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twelve millennia a bur oak book Twelve Millennia Archaeology of the Upper Mississippi River Valley James L. Theler and Robert F. Boszhardt University of Iowa Press Iowa City University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242 Copyright © 2003 by the University of Iowa Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Design by April Leidig-Higgins http://www.uiowa.edu/uiowapress No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach. The publication of this book was generously supported by the University of Iowa Foundation. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Theler, James L., 1946– Twelve millennia: archaeology of the upper Mississippi River Valley / by James L. Theler and Robert F. Boszhardt. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-87745-847-2 (pbk.) 1. Indians of North America—Mississippi River Valley—Antiquities. 2. Mound-builders— Mississippi River Valley. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)—Mississippi River Valley. 4. Mississippi River Valley—Antiquities. I. Title: 12 millennia. II. Boszhardt, Robert F. III. Title. E78.M75 T44 2003 977'.01—dc21 2002073296 03 04 05 06 07 P 54321 For the people of the Upper Mississippi Valley, past and present contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii chapter one Introduction to Archaeology 1 chapter two Environment of the Upper 19 Mississippi River Valley chapter three Past Climate of the Upper 33 Mississippi River Valley chapter four A Brief History of Upper 39 Mississippi River Valley Archaeology chapter five The First People 53 chapter six 69 The Archaic Tradition chapter seven 85 The First Revolution chapter eight 97 The Woodland Tradition chapter nine 121 The Beginning of Tribes chapter ten 141 The Second Revolution chapter eleven 157 The Oneota Culture chapter twelve 173 The End of Prehistory 189 Epilogue 193 Appendix A. Animal Remains 215 Appendix B. Rock Art 229 Appendix C. Places to Visit 233 Recommended Readings and Sources 245 Index viii | contents preface The story of pre-European people living in the Upper Mississippi River Val- ley, as told in the archaeological record, spans at least 12,000 years. To put that in perspective, envision a foot-long ruler with each inch representing a millennium. On that scale, Columbus would have reached the New World half an inch ago, the United States declared independence less than a quarter of an inch ago, the automobile was invented a tenth of an inch ago, and the age of computers occupies only the last one-thirtieth of an inch. The more than 11 inches before these events represent the time the region was occupied by pre-European Native American cultures. It is a time before written rec- ords in much of North America and is therefore technically prehistory. This prehistoric story survives only in oral traditions of Native people and as ma- terial remains or archaeological artifacts. The story presented here is one based on archaeology in the Upper Missis- sippi River Valley region. It is a story of cultural and natural continuity and change. Sometimes the changes were minor and gradual, but at several crit- ical points change was dramatic, revolutionizing cultural adaptations to the en- vironment and between societies. Some changes were instigated by climatic shifts, such as the end of the last Ice Age, while others were mirrored in tech- nological innovations, such as the development of pottery, the introduction of the bow and arrow, and the adaptation of corn agriculture. This book presents the story of past peoples of the Upper Mississippi River Valley from the first inhabitants through the era of European contact. The story is preceded by an introduction to archaeology, providing the reader a context for archaeological interpretation. The topography and resources avail- able to Native people of the Upper Mississippi Valley are then described. The Mississippi River drains a vast portion of North America, connecting a diverse range of natural and cultural regions. We focus only on that portion of the Upper Mississippi River that cuts through the rugged Driftless Area, an area from Lake Pepin, below Red Wing, Minnesota, to Dubuque, Iowa. The peo- ple of this region interacted with and were influenced by cultures occupying adjacent areas, but the Driftless Area presents a distinct environmental zone that allows us to comprehend cultural change through time. Peoples who inhabited the Upper Mississippi basin were influenced by a sequence of environmental changes. Shifts in lifestyles, as reflected by their artifacts, often correspond with shifts in climatic regimes. Archaeologists base many of their interpretations about the past on the artifactual remains and the contexts of those remains. This reliance on artifacts is especially critical in the Upper Mississippi Valley because there was no written record until the French first explored the region after about A.D. 1650 and began describing the Native peoples they encountered. By that time, dramatic changes had oc- curred in the material culture of the Native Americans and in the locations of various groups. Preceding direct contact, European influences that included brass kettles, iron tools, and new diseases had spread well into the North American heartland through established networks. Not only did these changes result in dramatic population reductions and widespread tribal movement, but survivors almost immediately stopped making ceramic vessels and stone tools. These disruptions make it difficult or impossible to connect specific historic tribes directly with pre-European archaeological cultures. Because of the dramatic break in the archaeological record between the historic and pre-European (prehistoric) periods, Upper Mississippi River Valley cultures identified by distinctive artifact styles before A.D. 1650 are not referred to by tribal names. Instead, archaeologists refer to the prehistoric cultures by names that have little if any relationship to named historic tribes. For example, Paleoindian and Archaic refer to the early cultures, while Wood- land refers to the builders of burial mounds that were widespread in the woodlands of the eastern United States. Although the archaeological labels rarely refer to identifiable tribal groups of the historic period, they do signify a sequence of human groups identifi- able by patterned traditions in artifact styles that changed over time and x | preface space. The sequence of archaeologically defined cultures in the Upper Mis- sissippi Valley shows a continuum of human adaptation over a period of nearly 12,000 years. The accompanying chart summarizes this culture sequence, placing these cultures in time and with corresponding climatic regimes. The following chapters describe in some detail each of these cultures as repre- sented by artifactual remains and selected sites along the Upper Mississippi River. Unless otherwise specified, all city and county names in the book refer to Wisconsin localities. millennia before present (b.p.) 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 h i s t prehistory o r y w d c cold warm / dry moist a r o r y l m d o t n r paleoindian archaic woodland e i o b t e a s preface | xi acknowledgments On any given day our phones ring or people from all walks of life stop in our offices to show us things they have found. Sometimes these collections con- sist of a few broken stone tools; other times we are presented with hundreds of artifacts. People come to ask us to identify their artifacts, and we share our knowledge of age, use, material, and other aspects that come to mind. More often than not, however, it is we, the archaeologists, who learn during these sessions. Each piece that is brought in is part of an enormous puzzle, and, over time, parts of the picture come into focus. Occasionally, viewing a col- lection precipitates a flash of understanding that sends us scurrying to li- braries to pull out piles of reference books to verify other occurrences. Some- times these realizations are prompted by the simplest of inquiries, and we kick ourselves for not having asked that question sooner. Interspersed be- tween too many meetings and mountains of paperwork, these moments of discovery make archaeology a career to envy. This book is dedicated to the hundreds of individuals who have contrib- uted over the past two decades to share their knowledge of and their artifacts from the Upper Mississippi Valley with us. We are privileged to be able to compile this information and experience the sensation of discovery. We hope that this synthesis gives back at least some of our thanks. While those who have shared in the curiosity and study of the past are far too numerous to mention individually, several stand out for their coopera- tion in reporting multiple sites. These include Chad Burows, Loren Cade, Dave Jackson, Milan Quall, John Swennes, Otto Swennes, Gary Steele, Betty Steele, Steve Raith, Alfred Reed, Todd Richert, Steve Allen, and Paul Wiste. On a professional level, we are indebted to all who have encouraged and challenged our research efforts in this region, particularly our colleagues at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse and the Mississippi Valley Archaeol- ogy Center. We would like to thank the College of Liberal Studies at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin–La Crosse for a grant to support graphics for this book. Illustrations were prepared with the assistance of Jody Bruce, Jean Dowiasch, Jiro Manabe, Laura Jankowski, Megan Rivers, and Liz Schultz. We are grate- ful for the detailed constructive and insightful comments provided by Wil- liam Green and James Stoltman on an early draft of this manuscript.