Geophysical Survey and Test Excavation During 2006 at Larson Village, Burleigh County, North Dakota Edited by Mark D. Mitchell With contributions by Stanley A. Ahler George T. Crawford Carl R. Falk Kenneth L. Kvamme Stacey Madden Mark. D. Mitchell Robert K. Nickel Paul R. Picha Fern E. Swenson Prepared by PaleoCultural Research Group P. O. Box EE, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86002 Submitted to the State Historical Society of North Dakota 612 E. Boulevard Avenue Bismarck, North Dakota 58505 September 2007 This report is Research Contribution No. 80 of PaleoCultural Research Group. The survey and testing project at Larson Village that is the subject of this report has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, and administered by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Interior or the State Historical Society of North Dakota, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Interior or the State Historical Society of North Dakota. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U. S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity National Park Service 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D. C. 20240 ii ABSTRACT Larson Village (32BL9) is a large, fortified earthlodge settlement located on the east bank of the Missouri River about 20 km north of Bismarck, North Dakota. Geophysical surveys and limited test excavations were carried out during a 13-day period from June 6 to June 18, 2006 by personnel from the PaleoCultural Research Group (PCRG), the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas (CAST), and the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND). The primary objectives of the project are to determine when the village was founded, to delineate its maximum spatial extent, and to obtain a sample of artifacts that can be compared with similar samples from contemporaneous villages in the Heart region. Previous work at Larson Village documented a deep fortification ditch surrounding the central core of the village, a large basin or plaza located just outside the central core, numerous lodge depressions, and a surrounding ring of large midden mounds. A second fortification ditch was noted by one early observer, but its path through or around the village was not mapped. More recent work at several nearby villages has demonstrated that fortification systems and other features often extend well beyond the visible mounds and lodge depressions. Based on these data, and in keeping with the Larson project’s principle goals, the 2006 field effort focused on the comparatively flat and featureless area north of the northernmost perimeter mounds. Geophysical survey revealed the presence of two previously unrecorded fortification systems arcing around the village, just beyond and beneath the outermost midden mounds, along with numerous discrete anomalies representing hearths, cache pits, and other features. Geophysical surveys also confirmed the presence of a third fortification system winding through the middle of the site. Geophysical survey and hand coring demonstrated that the large basin or plaza adjacent to the central core of the village is nearly devoid of subsurface features or cultural deposits, indicating that this area was maintained as an open plaza throughout the village’s history. Guided by geophysical data, test excavations placed on the northern edge of the village documented the presence of a variety of features, including postholes, cache pits, and small basins. The presence of intact postholes and other small features may indicate that substantial portions of earthlodge floors are preserved in this part of the site. Radiocarbon and other data suggest, but do not conclusively demonstrate, that the village was founded about 1500. Additional data will be needed to more precisely define its age. The material content of the settlement’s earliest occupation bears important similarities with that of nearby Double Ditch Village. The residents of both villages made extensive use of smooth gray Tongue River silicified sediment for stone tools and produced similar types of pottery. In addition to the dominant tropical cultigens, both communities raised sunflowers and marshelder. For both, fishing appears to have been a comparatively minor activity. The occupational histories of Larson and Double Ditch also are similar. Both villages were founded at about the same time and both contracted progressively over a iii period of about three centuries. Both are ringed by a series of high midden mounds that at one time may have been incorporated in their defenses. Both contain open plazas that were maintained until they were abandoned. However, in other respects Larson and Double Ditch are rather different. Large-scale sediment transport appears to have been less common at Larson. The intact condition of many features on the perimeter of Larson, compared to those on the perimeter of Double Ditch, indicates that the outskirts of the two villages were used in rather different ways. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction and Project Overview................................................................................. 1 Mark D. Mitchell Background ................................................................................................................. 1 Research Goals............................................................................................................ 4 Report Contents........................................................................................................... 6 References Cited.......................................................................................................... 8 2. Previous Investigations at Larson Village .................................................................... 11 Fern E. Swenson Introduction ............................................................................................................... 11 Early Plan Maps ........................................................................................................ 11 History of Destruction and Archaeological Excavations .......................................... 14 Erosion, Cultivation, Farmstead, and Road Construction (149th Street) .............. 14 Bowers’ (Logan Museum) 1929 Excavation ........................................................ 18 Summary ................................................................................................................... 21 3. Geophysical Investigations ........................................................................................... 27 Kenneth L. Kvamme Introduction ............................................................................................................... 27 Study area and Field Methods................................................................................... 30 Theory and Instrumentation ...................................................................................... 31 Magnetic Gradiometry.......................................................................................... 32 Electrical Resistance ............................................................................................. 33 Electromagnetic Induction.................................................................................... 34 Data Processing ......................................................................................................... 35 Results ....................................................................................................................... 36 Magnetic Gradiometry Survey.............................................................................. 36 Electrical Resistance Survey................................................................................. 45 Electromagnetic Induction (EM) Survey.............................................................. 50 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 51 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... 51 References Cited........................................................................................................ 53 4. Excavation Results........................................................................................................ 57 Mark D. Mitchell Overview of the Field Effort ..................................................................................... 57 Field Methods............................................................................................................ 57 Feature Selection ....................................................................................................... 60 Excavation Unit Summaries and Feature Descriptions............................................