JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Something as unremarkable as a nearby patch of grass could be hiding something prehistoric.

That is what Notre Dame University anthropology and archaeology professor Mark Schurr is looking for at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Elwood. He and research associate Madeleine McLeester have made multiple trips to Midewin for their research on two matters.

They want to learn more about what life was like for the Native Americans who inhabited the area before the French settlers arrived and began recording history about 1673. Secondly, they are working to find out how to...