anthropology\, SIU Carbondale Hayner Library at Alton Sq
uare Mall Performance Room (Upper Level) Thursday\, September 10\, 6:0
0 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The “Alton Piasa\,” or “Piasa Bird\,” was a very la
rge Native American painting located on the Mississippi River bluffs n
ear Alton\, Illinois. First described by Father Jacques Marquette in 1
673\, the painting fascinated visitors for almost 200 years\, until it
was quarried away in the mid-nineteenth century. Because of this\, we
have numerous first-hand descriptions of the Piasa Bird created by ea
rly 1800s sightseers\, but they vary so widely from each other that it
is hard to believe they are all describing the same images. Dr. Wagne
r believes that people with different visual abilities and beliefs (ev
en Father Marquette!) were seeing what they wanted to see on the rock 
face rather than what was actually there. Wagner concludes that the Al
ton Piasa was a prehistoric Mississippian-era (1000-1500 AD) painting 
based on the presence of similar images dating to that time period car
ved on stone rock surfaces throughout southern Illinois. Dr. Mark Wagn
er was the Director of the Center for Archaeological Investigations at
Southern Illinois University Carbondale for many years before retirin
g in 2025. His major research interests include Native American rock a
rt\, the Cherokee Trail of Tears\, and the historical archaeology of I
llinois. From 2017-2024\, he directed the SIU Archaeology Field School
at the Fort Kaskaskia Historic Site in Randolph County\, which discov
ered the remains of a previously unknown early 1800s U.S. Army fort. H
e is currently engaged in writing books and articles on the various di
scoveries he made throughout his career\, including the prehistoric ro
ck art of the state. Please call 1-800-613-3163 to register for this p
rogram.\n\nEvent details: https://www.riverbender.com/events/details.c
fm?seriesid=53559
URL:https://www.riverbender.com/events/details.cfm?seriesid=53559
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