Archaeological Survey of Swift County, Minnesota

Hollerberg Lake in east central Swift County

George R. Holley, Michael G. Michlovic and Rinita A. Dalan

Archaeology Lab Minnesota State University Moorhead

Moorhead, MN. 56563 Revised January ,2011

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….. 3

Summary……………………………………………………………………………... 4

Project Area…………………………………………………………………………...5

Archaeological Background………………………………………………………….10

Survey Objectives and Methods……………………………………………………...15

Previous Archaeology in Swift County……………………………………………....20

Project Results…………………………………………………………………….…..25

Deep Survey……………………………………………………………………….….62

Material Recovered……………………………………………………………….…..86

Discussion and Conclusions…………………………………………………….…….97

References…………………………………………………………………………….107

Appendices……………………………………………………………………………117

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Acknowledgements

The Swift County archaeological survey would not have been possible without the support of many people who helped with various phases of the project. We would like to thank, first and foremost, the landowners in Swift County who allowed access to their fields during a very busy time of the year for them. Without their cooperation there would have been no survey. Special thanks also are due to a diligent field crew who kept a positive attitude and worked hard even under sometimes trying circumstances; Cody Beach, Blake Clerico, Andrew Domine, Charleen Heinz, Chrys Harris, Sarah Jacobs, Katie Jacobson, Corrine Redding, Beau Tweten and Patrick Wetzel. Two field supervisors, Katy Mollerud and Matt Warwick contacted landowners and did much of the preliminary work needed for successful field visits, as well as leading survey teams and shovel testing. Katy also completed site forms for all the newly discovered sites. Danielle Truitt, Brett Tanselle and Kristen Naslund provided lab assistance at MSUM, while Deb Radke, Diane Schoenecker, and Mark Rice helped with accounting tasks. In Swift County, we thank Reed Anfinson, Swift County Monitor News in Benson for his assistance in announcing our project to the public. Charlotte Haugen of the Lillehaugen Inn B-B provided warm hospitality and much appreciated contacts for survey. Tom Rice of Appleton helped to set up several public outreach events in Swift County, and Davis Bonk allowed us the opportunity to study the invaluable Briscoe Collection. We also thank Bruce Koenen and Scott Anfinson of the Office of the Minnesota State Archaeologist, and Pat Emerson of the Minnesota Historical Society for their assistance and advice in various phases of the project, and especially to Scott for sharing his unmatched knowledge of Southwestern Minnesota archaeology. Finally, we thank the taxpayers of Minnesota for their generous support of this project through the funding made possible by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, and to the Minnesota Historical Society for their management of the contract.

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Summary

Archaeological survey was performed in Swift County, Minnesota during the 2010 field season, May 17-September 4. The survey was completed with support from the Minnesota Clean Water, Land, and Legacy amendment. Funding was provided through the Minnesota Historical Society to Minnesota State University Moorhead. The purpose of the survey was to review the archaeological resources of Swift County, to examine existing collections and known sites, and most important, to conduct a field survey to document additional archaeological sites in the county.

Swift County is part of the southwest Minnesota Prairie-Lakes region, which is relatively poorly studied from a culture historical point of view. The survey was designed to focus on areas of high density site occurrence as predicted by the Mn-Model and MnSAS surveys. It involved surface survey of agricultural fields and the testing of deeper sediment bodies in order to model the possible presence of buried cultural deposits. The survey also involved examination of several private collections, most of them quite small. One however was substantial, although the provenience on this and most others are not well established. Collections do provide evidence of a long lasting use of the region in and around Swift County, with diagnostic points from the Paleoindian (Folsom, Agate Basin and Browns Valley) through various portions of the Plains Archaic (Delong, Oxbow, Hanna, Pelican Lake) to the Woodland and Plains Village periods (Besant, Avonlea, Prairie and Plains Side-Notched and Triangular). Ceramics include possible Transitional Late Woodland (St. Croix or Onamia), Blackduck, Great Oasis, and Cambria. Unequivocal Oneota pottery was not observed.

Field survey located 45 new archaeological sites and all but one of these is prehistoric. Overall, the predictions of earlier surveys, such as the Minnesota Statewide Survey and more specifically, Mn-Model are relatively accurate for Swift County, predicting many areas with a high density of sites. Most sites are on the larger stream channels and larger lakes. Surveyed areas away from water rarely contained sites. Sites were mostly lithic scatters and only a few, in select locations, contained pottery. Lithic materials are mostly from local or regional sources and the few exotics include Knife River flint (KRF), Prairie du Chien chert and Grand Meadows chert. Many of the cultural material scatters are small and include relatively few artifacts.

Swift County was not intensively used in prehistoric times, but there may have been a resident population at times. There are clear patterns to the use of the region, and cultural connections to the larger Plains culture area are attested. The survey produced results that should be useful to Plains and Midwest archaeologists in developing a more complete characterization of the Native use of the Prairie-Lakes region. And for the people of Minnesota and Swift County the survey provides a more complete record of the distant past.

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Project Area

Swift County

Swift County is located in the southwestern quadrant of the state of Minnesota. It covers 752 mi2, or 481,280 acres (Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission 2007: 1.1). The county is about 42 miles east to west, and 18 north to south. Geographic coordinates for the center of the county are approximately N45o 17’ W95o 43’. The county includes townships 120-122N, ranges 37-43W. Benson is the county seat and largest city. Other towns are Appleton, Clontarf, Danvers, DeGraff, Holloway, Kerkhoven, Murdock, and Swift Falls (Figure 1). The county is bordered by Kandyohi on the east, Chippewa on the south, Big Stone to the west, and Pope and Stevens counties to the north. The population of Swift County in 2000 was 11, 956 (Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission 2007: 1.7).

Figure 1. Swift County, Minnesota.

Swift County is part of the Minnesota River drainage and the major streams that flow through the county enter the Minnesota to the south. These are the Pomme de Terre River, which flows north to south in the western portion of the county, and the Chippewa River with its multiple branches that also flows north to south, in the central portion of the county. Mud Creek and Shakopee Creek are major tributaries of the Chippewa draining the eastern portion of the county, while Dry Wood Creek flows to the Pomme de Terre from a westerly direction. Other named streams are quite small and are probably not archaeologically significant. These include Artichoke Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Spring Creek and Hassel Creek. The southwestern corner of the county abuts the Minnesota River, which flows away from the county in a southeasterly direction.

Both the Pomme de Terre and Chippewa rivers were undoubtedly major north-to-south thoroughfares; they are the only major rivers on the northern side of the Minnesota River

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draining lakes from the north. In turn, the Minnesota River was a major east-west artery linking the Mississippian River to the west. With a vast and marshy floodplain, the Minnesota also afforded unique aquatic and wetland resources.

There are about 82 lakes, sloughs, and wetlands in Swift County, although only about two dozen are named lakes. The lakes range in size Lake Oliver at 671 acres, to Frovold Lake, which is about 56 acres. Most lakes are shallow and no more than 10 feet deep, and many are much shallower. Other relatively large lakes include the Lake Hassel, the interconnected lakes Monson and West Sunburg, Dry Wood Lake, Camp Lake, and Lake Hollerberg. Lakes Monson and Oliver are two of the deeper lakes and have depths of over 10’. Camp Lake, in the northeastern portion of Swift County is the deepest lake and is completely surrounded by woodlands today. Lakes are located in the northern portion of the county, mostly in the east and west, although a set of adjacent lakes, including Lake Hassel, is in the north-central portion of Swift County. The distribution of lakes is undoubtedly due to the fact that the central and southern portion of the county was once filled by a pro-glacial lake (Lake Benson), which created a relatively flat terrain. Consequently, the center and southeastern parts of Swift County does not contain many lakes of any size (http://www.city-data.com/county/Swift_County-MN.html). Most lakes in the region are shallow water bodies that fill irregularities in the glacial till (Zumberge 1952).

Land use in Swift County is primarily agricultural, comprising over 92% of the total area, if pasture and cultivated land are combined (83% cultivated; 9% pasture). About 3% of the total county area is wooded or covered in brush, while just under 3% consists of standing water, marsh, or bogs (Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission 2007: 1.31)

Euroamerican settlement began in 1854, although the county was not organized until 1870 and named after Henry Swift, a former governor of Minnesota. In the same year the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad came to Benson. White settlers were forced to leave the county in 1862 during the Dakota War, but they began moving back into the county at the end of the Civil War. In 1870 railroad trading centers were originally set up in Benson, DeGraff, Kerkhoven and Randall (later named Clontarf). Murdock was added in 1878, and Danvers and Holloway when the Great Northern line was built in 1887 (Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission 2007: 1.3-1.4). Today agriculture is the primary economic activity in the county, although gravel mining is also important. Benson and Appleton are important regional retail centers.

There are a number of interesting aspects to the early settler period in Swift County, as they may reflect on the population and subsistence potential of prehistoric times. Prior to the establishment of railroads in the county, American settlers farmed relatively small tracts, averaging only about 10 acres per household. Most settlement was near the larger lakes or on the lower courses of the Pomme de Terre and Chippewa rivers where woodlands were present. Although the settlers had livestock, they spent a considerable amount of time hunting and gathering wild foods and fishing. At the time the county was officially established, and prior to the coming of the railroad, the population was about 600 (Anonsen 1929). This is less than one person per square mile of

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land, and it is about the level of population density found among some hunting and gathering bands. As we show below, the very same places preferred by the settlers were those areas most heavily used by Indian peoples.

Swift County Environment

Almost all of Swift County is underlain by sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous age, although in the northern portion of the county there are Archaean and older rocks consisting of granites, gneisses and amphibolites (Morey and Meints 2000). The surficial geology, which forms the substrate for landforms used by people over the past 10,000 years, has been shaped by glacial action, by the formation of a pro-glacial lake, and by the action of rivers since the recession of the glaciers at the end of the Pleistocene.

The surface geology of Swift County is complex; however, for the present purpose much of the surficial variability may be ignored and the county divided into three major regions, roughly extending from northwest to southeast. This characterization is based on the hydrogeologic map developed by Patterson and others (1999) (Figure 2). A large portion of the county is covered by deposits of glacial Lake Benson. This large lake formed along the glacial front at the end of the Pleistocene about 13,000 years ago. Study of varve deposits indicate that the lake was relatively short-lived, and may have persisted for only about 40 years. This was still long enough for the lake to lay a veneer of relatively fine sediments over much of the county. Lake Benson drained as the glaciers retreated, and the much larger Lake Agassiz formed to the northwest (Rittenour, Geiger and Cotter 1998).

In the northwestern portion of the county is a complex of glacial till deposits intersected by stream channels. This is all part of the Big Stone moraine, which extends eastward from Artichoke Lake to six or seven miles west of Clontarf. The lithology of this till is variable, and there are lenses of sorted sediment and some lake clays. Most of the till consists of loams and clays, while larger clasts include crystalline rock and shales. The Big Stone moraine represents deposits laid down by glacial ice from both the Red River and Des Moines lobes as they advanced up to the perimeter and into glacial Lake Benson. Along the arched perimeter of the Big Stone moraine are isolated till deposits with a cap of lacustrine sediments from Lake Benson (Patterson et.al.1999).

East and south of the Big Stone moraine in the southwest and central portions of the county are deltaic sediments associated with glacial Lake Benson. These consist of sand, gravel, and silt laid down by streams and rivers running into Lake Benson. This unit extends south through Appleton and in arch-like fashion north and east through Benson. A large delta is found at the mouth of the Pomme de Terre, and at the southern extreme of the Chippewa River. Smaller deltas may be found in other portions of central Swift County (Ibid).

The eastern portion of the county is covered with deposits laid down by Lake Benson. These consist of clays, silt, and fine sand. They extend from a couple miles south of Camp Lake

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southward through Murdock and Kerkhoven. The irregular topography in this area is probably the result of the lake sediments being laid down over blocks of melting ice, which voided areas under the lake sediment allowing them to collapse (Patterson et.al. 1999).

In the far northeastern portion of Swift County is relatively high topography representing till of the Alexandria moraine. Some pro-glacial lake sediment was deposited on portions of this unit (Patterson et.al. 1999).

Figure 2. Late glacial deposits in Swift County (taken from Patterson et.al. 1999).

The soils of Swift County are primarily mollisols, or prairie soils, formed in glacial aged parent material, including till, outwash, lacustrine and alluvial sediments. The soils are mostly deep, and range from excessively drained to poorly drained, depending on local topography and texture.

Characterizing pre-American settlement vegetation in Swift County is fraught with difficulties. Major climatic changes from the Pleistocene to the Holocene as well as periodic oscillations in climate render any specific characterization of prehistoric vegetation inadequate. The environment of southwestern Minnesota has undoubtedly remained relatively stable for most of the Holocene. Fluctuations were probably minor. Disturbances such as prairie fires certainly had an impact on maintaining the prairie and restricting the growth of trees. It is possible to demarcate in broad outline some of the vegetation communities that may have existed during the Holocene. The basis for this reconstruction derives from the General Land Office (GLO) surveys conducted during the late 1850s and completed during the 1860s and 1870s. Original plat maps of the county townships are available for Swift County, although the notes are not currently available on line (http://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/glo/index.html). Three vegetation communities are evident: prairies, timber stands, and marshy areas/wet prairies (demarcated by symbol or label). Other natural features indentified, perhaps not consistently, comprise wild rice patches

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and wild rice marshes, found in Swenoda and Cashel townships, hay bottoms, and wet meadows. Occasionally other descriptive terms such as “impassable marsh” serve to characterize a section. Lakes, rivers, creeks and rarely topographic features also appear on the maps.

A composite map of the county (Figure 3) presents a distillation of this data. We have simplified the information by ignoring minor natural features or quality differences in marshy areas. The overwhelming dominance of prairie and marshy areas is remarkable. To a significant extent most of the county was low-lying and susceptible to flooding. Early American settlers had to deal with overland flooding in Danvers and Benson (Swift County Historical Society 2000:102, 107). Large loads of fill were installed in Benson along with drainage systems to counter the wet conditions (McNeill and Bryant 1882:958). Timbered areas are rare. We can only reliably identify two contexts where woods existed: along some watercourses and along the shorelines of some lakes. For rivers, the GLO identified timber along portions of the Pomme de Terre, along the Six-Mile Grove of the Chippewa, and along portions of the Minnesota River. Most of Six-Mile Grove may have been wet and thus was not necessarily an attractive resource. Timbered areas along rivers are typically in oxbows or adjacent to bluff edges where prairie fires failed to penetrate. Most of the lakes have small patches of timber, particularly on narrow peninsulas. We suspect that other places along watercourses supported at least marginal stands of trees, since early accounts mention that timber bordered the streams in the county (McNeill and Bryant 1882:955).

A perusal of this map (Figure 3) reveals several flaws. In particular, certain townships in the southeastern portion of the county bear no trace of marshy areas, nor even the course of an important creek (Shakopee Creek, which is identified as “Dry Weather Creek”). Bare maps are an uncommon by-product of the survey and were probably due to the lack of diligence or the laziness of certain surveyors.

Support for the interpretation of limited forested areas is available in the early photographs and lithographs of the initial American occupation of the county. For example, an 1880 lithograph of the town of Benson reveals a tree-lined Chippewa River in the distance (Swift County Historical Society 2000:10), corresponding to the Six-Mile Grove area. Photographs from the Lake Hassel area reveal a timbered shore and island from the early 1900s (Swift County Historical Society 2000:102). The decline of human-generated prairie burns as Native groups were driven from the county in the historic period may also be a factor in the presence of timber in early accounts and photos. Overall, however, the scarcity of timber in the early historic period supports the assumption that the county was primarily prairie with restricted woodland in prehistoric times.

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Figure 3. Government Land Office Survey map of Swift County. Black areas are water, open areas wet, blocks are woodlands.

Today, the natural vegetation of Swift County is defined as prairie, or mesic grassland. The potential vegetation is tallgrass prairie and wet prairie. The prairie consisted of various species of lush grasses, including Big and Little Bluestem, Indian grass and Switchgrass. Cordgrass and sedges are more common in wet prairie. The arboreal community consisted of northern deciduous species such as Elm, Oak, Ash, and Boxelder (Marschner 1974).

Archaeological Background

The archaeology of Swift County undoubtedly spans thousands of years, although the very limited amount of work within the boundaries of the county make such a claim somewhat hypothetical. There is no reason to doubt that this particular area shares the archaeological attributes found in nearby portions of the Prairie-Lake region, however, the few sites that have actually been recorded here make broad summary statements tenuous.

The Prairie-Lakes region overall contains a culture-historical record, that is, diagnostic archaeological artifacts from the prehistoric period, spanning the past 10 millennia. Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland and Villager sites are found in the region, although documentation of life ways and site distribution are known only in outline.

The earliest sites in the region are Browns Valley in nearby Traverse County (Anfinson 1997:30-32) and a string of sites along the Minnesota River (Anfinson 1997-32-33). Excavations at the Van Zomeren site in Stevens County (Murray 2000) revealed a small occupation in the upland prairies for the late Paleo-Early Archaic span.

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The Granite Falls Bison Kill site from near Granite Falls in nearby Yellow Medicine County represents a bison kill site found in fan deposits along the Minnesota River. The site contained remains of several Bison occidentalis with associated artifacts dating to about 6000 B.C. Bison kill and processing stations similar to this and of approximately the same age are also found elsewhere in the region (Kuehn 2000).

The Archaic Mountain Lake phase (3000-200 BC) marks the initiation of the intensive and sustained occupation of lake margins (Anfinson 1997:45). Until sometime in the Late Prehistoric period, lakeshores and peninsulas became a favorite setting for occupation, superseded only by an expansion in the Late Prehistoric period towards rivers.

The Mountain Lake phase may coincide with the appearance of two major adaptive strategies in the occupation of the bison-rich prairies. The first major innovation is in food storage technology. Hunters and gatherers are confronted with a perennial problem, how does one deal with an abundance of a perishable resource available in the short-term. Storage is the fail-safe method and for bison hunters this involved devising a method of preserving meat. By pounding bison bones to obtain the marrow and heating this in a container, they mixed the grease with berries and dried meat to create a storable commodity, pemmican. At first, this involved the use of stone boiling in skins with water and hot rocks, and later this involved pottery containers. The first evidence for pemmican preparation dates back to around 2800 BC or during the Middle Archaic period (Reeves 1990:170). Reeves (ibid) has argued that this freed them to be more mobile as they could feed their dogs to allow them to follow herds or move to potentially more profitable hunting and gathering grounds. One implication of this is that bison drives increased across the Plains as the ability to use more bison (i.e., store) retrieved from kills. Reeves also argues that the bow and arrow was the final key in the blooming of Classic bison hunting culture at least in the Northern Plains (Reeves 1990:170-171). He argues for AD 200, although this varies from region to region and appears to be much later in southwestern Minnesota. Darts, however, were commonly used since the Middle Archaic period.

The second innovation closely timed with the appearance of pemmican storage is that of the tipi. The exact timing of the use of tipis in the Great Plains is problematical as one of the signatures, circular arrangement of rocks, is subject to multiple interpretations. These rock alignments could represent ritual use etc. Nevertheless, at some point in time it appears that bark lodges of the Cree-type were adapted to a conical shape and with the aid of the travois, it became possible for groups to pack valuables (such as lodge poles, food, tools) and move with packs of dogs (Brasser 1982), pemmican could also be used to feed dogs. Reeves has argued for a ca. 2800 BC inception, with wide-spread routine use around 2000 BC. Brasser (1982) argues for around 3000 BC for the appearance of tipi on the plains, but argues it was not until around AD 1000 that it reached the Northeastern Plains in its classic form. Because of the dog limits, the tipi poles were shorter compared to those from the era of the horse. The tipi made life bearable on the prairies for smaller groups since success on the prairie success is movement. Critical resources are widely spaced such as moving herds, harvestable tubers and berries, wood, and water. We lack

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evidence for the actual appearance of these innovations on the prairie margins forming Swift County; however, we are certain that they were adopted.

Woodland period sites are the most commonly encountered prehistoric sites in Minnesota and the same frequencies should be expected in Swift County. Gibbon and Anfinson (2008) review the Woodland materials from the Prairie-Lakes region and note that the components from earlier and later in the Woodland, that is, Fox Lake and Lake Benton, are often mixed at sites and that it is difficult to separate components in many instances. This suggests that the land use patterns during the Woodland did not change significantly. Two innovations were introduced, durable containers and cultigens.

The container revolution was introduced during the Archaic periods in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, although when containers entered the Northern Plains is unresolved. The overall pattern in the Upper Midwest and Plains is that of the appearance of crude thick-walled containers sometime during the Early Woodland through Middle Woodland periods. Further west in the Northeastern Plains excavations at the Naze site (Gregg and Picha 1989) yielded dates and pottery for the Early Plains Woodland (500-1 BC), however, recent work at the site failed to replicate this pattern and instead found a Plains Middle Woodland component (Toom 2007) affiliated with the Sonota complex (Neuman 1974).

Plant husbandry is the final innovation that made life bearable and successful in the prairies. Although tinkering with cultigens extends back into Archaic times in the form of “floodplain weeds” (Smith 1995), the widespread and routine use of cultigens would likely not have had an impact to at least Middle Woodland times and probably much later. Cultigens provide the hedge against the reliance on protein capture by offering a storable starchy substitute. Maize was likely present by Lake Benton times (Gibbon and Anfinson 2008: 15.8. 15.10).

The first Woodland unit, Fox Lake (200 BC-AD 700) (subsequent dates without prefix are AD) is a polyglot of ceramic temporal periods and phases, comprising a putative Early Woodland, Middle Woodland, and early Late Woodland. The overall patterning for this ceramic unit of time is consistent with other trends in the Midwest and beyond – refinement in technology towards thinner-walled vessels with an increase in the belly or medial circumference, presumably to enhance the preparation of starchy foods (Braun 1985).

Fox Lake sites are focused on lakes with a lesser focus on riverine settings. Mound building is suspected along with sedentism (Anfinson 1997:86). The Woodland period witnessed an increase in the representation of “chalcedony cherts” (including KRF) (Anfinson 1997:69)

Fox Lake ceramics, including distinctive incised line decoration over cordmarked vessel surfaces, are found widely in this region, especially to the south of Swift County. Fox Lake represents a Prairie-Woodland adaptation that seems focused on hunting-gathering-fishing-fowling. Sites are usually near lakes and rivers and include typical Fox Lake types along with stemmed and notched projectile points, which is expected for earlier portions of the Woodland.

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Anfinson (1997:68), however, also reports the stratigraphic association of Fox Lake pottery with triangular points more commonly found with Late Woodland and Plains Village components in this region.

The succeeding Woodland complex from the Prairie-Lakes region is Lake Benton (700-1200). Lake Benton ceramics often feature the typical Minnesota cordwrapped stick impressed decorations on the rim and vessel lip. These may extend diagonally from the lip, or sometimes vertically. Some vessel rims are decorated with dentates and occasional punctuates (Anfinson 1997:78-80). At some sites single twisted cord decorated pottery, similar to decorative styles farther west and south are also recovered from regional sites (though not Swift County). Furthermore, Wilford (1944) previously identified Mille Lacs types in Swift County. This is probably a Late Woodland type more closely related to Blackduck/Kathio or Malmo. It is also possible that Wilford mistook Lake Benton pottery for a Mille Lacs type, since the vertical cord impressed type of Lake Benton ware and the Cordwrapped Stick Impressed have many similarities with ceramic types found in central Minnesota, particularly wares now known as St Croix Dentate and Onamia (Anfinson 1979).

Lake Benton represents a terminal expression of Late Woodland that bears affinities with other Midwestern cultures in the appearance of the bow-and-arrow, mound construction and presumably routine cultivation (Emerson et al 2000). By Late Woodland times and beyond there was a decline in “chalcedony cherts” (Anfinson 1997:81). Great Oasis is an exception (Anfinson 1997:94) with a greater representation of Knife River flint, as well as other complexes in South Dakota (Haberman 1993).

Subsistence during Lake Benton times shows no major breaks with earlier practices at most sites. Hunting, gathering, and fishing continue, although Anfinson (1997:83) reports that at Big Slough there is a slight increase in bison hunting through time. Furthermore, at the Johnsrud site in Douglas County, a typical Prairie-Woodland subsistence routine was in evidence, with large and small game, fish, wild plants and maize (Gibbon and Anfinson 2008: 15.10). The presence of a domesticate raises an important issue regarding the life-style of peoples during the later portion of the Woodland period. Whether Lake Benton groups were trading for shelled maize (unlikely), or growing it themselves makes an improved understanding of this cultural complex of added interpretive significance.

The post-Woodland or Late Prehistoric period (900-1650) of the region includes substantial village occupations sometimes associated with mortuary monuments such as mounds and mound groups. The Late Prehistoric Period is amenable to multiple subdivisions in time and space due to a proliferation in ceramic styles and the emergence of strong regional traditions, most of which are centered outside of southwestern Minnesota. A terminological problem with the Late Prehistoric period is that some areas may represent a continuation of Woodland or Plains patterns with a veneer of styles that are Late Prehistoric (Anfinson 1997; Benn 1982). This laggard interpretation of Late Woodland is in serious need of evaluation.

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What were once broad regional areas in Late Woodland times were circumscribed into small hearths surrounded by influenced zones early on and a return of broad regional areas later in time. The early hearths comprise Cambria (Anfinson 1997; Scullin 2007), a small area of large sites with a veneer of Cahokia-based influences and Great Oasis, a Plains-based phenomenon emerging to the south. Complexes related, or influenced, by these localities comprise Big Stone phase and the Randall phase (see Figure 47).

Great Oasis is the earliest of the local cultures to emerge out of Late Woodland and much debate centers on when it ended (see Figure 47). We favor a 900-1100 time range. Most of Great Oasis is centered in Iowa with only a small portion of southwestern Minnesota occupied (Anfinson 1997:88). As with Cambria (see below) it is necessary to distinguish Great Oasis from Great Oasis-like. Sedentary villages with large multi-family dwellings characterize Great Oasis sites.

Cambria (1000-1200) represents a meshing of Plains Village and Cahokia Mississippian cultures (see Figure 47) and is best expressed in a locality comprising closely spaced sites along the Minnesota River in Blue Earth County, some 200 km south of 21SW5 (Anfinson 1997). Between these two locations are examples of Cambria influence, such as Gautefald and Gillingham in Yellow Medicine County (Anfinson 1997, examination of collections by Holley), which lacks many of the ceramic diagnostics found in the original Cambria locality. The extent to which sites in Swift County participated in the Cambria sphere and how this was interwoven with the local Late Woodland cultures is important. Nearby Lake Artichoke in Big Stone County has a site on an island with Cambria-like pottery (Scott Anfinson, personal files).

To the immediate west and north of Swift County is the Big Stone phase (see Figure 47), which is dated 1100-1300 by Anfinson (1997:104-112) This phase is a motley collection of non-shell tempered ceramics with affinities for Terminal Late Woodland and Initial Middle Missouri (Anfinson 1997:106, 108), which are identified as Woodland and Plains Village. Vague similarities are also noted with Northeastern Plains Village wares (Michlovic and Swenson 1998; Toom 2004). This phase includes members that are best considered as more western, such as the Brown’s Valley fortified village, identified by Anfinson as a member of the Big Stone phase. An examination of the ceramics, however, reveals affinities with the Randall phase defined by Haberman (1993) for eastern South Dakota. The Randall phase, dating 1050-1250, comprises grit-tempered ceramics with cordmarked bodies and smoothed plain necks that are (largely) decorated with the Great Oasis style of circumferential parallel-incised lines. Connections with Great Oasis are generic, as the Randall phase collections lack the fine-line control and neck shape diversity of Great Oasis. Absent from these phases are any hint of the Stirling horizon (Hall 1991) that imparts the unique character to the Cambria phase. Whether this is a problem in dating or symptomatic of a cultural divide is beyond our understanding with the present data. With the presence of two fortification styles – large enclosures on level land and small ditched enclosures on bluff tops, it is tempting to equate these with the two influences.

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The later portions of the Late Prehistoric were also characterized by major changes. Two traditions emerge in Minnesota (see Figure 48). To the south, and centered in Wisconsin and Iowa, is Oneota (1250-1650), a vigorous cultural tradition emerging from Mississippian-influenced centers and noted for sedentary agricultural villages. The ceramics are shell-tempered and have a narrowly defined decorative style. To the north was Sandy Lake, a supposed Late Woodland affiliated complex, with Oneota influence, associated with the historic Dakota. To the north and east, these two styles influenced the Northeastern Plains village complex (Picha and Gregg 1991; Schneider 1982; Toom 2004) with a projected emergence at around 1200.

At the present, the area around Swift County has not yielded Oneota diagnostics (Gibbon 1985). Oneota vessels have been recovered from burials mounds in Lyon County about 50 miles south of Swift County, and occupations at Fort Ridgely in Nicollet County, about 100 miles down the Minnesota River. A preliminary analysis of these materials reveals connections with Blue Earth Oneota in southwestern Minnesota and perhaps Coalescent Tradition cultures along the Middle Missouri in South Dakota. Sandy Lake is also not known from Southwestern Minnesota, however, the historic Dakota did occupy the area.

Chert use for the Late Prehistoric in the Lake Prairie region reveals a local focus (Anfinson 1997:100-101; 116-117). This is characteristic of Cambria and Oneota. Great Oasis had a greater connection to the western Knife River sources.

Survey Objectives and Methods

The single primary objective of the Swift County survey was to discover new archaeological sites and to collect a sample of cultural material that would provide a basis for a reasonable re-construction of the cultural historical sequence of the county. Given the results of the Mn-Model and of the previous Statewide Archaeological Survey 1977-1980 we determined it best to approach survey in Swift County with a goal of maximizing results. We were not interested in duplicating previous efforts in accumulating large amounts of negative data to confirm what many surveys have previously shown. In Minnesota archaeology today, there is a more pressing need for culture-historical sequences, subsistence and resource use data, chronologies, and site variability information than there is for more confirmation of where sites are most likely to be located. The Swift County survey was intended to test whether previous large scale undertakings, specifically MnSAS and Mn-Model, adequately indicated probable site location. For this purpose, most survey tracts were positioned in those areas predicted to contain archaeological materials. Surveyed locations away from water were limited, but do represent a minor portion of the acreage covered.

Survey was planned as primarily pedestrian inspection in cultivated fields (Figure 4). This would afford maximum coverage and visibility, and was regarded as a realistic option given the extent of agricultural fields in the county. Shovel probes were planned only for wooded islands in

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several of the larger lakes. Survey in cultivated fields consisted of pedestrian walkover at 20m intervals. In those areas shovel probed a similar spacing was used to place 25x25x40cm shovel tests. The survey unit was a roughly linear area projected to be covered by a survey team of two walking at 20m intervals for ¼ mile, and returning. Survey continued as workers entered and exited fields, and each tract was estimated at about eight acres. The purpose of the survey was not to cover a certain number of acres, but to find sites. The linear tract was judged appropriate since it is a relatively easy matter to plot on standard maps, and it is small enough to be fit around complex landforms such as meandering rivers and irregular lakeshores.

Figure 4. Field workers surveying fields in May.

The survey accomplished the goals of sampling the major watercourses in the county (Table 2), and in some areas exceeded the proposed survey objectives. The Pomme de Terre River was the only major discrepancy in targeted acreage and this was due to the reluctance of landowners to allow access. For this reason, we shifted our coverage in other areas, including the expansion into upland areas.

The fieldwork occurred over a period from May through July and into September. At optimum conditions, we fielded a crew of ten students and up to four supervisors.

The original work plan was to begin survey in early May, prior to planting or before crop emergence. Delays limited the initiation of our survey. Once initiated, we conducted most of the survey in recently planted fields or fields with emergent crops. Field visibility ranged from 70-90%. The major problem during the early season survey was the amount of till in some fields (Figure 5), which made recognition of lithic artifacts difficult. An interruption in the survey forced us to discontinue surveying in such excellent field conditions. The completion of the survey occurred later in the season, under conditions that varied from very good to poor. Some of

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the survey therefore occurred in less than ideal conditions, and recovery of information on small scatters may have been comprised during these final stages.

Figure 5. Glacial till littering the ground surface, June.

The survey design focused on covering presumed high-density areas parallel to watercourses. This was difficult to implement due to row orientation of the cultivated fields after the emergence of crops. When row orientation was not parallel to the watercourse, we were forced to alter our coverage, which took away valuable time. The mid-summer crop cover is illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Visibility, end of June; corn on left, soybeans on right.

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Table 1 shows the locational information for previously discovered sites in the county, while Tables 2-3 show transects for the survey in various portions of the county. Note that sites span the Archaic through Woodland prehistoric periods, and only three are listed as being in upland settings. One of these sites (21SW12) consists of a single flake. Other sites are on the major rivers and lakes.

Table 1. Inventory of Previously Identified Sites, Swift County (all numbered sites in tables to follow have the prefix 21SW-).

Site Area Setting Size Time Periods Comment 1 Benson Upland - Archaic, Woodland 2 Lake Hassel Peninsula 40X200 Archaic? 3 Lake Hassel Lake margins - Mound 4 Lake Hassel Lake margins - Historic? 5 Pomme de Terre Side slope margins Mound and Village 6 Danvers Slough Isolated hill in slough - Prehistoric 7 Chippewa River Sideslope margins - Prehistoric 8 Lake Hassel Peninsula - Prehistoric 9 Lake Hassel Lakeshore 150X350 Woodland 10 Chippewa Side slope margins - Woodland 11 East Branch Chippewa

and Mud Creek Upland hill - Prehistoric Isolated Find

12 Kerkhoven Twp Upland hill top - Prehistoric 13 Pomme de Terre Side slope margins 10x30 Prehistoric 14 Monson Lake Peninsula 200x350 MW-LP Excavated 15 Monson Lake Lake margins Historic 16 Monson Lake Lake margins Historic 17 Chippewa River Sideslope margins 15x25 Historic Dugout Excavated 18 Danvers Upland 20x40 Prehistoric

Table 2. Total of Transects Proposed and Accomplished by Sample Area.

Sample Area Proposed ¼ Mile Transects Completed ¼ Mile Transects*

Pomme de Terre 53 36

Chippewa 51 79.75

Minnesota River 10 19.5

Pomme de Terre Floodplain 18 16.5

Lakes 70 84

Total 202 235.75

* Areas away from watercourses are included

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Table 3. Breakdown of Sampled Areas by ¼ mile transects and acres.

Sample Area ¼ mile Transects Acres Lake Hassel (lake, pond, marshy areas) 39.75 318 Lake Hollerberg (lake shore) 9.75 76 Lake Monson (lake shore, island) 4.5 36 Lake Oliver (lake shore) 11 88 Lake Shible 2 16 Dry Wood Lake (lake shore) 17 136 Lower Chippewa River (river margins) 24.75 198 Lower Chippewa River (uplands) 13 104 Pomme de Terre (floodplain) 16.5 132 Pomme de Terre (bluff edge) 36 288 Minnesota River 19.5 156 Upper Chippewa River (river, creek margins) 17 136 Upper Chippewa River (uplands) 25 205 Swift Falls (shovel test) - 5.6 Total 235.75 1894.6

Note Lake Hassel and Dry Wood Lake totals do not include shovel testing. All acreage calculations are approximate.

Figure 7. 2010 survey areas in Swift County. 1, Lake Hassel; 2, Chippewa-Shakopee; 3, Lower Pomme de Terre; 4, Middle Pomme de Terre; 5, Dry Wood Lake; 6, Lake Oliver-Shible Lake; 7, Lake Monson; 8, Hollerberg Lake; 9, Upper Chippewa; 10, Swift Falls.

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Previous Archaeology in Swift County

Surveys

Swift County has never been the focus of intensive archaeological study. Relatively little is presently known of the county and prior to the present effort, most work was limited to brief cultural resource management phase I surveys, and rare, and limited, test excavations.

Minnesota Statewide Surveys

Minnesota officials undertook to conduct systematic survey of the state in the 1970’s and again in the 1990’s. The earlier effort is known as the Minnesota Statewide Archaeological Survey, or MnSAS. The later one is known as Mn-Model. Neither of these undertakings made any special study of Swift County, but predictions made on the basis of survey in other, environmentally similar parts of the Minnesota, are relevant here.

The MnSAS survey included a stratified random sampling procedure of counties throughout Minnesota selected to provide archaeological coverage to a variety of different environmental regions. One of the major objectives of the MnSAS project was to predict the presence of archaeological sites in different geomorphic or environmental parts of the state. Surveys were conducted from 1977-1980. The MnSAS report (Minnesota Historical Society [MHS] 1981) lists 21 counties that received some level of study. Swift County was not included in the MnSAS survey, but Brown and Redwood counties, about 50 miles southeast of Swift, were surveyed to learn about site distribution in the Blue Earth till plain and in the Minnesota Valley outwash. Like Swift County, Brown and Redwood are in the Minnesota River Valley. Here, the rate of site occurrence was highest on lakeshores (0.244, with inlets/outlets, streams confluences, and stream channels had site occurrence rates of 0.125, 0.115, and 0.130 respectively) (MHS 1981: 25).

Another archaeological survey conducted as part MnSAS was in Clay County, in the Lake Agassiz lacustrine plain. Here was extremely flat terrain formed under a pro-glacial lake, similar to the geomorphic condition in large portions of Swift County. Also, just as in Swift County, the native vegetation of Clay County was tallgrass prairie. One major difference is that lakes are not present. In Clay County the rate of site occurrence is 0.220 along streams and 0.125 where streams intersect the Lake Agassiz beach deposits. Away from water, site occurrence is very low, at 0.03 in open prairie (MHS 1981: 31).

Mn-Model

In the 1990’s a more ambitious attempt was made to predict the presence or absence of sites in different parts of Minnesota. This consisted of a probabilistic model of site distribution based on some additional survey, on plotting previously discovered sites from throughout the state, and on the application of sophisticated GIS protocols. The result of this work is known as Mn-Model. Mn-Model may be accessed on the web at http://www.mnmodel.dot.state.mn.us/ (referred to here

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as Mn-Model 1998). Information presented here on Mn-Model predictions for Swift County are taken from chapter 8, section 20, which is devoted to the Minnesota River Prairie. The model for sites in Swift County is taken from the map accompanying chapter 8.

Mn-Model predicts high site density along the Minnesota River, and relatively high density for major tributaries of that stream. It predicts 83% of sites to be in high and medium site potential areas, which make up only about 20% of the land area in this region. This includes rivers, streams and larger lakes (Mn-Model 1998: 8:20.2.1). The model also predicts that in this section of the state, which is a grassland area, sites are found preferentially in areas with diverse vegetation, especially including woodlands. This association is regarded as strong. Conversely, in areas of dominant prairie vegetation, sites are less likely to be found (Mn-Model 1998: 8.20.2.3.1). The model predicts mound sites and artifact scatters fairly well, while it performs poorly predicting lithic scatters, rock art, and kill/butcher sites (Ibid: 8.20.2.3.3). The map accompanying the Mn-Model survey makes it possible to view the model’s predicted areas of high and low site density. Isolating Swift County on the map, it predicts high site density along the Pomme de Terre from the point where it enters the Minnesota River northwards for about 10 miles. Several lakes in the western portion of the county are also shown as high potential areas. In the central portion of the county the Chippewa River is shown with high site potential near the southern border of the county. Lake Hassel, one of Swift County’s larger lakes, is indicated as a medium potential area for sites. The rest of the county is shown as having low site potential (Mn-Model 1998: map, Minnesota River Prairie Subsection).

Prior Swift County Surveys

Local recognition of the prehistory of Swift County extends back to the early Euro-American settlers (1860-1870s) and is recorded in the County Museum (Anfinson 1971) in the form of catalog notes of material donated to the museum. This material has since been misplaced. T. H. Lewis, as part of the Northwest Archaeological Survey, identified several mound sites in the county and additional information on these was published by Winchell (1911:201-202). He describes two groups of mounds on the Pomme de Terre River. One group, listed as “a” by Winchell is in section 5, T121/42 and located 80 feet above the floodplain. The six mounds in the group are up to 70 feet in diameter, and two are reported to have been excavated. The second group, “b”, is in sec. 31, T122/42 and includes two mounds. Mr. George Wright reports finding human bones, buffalo bones and charcoal in one of the mounds in this second group (Winchell 1911: 201-202). No other report on these mounds is available.

Lloyd Wilford (1944), former Minnesota state archaeologist, in his wide-ranging state program visited the county to follow two site leads. One of the sites, directly northeast of Benson, contained Archaic points and pottery of the “general Mille Lacs type,” which we may identify as Kathio (Wilford 1941) or perhaps more conservatively as Late Woodland. The other site was found on a peninsula of Lake Hassel (northwestern portion of county) and described as a lithic scatter.

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It was not until 1971 that further work in the county was initiated by Anfinson as a broad assessment of the archaeological potential of the county involving an examination of previous work, consultation with avocational archaeologists, and site visits. Anfinson identified a total of 10 sites, including those previously reported, encompassing the entire county. Based on this preliminary literature review and survey, it appears that archaeological sites were concentrated along the major rivers (Pomme de Terre and Chippewa) and near lakes, particularly Lake Hassel. Diagnostics examined from these sites allowed Anfinson to project a time span from the Archaic to Late Prehistoric. The most significant site complex identified by Anfinson is a village and large mound complex (identified by Lewis and listed as 21SW5). Pottery from this site most likely dates from the Late Woodland period and includes types with cord wrapped object impressions applied after the fashion used on Lake Benton or Kathio/Blackduck wares. Pottery from one of the private collections assembled from sites around the Appleton area came from the vicinity of 21SW5, and includes relatively large rim sherds clearly in or like the Kathio and Blackduck styles.

A variety of archaeological surveys were conducted in Swift County from the middle 1970’s onward as pipelines and other construction projects were reviewed for possible impacts to cultural resources (Office of the State Archaeologist files). This work, conducted from 1974 to 2003, has increased the total of prehistoric sites to fifteen. These new additions are mostly lithic scatters and single finds.

In 1974 a survey for the construction of the Dome Pipeline was conducted (Lane 1974). The county was traversed from the northern border, northwest of Clontarf, in a southeasterly direction to a point several miles west of the southeastern corner of the county. The pipeline right-of-way was 60’, and the area was traversed at 5-10 meter intervals. The total area surveyed was approximately 200 acres. No sites were found.

Hudak (1980) completed a survey of 40 acres on the west side of the City of Appleton (SW1/4, sec 15, T120/43) which included pedestrian survey and shovel probes. No finds were made.

Johnson (1990) conducted a survey over 160 acres on Mud Creek, section 25, T122/38 and sec 30, T122/37. Standard pedestrian procedures were used and a single Swan River chert flake was recovered, however, no site was recorded on the basis of the single item. No further work was recommended.

Kruger (1994) surveyed a single acre on the Pomme Terre using shovel probes and pedestrian procedures with negative results.

Peterson (1995) completed a survey in sec. 18, Moyer township over a single acre with negative results. This was on the Pomme de Terre River. Standard survey procedures were employed in this survey.

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Skaar (1995) performed a survey in section 26, T122/43. This was on the northeast shore of Lake Oliver. The survey covered about 4 acres. There were no finds.

Additional pipeline survey was conducted in 1996-1998 along essentially the same route as used by the 1974 Dome pipeline project (Fosberg, et.al. 1999). A 61 m (200’) corridor was intermittently surveyed using pedestrian methods over a total of about 4.48 miles, with an additional 1.1 mile shovel tested. Survey intervals were 15 meters, and shovel tests at 10 meter intervals. Total surveyed area was approximately 140 acres. No sites were discovered.

Skaar (1997) also surveyed an area on the northwest shore of Lake Hassel, at site 21SW9. Shovel probes and pedestrian survey was used over an area of about 8 acres. Cultural material was found and included 22 flakes and two potsherds. Various local lithic materials were recovered along with Knife River flint.

Kluth and Kluth (1997) discovered site 21SW13 in sections 18 and 19, T121/42 on the Pomme de Terre in shovel probes. The site was defined on the basis of two Swan River chert flakes over an investigated area of ten acres. This site is sometimes referred to as the “Roadside Park” site, since there is a small county park on the north side of Highway 12 on the east side of the Pomme de Terre. Arzigian and Stevenson (2003: 505) report that a possible grave depression with no marker is above the park and probably related to a historic homestead. No work was done at this wooded location; however, prehistoric materials are present on the west side of the river on high ground opposite the Roadside Park.

In 2002 additional work was reported for the route of the pipeline previously placed in Swift County. This was a phase I survey by the Alaska Gas Pipeline Company (Murray and Bourgerie 2002). The survey took place in the same corridor but involved additional acreage. This survey was done using standard methods at 15m intervals, with some shovel probing. Geomorphic work was included near the Chippewa River. No sites were identified.

Overall, we estimate the Dome, Alliance and Alaska pipeline projects covered about 1000 acres from Clontarf, near the north central border of Swift County, to a point east of Kerkhoven in the southeastern corner of the county. All surveys crossed the Chippewa River, but most of pipeline APE was away from water. These three pipeline surveys covered almost 50% of the area covered by the present survey. They involved acreage mostly away from water. The complete absence of sites in an area this large, while the present survey reports over 20 sites in a comparable area, is a fair measure of where archaeological sites are located in the county.

Test Excavations

Two test excavations have been completed in Swift County. One of these was a volunteer effort at a historic period site conducted in 2002. The site tested is the Christopherson-Goulson dugout (21SW17). The occupation was by Anna Byberg Christopherson Goulson. It is located on the Chippewa River in Swenoda township, about 15 miles from Benson. The work was done as a

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University of Kentucky undertaking. It involved a pedestrian survey of a field near the dugout, shovel probes, and trenching and test excavation of the dugout itself. Three 1-2 foot deep trenches were dug into the berm of the dugout and several test units. Artifacts were sparse and the lack of ceramics and glass suggested to the excavators a spare, pioneer existence. The occupation was inferred to be a short term use sometime around 1879 (Linebaugh 2003).

A second test excavation of a site in Swift County was conducted by the DNR at Monson Lake State Park. The site is located in section 1, T121/37 on state land and is recorded as 21SW14, and it extends over about 10 acres. The test was undertaken in advance of construction work on a septic system in the site area. The impact area for the planned septic system had already been identified as the Monson Lake State Park CCC/WPA Rustic Style Historic District. Information on the site presented here is from the report by Gonsior and Radford (2001).

Forty-three shovel probes and eight one meter units were dug at the site in 2000 by DNR archaeologists. A total of 291 lithic items were recovered and 15 pottery fragments. About 100 historic artifacts were also found. The site has relatively good integrity but there is a plow zone about 25cm deep. The Monson Lake park campground building has also disturbed portions of the site. The only diagnostic artifact recovered is a Prairie Side-Notched projectile point, which probably dates to the later portion of the prehistoric period. The ceramics include both cordmarked and smooth- surfaced sherds, but no rims. One decorated sherd, a cord decorated neck may indicate Plains Village Tradition influence or presence. The lithic collection consists mostly of local raw materials including Swan River chert, Red River chert, Tongue River silica, and quartz. Exotic materials are not well represented in the collection but do include three pieces of Knife River flint, one each of Hixton quartzite and obsidian, and three pieces of Prairie du Chien chert. The authors of the report feel the site is Middle Woodland based on the projectile point, although the point and the single corded neck sherd suggest a somewhat later date, and the site materials are certainly consistent with a date of Late Woodland. However, both the lithic collection, including the diagnostic point and the ceramics are consistent with the surface finds made during the present survey.

Private Collections

During the course of the Swift County survey several private collections were examined. Unfortunately, not all of the known collectors were available or could be contacted during the course of the project, but a significant number of artifacts from the county and surrounding areas were examined. There is surprisingly little pottery in the private collections. While there are a small number of ceramics in the private collections examined as part of this survey, there are far more projectile points, and many more stone tools besides. The lack of ceramics in private hands is matched by the lack of pottery in the 2010 survey as well. To a large extent our understanding of the county using private collections is based on the assignment of chronological parameters to projectile points. Here, our concern with collections is primarily with projectile points and raw

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material types, since these are the easiest to make use of in constructing a culture history for a relatively poorly known area.

Projectile points from all the major culture-historical periods in Minnesota prehistory were found in the field or in collections during the survey. Paleoindian period points (pre-8000 years ago) were observed in two collections. Points belonging to the Archaic (8000-2500 years ago), Woodland (2500-400) and Village Periods (900-400) were observed in collections and also recovered in the field (see Appendix 2).

The ceramic sample from the Briscoe collection (Appendix 3) represents time periods spanning the Middle Woodland through Late Prehistoric periods. Middle Woodland is rare. Most of the ceramics are from the late Late Woodland through the early portion of the Late Prehistoric period (ca. 600-1300). Stylistic affinities are recognized with Blackduck and Lake Benton. Cambria and Great Oasis are also represented. An undefined Plains-related Late Prehistoric component is present, which does not readily fit into known analytical units. The overall impression is that much remains to be defined for the regional sequence along the Minnesota River drainage.

Project Results

Work Schedule

The Swift County Survey was conducted by archeologists from Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). The crew included two principal investigators, two Master’s level (ABD) archaeologists from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and up to ten students from the MSUM field school in archaeology. After basic training in archaeological techniques during the field school, five of the students were hired as field technicians in later phases of the field survey. Field work began on May 17 with two MA level archaeologists in the field for one week, adding a field school and one P.I. for a second week. During this time many property owners were called or visited to obtain permission to survey their land. The original work plan to begin survey in early May was intended to maximize surface visibility prior to planting or before crop emergence. Even with a work stoppage, most of the survey was conducted in recently planted fields or fields with emergent crops. Field visibility ranged from 70-90% in the early weeks of the survey. After the interruption, the survey was completed later in the season than planned, and under conditions that were sometimes poor. Soybean plants had canopied and provided very limited visibility. Some corn fields supported standing crops over six feet high. We expect that recovery of information on small cultural material scatters was comprised during the late stages of field work toward the end of June. Field work on the pedestrian survey was essentially finished by early July.

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A deep testing procedure was completed in late July. This work was conducted by a consultant from MSUM with two student assistants. Deep testing involved down-hole probes using a magnetic susceptibility protocol and the collection of soil samples for inspection for microartifacts.

Shovel probes were not a major goal of the survey. In fact, it was a stated objective of the survey to focus on high visibility fields where maximum recovery and site identification might be possible. In agricultural areas such as Swift County searching for archaeological sites will be far more successful in cultivated fields than in obscured surfaces with minimal probe sized exposures. However, in September two islands in the county, one in Lake Hassel and one in West Sunburg Lake were shovel probed. Other islands, in Hollerberg Lake and Lake Oliver were originally slated for shovel probes, but high water had inundated both areas and probes were not attempted.

The total work time devoted to the field survey, site form preparation, and artifact analysis, including time contributed by professionals and students, amounted to about 1800 person hours. Research and report writing are not part of this total, nor are exhibit preparation, public talks and other outreach efforts, all of which are ongoing or will be completed in early 2011 (this refers specifically to outreach efforts planned in Swift County after this report is submitted). All field and lab work was done between late May and early November, 2010.

Our survey accomplished the goals of sampling the major watercourses in the county (Table 2), and in some areas exceeded what was proposed. The Pomme de Terre River was the only major discrepancy in targeted acreage and this was due to the reluctance of landowners to give access. For this reason, coverage was expanded in other areas, including the survey of more extensive tracts in upland areas and other away from water localities. While this was at some variance from our original proposal for the survey it did provide additional checks on the predictions of Mn-Model regarding site location in this environmental region.

As mentioned above, the survey design was aimed at presumed high-density areas near watercourses. This was difficult to implement due to row orientation of the cultivated fields and the emergence of crops. The problem was alleviated somewhat through the use of the small eight-acre survey tracts. While the linear tracts (400 x 80 meters) did not solve all of the problems associated with this issue, they did prevent the expenditure of inordinate amounts of time walking rows in crops that some larger sized tracts would have required. In some instances, we had to enlarge our survey area in order to avoid wasting valuable time walking against the grain of the rows. Lastly, on some occasions we decided to expand our coverage of non-alluvial settings since permission was often difficult to obtain. We believed that such coverage was helpful in the overall sampling of the county.

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Due to the access problems in surveying land, our survey tended to cluster (Table 3) and for this reason, we have followed these clusters in discussing site data in the county. In spite of these limitations, the resulting clusters often have geographic/environmental coherence.

Sites identified in the survey were accorded SC (Swift County) survey numbers (Appendix 1). Formal site numbers (21SW_) were obtained from the state and are the identification numbers used in this report, except for one historic scatter, which was not given a site number.

Lake Hassel Area

The Lake Hassel area occupies the north central portion of the county adjacent to Pope County. Although barely nudged out by Lake Oliver with an estimated 671 acres, Lake Hassel at 634 acres is the second largest lake in the county. If the adjacent or conjoined lakes Frovold and Moore are included, the combined area represents 913 acres of surface water and is the largest water surface area in the county. Of added significance are the surrounding marshlands and intermittent streams. Six miles to the southwest of these lakes is a fork in the Chippewa River that was an important juncture in this north-south corridor.

The GLO map of Benson Township reveals lightly forested areas around the margins, particularly on the south and east. Other significant natural features are two springs on the eastern and western sides of Lake Hassel. An occupied house, cultivated plots, and the presence of numerous platted subdivisions points to an early use of the area south of Lakes Hassel and Moore by American settlers. Lake Hassel has served as a popular lake and the island within the lake has been the most used of the several islands in the county. The Lake Hassel tract is characterized by a series of prominent glacial features along the shorelines forming peninsulas. These peninsulas are some of the highest elevations in the tract, reaching 1080 ft amsl.

Prior to our survey this area had the greatest concentrated evidence for prehistoric occupation. Five sites were previously recorded, including a mound. Anfinson (1971) in his original overview of the county identified three of the sites. These sites 21SW2, SW3, and SW4 were proposed to comprise an archaeological district (State Site Files, Pat Anfinson 1978) centered on Lake Moore. SW2 represents an extensive scatter along a peninsula and shore of Lake Moore. SW 3 is a solitary mound with no apparent cultural material scatter. The mound was identified by GLO surveyors in the 1850s, the only such mound identified during that survey of the county. Winchell (1911: 201) also mentions the mound, and states that it was 10 feet high, an unusually large mound for the region. SW4 is a scatter in a cultivated field between Lake Moore and Frovold. Materials from local landowners include primarily lithic tools spanning the Archaic and Woodland periods. Catlinite pipes from SW4 include a horse figure thereby placing the occupation in the historic period. Pottery is not described in these collections.

The two remaining previously identified sites in this locality are on the northern shore of Lake Hassel. Site SW8 is a lithic scatter on a peninsula and SW9 is a lithic scatter with a single sherd and bone fragment.

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The Historic Dakota residing in a reservation along the Minnesota River may have used Lake Hassel. Samuel Pond (1893), a missionary residing with the Dakota, describes an 1834 trek that was presumably seasonal. Moving in spring from a forest-based settlement on the Minnesota River, Pond traveled with a group into the prairie interior following the Chippewa River, to settle eventually along lakes to the north, more than likely Lake Hassel in Swift County; a Chippewa raiding party interrupted their stay. We presume that the stay at the lakes during the spring would have been for specialized activities.

Lake Hassel Survey Results

About 300 acres, consisting of 40 survey transects, were inspected along watercourses (Figures 8-9). This resulted in the identification of ten prehistoric sites and one historic site (Table 4). These new sites are 21SW19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 61, 62, and 64. Additional shovel testing based on results of survey in three locations resulted in the discovery of three additional sites, giving a total of ten new sites. Four of the five previously identified sites were revisited; but no permission was obtained for one additional known site. Surface visibility was excellent in spring, when the fields were walked.

As expected, and based on previous predictions, sites clustered along lakeshores, particularly on the elevated margins of the lake. Other settings with sites included level areas displaced from the lakeshore, the margins of a pothole, and an island.

Without doubt, the newly identified substantial sites (n=2) were on the elevated lakeshore margins. Unfortunately, these sites did not lie completely within a plowed field and crew members were unable to reliably determine site size, nor to recover large artifact samples. The site with the largest collection along the lakeshore margins was SW23. This site was partially in a plowed field, and the remainder most likely continued into the currently occupied toft of a farmhouse. Surveyors recovered a relatively large number of items from the surface on one visit. The second substantial site, SW61, was found by shovel testing the grass surroundings of a late 19th century cemetery and church. A site lead by Scott Anfinson was the stimulus for probing at this location. We suspect that the site was probably large, conforming to the elevated margins lying between the marshy edges of Lake Moore and the shore of Lake Hassel. Both of these sites yielded pottery.

Pottery was also found at another site lying between Lakes Moore and Hassel. This site, SW19, yielded a small number of artifacts, although it is possible that the site continues into a forested area to the immediate north. This site is an isolated scatter at the headward position of small gully draining into a marsh. The site is roughly equidistant between Lakes Hassel and Moore.

Another site displaced from the lake margins, SW25, was in a cultivated field adjacent to a forested area. The light scatter comprised lithics and a kaolin pipe fragment. This site lies in the limits of the Archaeological District proposed for Lake Moore.

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One unique setting was along the margins of large pothole. This pothole (approximately 1100 by 200 m) lies at the center of the three lakes (Hassel, Moore, and Frovold). It was marshy at the time of the GLO Benson Township map. Presently trees are growing on the steep southern slope and edge. Three sites were found on the margins (SW20-22) as well as a possible site that may have eroded from these margins. The latter site was a small scatter (SW24) found on level ground to the northeast of these elevated margins and may represent erosion from upslope. Erosion in this area was severe and abundant glacial till litters the surface. All of the sites in this marshy locality were small lithic scatters, and given erosion, it was likely that they were larger at one time. We also found a moose tooth from the floor of the dried pothole, lying 30 ft below the margins. Remains of bison and other large mammals are typically found on the shores of lakes in the area or on occasion when the shallow lakes dried-out (Anfinson 1971). These remains are presently on display at the Swift County Historical Society, Benson.

A historic dugout was found (SW26) overlooking a marshy area on the northern margins of Lake Moore. An extant wall formed of dynamited till was present as well as stone marking a formal entrance facing the marsh. Local residents claim that an eccentric bachelor who helped construct the nearby church occupied it. This would date the dugout to the end of the nineteenth century. No artifacts were evident on the surface. Trees are currently growing inside of and outside of the dugout.

We were able to investigate four of the five previously identified sites around the lake. Sites SW2 and 9 yielded only a small sample of lithics, although further work in the forested margins of Lake Moore south of the peninsula is warranted. SW9, although not yielding a large collection, may also warrant further work. No site was identified in the large area occupied by SW4. This site occupied the land between the lakes. As mentioned above this site yielded historic era Native American artifacts and thus may not be characterized by the traditional lithic and ceramic debris we have come to expect from prehistoric Native American sites. A nearby site, SW25 did yield a historic period kaolin pipe and might be related to the late occupation at SW4. The final site SW3 is an earthen mound was in a grassy area. The owner was reluctant to permit shovel testing around the mound.

The final tract surveyed in the Lake Hassel area was an island of several acres in size. This has been in use as a Boy Scout camp for many years, and informants familiar with the island mentioned reports of finding bison bone and possibly artifacts to survey staff. Unfortunately, no collections from the island were available for review. The island is largely wooded, although along one shoreline erosion has exposed a considerable surface area. The entire island is littered with modern debris and bone and feathers from waterfowl. Shovel probes were mostly negative on the island, except for one. Several bone fragments were found along with a single chert flake. This was recorded as a site (SW64) partly on the testimony of informants that other materials had been found here in the past.

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Figure 8. Lake Hassel area survey tracts and sites.

Figure 9. Lake Hassel area survey tracts (south).

Small tracts were surveyed away from the lakes yet near small ponds and marshy areas. These areas, comprising over 100 acres, yielded no evidence for archaeological sites.

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Material Debris and Occupation (Tables 4-7)

Chipped lithic debris and tools were the primary artifacts recovered from sites in the Lake Hassel area. The proportion of chert sources appears equal to the overall project totals. The only lithic diagnostic consisted of a Pelican Lake point and Hanna point (see Table 28) that probably dates from the Late Archaic period. The sherds are thin-walled, grit-tempered with smoothed plain and cordmarked surfaces. These are presumed to date from the Late Woodland through the early portion of the Late Prehistoric, i.e., Cambria.

The presence of catlinite pipes (SW4), one of which bears the figure of a horse likely dates from the Historic period. This is from the Pedersen collection and reveals an historic native occupation (Appendix 2). A kaolin pipe fragment that derives from a nearby site may also date from this Historic period occupation centered on the lakes. If this were correct, it would corroborate the story by Pond (1893) of his travels with a Dakota group.

Table 4. Inventory of Archaeological Sites, Lake Hassel Tract.

Site SW Setting Size Density * Time Periods Comment 2 Peninsula 40X200 Light Prehistoric 3 Displaced Indeterminate Unknown Prehistoric Mound 4 Displaced Indeterminate Unknown Historic? Could not be relocated 8 Peninsula Indeterminate Unknown Prehistoric 9 Bank 150X350 Light Prehistoric 19 Displaced 10x20 Light Late Woodland Perhaps a portion of a larger site 20 Pot Lid 20x20 Light Prehistoric 21 Pot Lid 30x30 Light Prehistoric 22 Pot Lid 20x30 Light Prehistoric 23 Bank 60x110 Moderate LW/LP 24 Pot Lid 10x20 Light Late Archaic 25 Displaced 30x40 Light Prehistoric Perhaps a portion of a larger site 26 Bank 30x30 Ind Historic Historic dugout 61 Bank Large Moderate? Late Prehistoric 62 Peninsula Large? Moderate? Middle Archaic 64 Island Indeterminate Light Prehistoric

* Density is a subjective measure.

Bone was only recovered from one site, SW61, however, it is certainly possible that SW23 will eventually yield bone. As a rule in the project, sites with pottery also have bone. For example, in the initial survey of SW9 bone and a ceramic sherd were recovered.

Interpretation

Descriptions of private collections from the Lake Hassel Tract chart a potentially long occupational sequence. The tempo of this occupation is unknown; however, we do witness a greater concentration and intensification of occupation along the elevated shorelines of the lake

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Table 5. Tabluation of Chert Material and Categories by Site (SW) Lake Hassel Locality.

Chert Material 2 9 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 61 62 63 Total

Swan River 1 2 2 19 1 1 1 28

Red River 1 6 1 1 1 10

Quartz 2 1 1 3 7

Prairie du Chien 1 1 2

Grand Meadow 1 1 1 1 4

Chalcedony 1 1

Tongue River Silica 2 1 3

Knife River Flint 1 1 1 3

Other 1 2 1 4

Quartzite 1 1

Maynes Creek 1 1

Total 2 1 3 3 3 2 37 2 3 3 4 1 64

Categories

Core 1 6 1 2 1 11

Flake/Debris 2 1 3 2 1 20 1 2 1 1 34

Utilized flake 1 2 5 8

Tool 1 6 1 1 2 11

Table 6. Tabulation of Ceramics, SW5, Pomme de Terre (all grit temper).

Surface N Wt Comment Period

Plain 2 6.5 Thick-walled, Coarse to very coarse temper MW

Cordmarked 2 13.0 Thick-walled, Coarse Temper MW-LW

Cordmarked 11 20.3 Thin wall, fine and coarse temper LW

Cordmarked 1 2.6 CWD notch interior LW

Smoothed Cordmarked 4 11.7 Thin-walled, fine to coarse temper LW

Plain/Interior CI 1 1.3 Thin-walled, fine temper LW

Cord impressed 2 2.8 LW-LP

Tool Impressed 1 0.4 LW-LP

Simple Stamped 6 9.7 Thin-walled, fine to coarse temper LP (early?)

Plain 1 12.3 LP

Indeterminate 9 6.6

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Table 7. Lake Hassel Bone (SW61).

Type # Wt Large Mammal, gnawed 2 6.3

from the Late Woodland through the Late Prehistoric periods. Intensification is measured here by the presence of bone, high artifact frequency, and possibly mound construction. One interesting enigma, based on local collections (Appendix 2) is the presence of non-Plains Woodland point styles, the only known examples in the county.

The presence of a possible historic catlinite pipe and the kaolin pipe fragment may support the presence of Native Americans in historic times as documented in the Pond accounts (1893).

Archaeological Potential

As expected the greatest density of sites, and the most significant sites, lay along lakeshores, particularly elevated lakeshores. Peninsulas in particular were selected for occupation and we suspect that all such landforms were once occupied. Narrow elevated margins between the lakes were also favored.

No site was positioned more than 250 m from any lakeshore margin, and most were well under this distance. We surmise that in lake areas there was no need/demand to occupy marginal land. We define marginal land as elevated margins of ponds and marshes displaced from lakes. However, it does not hold that this rule would apply when lakes were not present. Settings we did not survey comprised the margins of creeks and intermittent streams that drain into the lake and the elevated margins of marshy areas that bracket the lakes.

Lower Chippewa River Area

For the lower Chippewa investigations were concentrated in Swenoda Township, occupying the south central portion of the county adjacent to Chippewa County. The GLO survey of this township reveals a prairie with a river and creek. Marshy areas were scattered along river margins and the Shakopee Creek (identified as “Dry Weather Creek”) possessed marshes on both banks for most of its course. Marshy areas existed in small pockets away from the watercourses. Timber is absent from the township. Perhaps the floodplain of the Chippewa River is too narrow to have supported gallery forests. Timbered areas were reported on the Chippewa River in Six-Mile Grove Township to the immediate north, which corresponds to approximately six miles in length. The specificity of this distance suggests that timber was not typical for the Chippewa River.

No early claims or settlements are evident in this township. The earliest settlement, Section 10 (McNeil and Bryant 1882:965) was in 1869 and lies adjacent to the Chippewa and Shakopee confluence.

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The Dakota name for the Chippewa River was “Mayawakan” and translated as “sacred banks or remarkable steep banks” (Williamson 1976:18). The latter is understandable at least for the river in the southern portion of the county as the banks are at least 20 ft in some areas.

At least judged by modern hydrologic conditions, flooding can be severe along this portion of the river as one farmer noted that an ox-bow (Section 9 and 10, Swenoda Township) was regularly flooded at an elevation of 1010 ft amsl. Side slope margins of the river are gently rolling. Displaced from the margins are hill isolates rising to 1050 ft amsl. Low-lying marshy areas are also present away from the river margins, but not as numerous as in the west central portion of the county.

An advocational archaeologist previously identified the only site, SW10, in this township. Scott Anfinson (1971) identified no sites along the lower portion of this river in his original survey. Unlike the Pomme de Terre River, we did not initially believe that there was a great potential for sites along the river, in part, this was because of extensive channelization. A systematic attempt to document advocational archaeological survey along the lower reaches of the Chippewa River in Chippewa County (Koenen 1999), however, revealed a large number of sites spanning most of the prehistoric sequence.

Survey Results

In all about 300 acres or 38 transects were surveyed in this portion of the county. Extensive survey was possible in this area due to cooperative landowners. Survey was conducted along large portions of the side-slope margins of the Chippewa and adjacent areas. Sixteen prehistoric scatters were identified marking the greatest site density in our survey. In addition, we enlarged the limits of the previously identified site (SW10). The newly discovered sites are 21SW30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 (Figures 10-11).

Although not all available side slope margins of the Chippewa River floodplain yielded evidence for prehistoric occupation, many tracts did reveal at least minimal evidence for occupation. Sites were found at elevations at or above the 1020 ft amsl contour interval. The most significant sites are proximal to the river at or near the confluence with Shakopee Creek. The confluence of the Shakopee Creek and Chippewa River was an important draw because Shakopee Creek drains from a lake in adjacent Kanydiyohi County and connects important resource zones (Minnesota River, Chippewa River and lake-forest country). Only a small portion of the Shakopee Creek was surveyed. Based on examination of the terrain we judged that it would not yield the kind of intensively occupied sites as the Chippewa River.

The presence of sites displaced from the river, although less than one mile, was a surprise. However, at least a portion of the isolated hill flanks was adjacent to a marshy area and thus an attractive location

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Figure 10. Lower Chippewa area survey tracts and sites (north).

Figure 11. Lower Chippewa area survey tracts and sites (south).

The three significant sites in this tract comprised SW10, SW30 and SW31. We returned to collect SW10 and identified a moderately dense debris scatter in the field. The scatter occupies a prominent, if small hill on the side slope margins of the river. Subsequent survey expanded the site limits as lithic debris continued another 100 m to the north along the margins of the creek. A

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single rim and bone fragments are highlights of the collection from SW10. The site was identified as Woodland on the site form. A single triangular point was also found.

One of the most substantial sites identified in our survey of the county was SW31 at the confluence of the Shakopee Creek and Chippewa River. The scatter was extensive but concentrated along the southern and western margins within an oxbow of the Chippewa River. A considerable range of material characterized the collection including bone, ceramics, lithics, and an incised catlinite tablet fragment; revisiting enlarged our sample. Ceramics included sherds spanning the Middle Woodland through Late Prehistoric periods. Lithic diagnostics were not numerous. The landowner found a grooved maul prior to our visit at the site. To the immediate north of SW31 was SW30, which was a lithic scatter. Although the scatter was large, no pottery or bone was found. A field line separates the sites and further investigation may warrant collapsing them into one; however, repeated attempts to find ceramics and bone at SW30 were fruitless. One possibility, recognized at other locations, is that there was a larger area occupied intermittently during the Archaic period, with a concentration closer to the river during later times. This area has been identified as the Norby site complex.

All other sites in this township are small and consist of only a light scatter of lithics. In addition to the sideslope margins of the creek, these scatters were also found on isolated hills displaced from the floodplain. Although sites were identified away from the river in an upland setting, we surveyed portions of three hill isolates and the only hill with evidence for prehistoric occupation was the highest in elevation (1050 ft amsl) and adjacent to a marshy area.

Material Debris and Occupation (Tables 8-11)

Three sites are relatively dense with multiple collections and all are within one mile of the Shakopee Creek and Chippewa River confluence. Two of the sites yielded bone and pottery, a tandem replicated in other surveyed tracts.

Quartz was the second most common knapped material in this tract, reflecting a greater attention to testing locally available till material. Knife River flint is limited to the three most significant sites. Such an occurrence might lead one to speculate that Knife River flint was more commonly used during late occupations.

Late Archaic is the earliest occupation, and a continuous occupation follows throughout the remainder of the prehistoric sequence. Thick-walled grit tempered ceramics are present, as well as Late Woodland, Cambria (see Figure 46) and Late Prehistoric ceramic materials. This time range is unmatched at any other tract. Site SW10 also yielded a single rim that appears to date late within the Late Woodland period (see Figure 46). However, if not for the confluence of Shakopee Creek with the Chippewa River in this area, we suspect that this rich sequence would not be duplicated. The only unequivocal evidence for post-Cambria occupations in the project was found at SW31. This consisted of a single shell tempered sherd with an exfoliated exterior surface. The additional presence of a shell-grit tempered cordmarked sherd may indicate a Sandy

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Lake occupation. These shell tempered sherds must be associated with the incised catlinite tablet (identified as the Norby Tablet, see below). The catlinite tablet fragment has a polished bottom, ground edge with a discrete area of three vertical notches, and a surface with innumerable scratches. Deep plow scars compromise our interpretation of these scratches.

Table 8. Inventory of Archaeological Sites, Lower Chippewa River.

Site SW Setting Size Density Time Periods 10 SideSlope Margins 100X300 Moderate LW/SP 30 Confluence 100X300 Moderate Archaic, LP 31 Confluence 100X180 Moderate MW-LP 32 SS Margins 50X50 Light Prehistoric 33 SS Margins 20X40 Light Prehistoric 34 SS Margins 20X50 Light Pelican Lake 35 SS Margins 20X20 Light Prehistoric 36 SS Margins 20X20 Light Prehistoric 38 SS Margins 20X30 Light Prehistoric 39 SS Margins 20X30 Light Prehistoric 40 Upland 20X30 Light Late Prehistoric 41 Upland 20X20 Light Late Archaic 42 Upland 50X50 Light Prehistoric 43 Upland 30X40 Light Prehistoric 44 SS Margins IF Light Prehistoric 45 SS Margins IF Light Prehistoric 46 SS Margins IF Light Prehistoric

Table 9. Tabulation of Chert Material and Categories by Site (SW), Chippewa River.

Chert Material/Site 10 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 38 39 40 41 Swan River 39 16 23 3 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 Red River 8 2 3 1 1 1 Quartz 4 1 29 1 1 1 Prairie du Chien 2 2 1 1 Grand Meadow 1 6 1 Chalcedony 2 3 6 1 1 1 Tongue River Silica 6 1 2 Wassonville 2 Jasper 3 Cedar Valley 1 Galena 3 Knife River Flint 2 3 8 Other 1 4 Quartzite 2 1 1 Hudson Bay 1 2 Maynes Creek 1 2 Total 65 35 93 4 3 3 2 2 5 2 2 3

Categories Core 7 6 13 1 1 Flake 56 23 70 3 3 2 2 2 5 2 2 Utilized Flake 3 Tool 2 3 10 1 1 1

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Table 9. Continued Chippewa River.

Bone was also recovered from SW31 with a predominance of bison among the identified elements. Although it is likely that other animals were consumed, the predominance of bison is supportive of the overall notion, developed in more detail below, that Plains-oriented bison hunters inhabited the county. Bone was also recovered from SW10.

Interpretation

There appears to be a veneer of temporary use all along the Chippewa River and occasionally spreading into adjacent hills, as evident in a light scatter of lithics. To a significant extent, this temporary use appears to dates from the Archaic Period. Perhaps the Chippewa-Shakopee juncture witnessed more intensive use during the Archaic period. By Woodland times, there is a narrowing or focusing of occupation at the confluence, which is much like the focus on lakes in the other tracts. The Late Prehistoric occupation is significant and site SW31 was the only site in the project to yield shell tempered ceramics. Late Prehistoric hunting is also indicated by the presence of an arrow point in an upland setting. Attesting to the relative desirability of the confluence, it was the first area settled by Americans in the township.

Site Potential

Nearly all side-slope margins proximal to Chippewa Creek bore some evidence of prehistoric occupation. Erosion does not seem as severe and till erratics did not litter the fields as

Chert Material 43 44 45 46 Total Swan River 1 1 94 Red River 16 Quartz 1 1 39 Prairie du Chien 6 Grand Meadow 8 Chalcedony 14 Tongue River Silica 9 Wassonville 2 Jasper 1 4 Cedar Valley 1 Galena 1 4 Knife River Flint 13 Other 5 Quartzite 4 Hudson Bay 3 Maynes Creek 3 Total 3 1 1 1 225

Categories Core 1 29 Flake 1 1 1 1 174 Utilized Flake 3 Tool 1 19

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in other tracts. Although site potential was relatively high along the side-slope margins of the river, predicting which portion of the river margins would likely yield sites is less obvious.

Table 10. Ceramics Tabulation by Site, Lower Chippewa River.

Site Temper Surface N Wt. (g) Comment Period SW10 Grit Cordmarked 1 2.9 Tapered rim LW SW31 Grit Smoothed CM 1 4.1 MW

Grit Cordmarked 3 7.7 LW Grit Smoothed CM 3 4.8 LW Grit Wrapped rod 1 4.3 Lake Benton? LW Grit Polished 1 1.2 Angled shoulder LP (Cambria) Grit Polished 1 2.0 LP (Cambria) Grit Plain 1 2.6 Rim LP (Cambria) Grit Plain 2 6.5 Neck LP (Cambria?) Grit-Shell Smoothed CM 1 2.9 LP (Sandy Lake?) Shell Exfoliated 1 0.7 LP Grit Indeterminate 3 0.6

Table 11. Tabulation of Bone and Shell, Lower Chippewa River.

Site Type # Wt SW10 Unidentified Bone 1 1.1

Calcined Bone 1 0.1 Shell 12 4.5

SW31 Immature Bovid, 3rd Molar left 1 55.2 Subadult Bovid, Lower 2nd Molar right 1 30.0 Young adult Bovid, Lower 2nd Molar left 1 32.0 Bovid, Molar fragment 1 9.9 Bovid, phalanx 1 6.3 Large Mammal, enamel 9 4.0 Large Mammal, Unidentified 19 64.0 Unidentified Bone 2 0.8 Calcined Bone 42 18.3 Shell 4 1.3

Isolated hills are the next location likely to yield sites, although based on our survey not all hills have this potential. Only one of the three surveyed bore material evidence for a prehistoric occupation. This hill was the largest and highest of the three and perhaps this has some bearing on the presence of a site. We suspect that the distance from the river and the presence of a low-lying marshy area nearby were factors in site use.

Only a small portion of Shakopee Creek was surveyed, however, it was enough to indicate that the density of sites does not continue from the confluence. Intermittent creeks, which are numerous on the eastern side of the river, were not surveyed.

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Lower Pomme de Terre – Appleton Area

Only about four miles of the county fronts the Minnesota River in the extreme southwestern end. An even smaller area of this frontage land was cultivated; the remainder is state-owned and forested or in scrub cover. Thus, only a small section was cultivated and available for pedestrian survey (Figure 12). This cultivated area comprised a peninsula and the elevated margins along the river. No sites were previously identified in the county on the Minnesota River.

The Pomme de Terre River enters the Minnesota River along the Swift County stretch and this corridor comprised a timbered zone on the GLO Appelton Township maps. Early American use of the area was well above the confluence on the Pomme de Terre River. For example, Appelton emerged as an important town about three miles away from the Minnesota River. A series of waterfalls punctuated the course of the Pomme de Terre from Appelton to the confluence with the Minnesota (McNeill and Bryant 1882:960, 961). Four sites were found here in survey tracts, 21SW27, 29, 47, and 48 (Tables 12-13).

Figure 12. Lower Pomme de Terre area survey tracts and sites.

Survey Results

Four sites and one historic scatter (SC 11) were identified in the pedestrian survey of over 150 acres, or 20 linear tracts. The scatters on the peninsula were exceptionally large, although not dense. This density may be misleading in that a relatively large number of tools were recovered, but very little debris, and thus we suspect recovery was compromised. Although we deemed the

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historic scatter worthy of designation as a site, due to the coherence of the scatter, the tight cluster of materials (1870s-1880s) and the presence of nearby trees on the field edge, it was not deemed worthy of site designation by the state.

Table 12. Inventory of Archaeological Sites and Scatters, Lower Pomme de Terre.

Site Setting Size Density Time Periods 27 Sideslope margins, Minnesota River 120X500 Light Late Archaic, LW/LP 29 Sideslope margins, Pomme de Terre IF Light Prehistoric 47 Sideslope margins, Minnesota River 200X350 Light Prehistoric 48 Sideslope margins, Minnesota River 80X350 Light Prehistoric SC 11 Sideslope margins, Minnesota River Historic

Table 13. Tabulation of Chert Material and Categories by Site (SW), Lower Pomme de Terre.

Chert Material SW27 SW29 SW47 SW48 Total Swan River 4 2 2 8 Red River 1 2 1 4 Quartz 2 2 PDC 1 1 TRS 1 1 Galena 1 1 KRF 2 2 Other 1 1 Total 10 1 4 5 20

Categories Core 1 2 1 4 Flake 5 1 2 8 Utilized Flake 1 1 2 Tool 3 1 1 1 6

Material Debris and Occupation (Tables 12-13)

Unfortunately, only a meager sample was recovered from these sites and they were not revisited to acquire additional material. The high proportion of tools is unusual for the project. The earliest occupation would appear to be during the Late Archaic period (see Table 28). However, a farmer reported the recovery of a Scottsbluff point made from Knife River flint in the general area of the lower Pomme de Terre River, and the Briscoe collection, presumably from the same area, features a Folsom and a Browns Valley point. There is some reason to believe that the prehistory of this area extends back to the middle Paleoindian period (Figure 13).

Interpretation

The presence of timbered areas and the absence of intensive sites or pottery-bearing sites is problematical when compared with other areas surveyed. Occupation was presumably short-lived and periodic.

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Figure 13. Paleoindian points from private collections near Appleton; two on left from Briscoe collection, right is from West Bank Township, east of Appleton. Site Potential

All elevated margins of the Minnesota and Pomme de Terre Rivers that were surveyed yielded evidence for archaeological sites. This would suggest that the Minnesota River and lower Pomme de Terre River are rich in archaeological resources. However, the low densities of debris warrant a reconsideration of site significance. Although deep testing (reported below) was accomplished in an area of the Pomme de Terre River no stable surfaces or buried soil horizons were identified.

Middle Pomme de Terre Area

Background

The upper reaches of the Pomme de Terre River in Fairfield and Moyer Townships were targeted for survey. In our initial assessment of the county, we believed that the Pomme de Terre valley would have the greatest potential for archaeological sites. This inference derived from the presence of a relatively wide floodplain, steep side-slope margins, and previous archaeological work that had indicated the presence of the largest mound group in the county within this valley.

The Dakota name for the Pomme de Terre River was “Tipsinna” (Williamson 1976:22), for which the French name is an accurate translation for the prairie turnip (Psoralea esculenta). It is possible that the “dry bottomland” identified in the GLO descriptions for the river bottoms were suitable for this edible root plant.

For approximately nine miles the Pomme de Terre River in Moyer and Fairfield Townships is under-fit in a broad, relatively deep valley (ca. 50 ft) with a floodplain extending about one mile

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on either one side of the river or the other, although the river does meander and hug the bluff edges. The floodplain was designated as a “dry and arable bottom” on the GLO township maps. Several early trails traversed the area, particularly near the current Hwy 12. Perhaps this coincides with the presence of a timber patch where the Pomme de Terre River abuts the western side of the valley. Another timber patch near the western bluff edge is to the north of present day Hwy 12. No timber patches are recorded where the river hugs the eastern bluff edges. Several homesteads dotted the floodplain, as well as a trail paralleling the river to the south. Small wet areas depicted in the floodplain likely represent paleo-meanders of the river. Unfortunately, the Fairfield Township GLO does not illustrate vegetation communities and human activity to the same degree.

At the outset we identified the Pomme de Terre Village and Mound complex (SW5) that included nine mounds and a habitation as the most significant area in the county. There is evidence at this site for Woodland through Late Prehistoric occupation (Anfinson 1971).

T.H. Lewis (Winchell 1911:201-202) identified nine mounds in the corners of three adjoining sections, there is no explanation regarding why he did not link the mounds as a group. At least six mounds are clustered, two displaced, and a single flat top mound comprise a total of nine. Flat top mounds are unusual for the region and have been associated with Cambria (E. Johnson 1991). Several of these mounds were excavated before the twentieth century and were described as having “. . . a few skulls and bones (human), also big bones of buffalo, and ashes…” (Winchell 1911:202). One of the mounds was recently dug into yielding a large cache of approximately 100 bifaces (Anfinson, personal communication). The complex of mounds and associated village deposits is quite large. The village is apparently associated with the flat-top mound. Ceramics, and projectile points presumably from the village (Anfinson 1971) are Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric (Appendices 2 and 3), with a smattering of earlier examples.

Experience has shown that during the Late Prehistoric period, mound centers or population aggregates can serve as a focal point or a node to draw people into their orbit. One example in southwestern Minnesota is the Cambria locality, which yielded multiple sites and mounds within a relatively small area (Anfinson 1997:96-97). Another example of this phenomenon is the appearance of significant Oneota settlements about ¼ miles from the river in the Center Creek Locality (Anfinson 1987).

The remaining site in this area of the Pomme de Terre River was SW13, a lithic scatter found on the bluff edge overlooking the floodplain on the western side. This site was identified in association with a survey of a planned roadside park.

Survey Results

Our survey of the middle portions of the Pomme de Terre River focused on three features: floodplain, bluff edge, and the Pomme de Terre village and mound complex (Figures 14-17). Only about half of the village and mound complex was available for survey, and the

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Figure 14. Middle Pomme de Terre area north.

Figure 15. Middle Pomme de Terre area north central.

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Figure 16. Middle Pomme de Terre area south central.

Figure 17. Middle Pomme de Terre area south.

inspection was re-focused on the floodplain and bluff edge. Nevertheless, observations regarding the setting of the complex are possible. More of the bluff edge was surveyed and somewhat less of the floodplain (288 acres or 36 linear transects on the bluff edge; 132 acres or 16.5 linear transects on the floodplain).

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The Swift County survey visited and collected two previously identified archaeological sites, 21SW5 and 13, and identified six new sites in the floodplain and along the bluff tops. These sites are 21SW28, 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60 (Table 14). Site density was greater on the bluff margins. Substantial sites were also concentrated in the same location. Sites were quite large in this area, in one case stretching for nearly a mile. We also encountered one moderately large site in the floodplain. Two site complexes were identified: SW5 the Pomme de Terre Mound and Village complex and the newly coined Emde site complex (SW13 and 28). Both comprised extensive scatters representing repeated use over a presumably long time span. The Emde site complex is strictly a lithic scatter. This complex represents nearly a mile long scatter. We suspect that the occupation continued to the south as the landform and proximity of the river continued, however, we were unable to obtain permission to survey this tract. To the north, we did survey a narrow strip that yielded no material and thus we presume that the complex terminates, coincidently with the movement of the river away from the bluff. A spring was found on the bluff edge associated with SW28.

Table 14. Inventory of Archaeological Sites (SW), Pomme de Terre.

Site Setting Size (m) Density Time Periods 5 Side slope margins 350X1100 High Archaic, MW-LP

13 Side slope margins 150X800 Moderate MW, MA 28 Side slope margins 150X400 Moderate Archaic, LW-LP 56 Side slope margins 50X150 Light 57 Side slope margins IF Light 58 Side slope margins IF Light 59 Floodplain 100X500 Moderate Late Archaic 60 Floodplain 50X50 Light

The Pomme de Terre Village and Mound complex likely represents a veneer of Archaic use, like the Emde site complex, but in addition has earthen burial mounds and an intensively occupied Woodland-Late Prehistoric village occupation as represented by pottery and bone. Our investigations corroborated observations that an intensive village deposit existed north of the road and that only lithics occur at some distance from the road boundaries. The lithic scatter was never as rich as the mound/village complex. We expanded site SW5 to include a terrace to the southeast. Revisits of the complex allowed the accumulation of a large sample. Private collectors consistently note the presence of pottery at the SW5 complex (Nord collection, Appendix 2) and the Briscoe ceramic collection (see Appendix 3) likely derives strictly from this complex.

Our original plan was to survey transects away from the mound complex to determine if occupation continued or clustered away from the center in a radial manner. Given access constraints, we were not able to survey as intensively around the mound complex as desired. However, site boundaries were expanded. Survey personnel also examined the surface of most of the site, verifying that the habitation is indeed a unique deposit as it yielded a large number of

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sherds, bone and lithics, unlike any other site in the drainage. Along with SW31, this site was the most densely occupied in the county.

The only other large site found in this survey was a Late Archaic lithic scatter on the floodplain adjacent to an abandoned meander of the Pomme de Terre River. Remaining sites comprised small lithic scatters with sparse materials.

Material Debris and Occupation (Tables 14-17)

Only four sites yielded diagnostic artifacts and a sufficient amount of material for study from the two site complexes (SW5 and SW13 and 28) and the Late Archaic floodplain site (SW59). These complexes yielded a large number of artifacts. Lithic sources are diverse, although the large Late Archaic site appears to have only local material. This may result from sampling (Tables 15-17).

Diagnostic points from the Emde complex include Besant and Prairie Side Notched, spanning the Middle Woodland into the early Late Prehistoric (see Table 28). We suspect, however, that the occupation is largely Archaic. A local collector reported that large points were found here. Recently, end scrapers were retrieved from the surface at SW13. The absence of bone fragments at the Emde complex was important in developing the pattern associating dense occupations, bone, and pottery.

Both site complexes have been intensively collected over the years, accounting for the low proportion of tools in contrast to the number of artifacts. The lowest proportion of chert tools to the total of all chert items (7%) was recorded in this survey portion of the Pomme de Terre.

SW5 materials reflect the largely Woodland (see Figure 46) and Late Prehistoric occupation (see Appendix 2). We suspect an extensive Archaic occupation (based on the Nord Collection, Appendix 2) and the scatter of lithics in the south, and an intensive Woodland through Late Prehistoric occupation.

Interpretation

The two sprawling complexes occupying the bluff edges appear to represent two kinds of occupations. One is interpreted as a fair-weather staging/processing area for hunter-gatherers who used the location intermittently, and the other a center of more settled village and ceremonial use. Their location appears connected to two local features – proximity to the Pomme de Terre River and timber stands. This relationship could not be tested given limitations in survey coverage, but we do propose that the presence of these Archaic scatters, in the floodplain at SW59 and on the bluff edges at SW13 and 28, was determined by these factors. We are unsure if sites would be located along the bluff absent these conditions, however, it is worth noting that the closer the river was to the bluff, the greater the likelihood of finding a site in this portion of the Pomme de Terre Valley.

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Although lacking intensive coverage around the mound center, we did observe the absence of sites nearby, which likely supports three notions. One, that sites are focused on the economic potentials for the valley and two that the occupation was concentrated and did not involve large groups of people spilling over from the site confines. Third, there was little growth of the complex.

Table 15. Tabulation of Chert Material and Categories by Site (SW), Pomme de Terre.

Chert Material 5 13 28 56 57 58 59 60 Total Swan River 50 45 21 5 1 122 Red River 24 18 6 3 51 Quartz 15 12 5 1 1 1 2 1 38 PDC 8 3 2 13 GM 23 4 5 32 Chalcedony 2 9 3 1 1 16 TRS 2 4 2 1 9 Wassonville 2 1 1 4 Jasper 8 6 2 16 Cedar Valley 1 1 2 KRF 2 1 3 Knife Lake 1 1 Other 7 3 2 1 13 Quartzite 1 1 Lake of the 1 1 Rhyolite 2 2 Hudson 1 2 3 Maynes 3 3 Total 146 111 53 2 2 1 13 2 330

Categories Core 25 24 9 1 3 62 Flake 110 77 38 1 1 1 8 2 238 Utilized Flake 2 3 1 6 Tool 9 7 5 1 2 24

Table 16. Tabulation of Ceramics, SW5, Pomme de Terre (all grit temper).

Surface N Wt Comment Period Plain 2 6.5 Thick-walled, Coarse to very coarse temper MW Cordmarked 2 13.0 Thick-walled, Coarse Temper MW-LW Cordmarked 11 20.3 Thin wall, fine and coarse temper LW Cordmarked 1 2.6 Wrapped dowel notch interior LW Smoothed Cordmarked 4 11.7 Thin-walled, fine to coarse temper LW Plain/Interior CI 1 1.3 Thin-walled, fine temper LW Cord impressed 2 2.8 LW-LP Tool Impressed 1 0.4 LW-LP Simple Stamped 6 9.7 Thin-walled, fine to coarse temper LP (early?) Plain 1 12.3 LP Broad Incised 1 2.3 Coarse temper LP Indeterminate 3 1.3 ? Indeterminate 5 3.0 ?

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Site SW59 represents a Late Archaic lithic scatter spread along the margins of an abandoned channel of the Pomme de Terre. The presence of this site leads to the proposition that at least from Late Archaic times, buried sites would not likely exist in this portion of the Pomme de Terre River. Our limited deep testing and examination of exposed surfaces in modern borrow pits would also confirm this notion, at least as regards the likelihood of buried deposits. Only portions of the site were visible and the thirteen flakes from a single collection surpassed most sites in the county, especially as we were not able to collect the full extent of the site due to crop coverage.

Table 17. Tabulation of Bone, SW5, Pomme de Terre.

Type # Wt Bovid metapoidal 1 17.0 Bovid enamel fragment 7 5.8 Unidentified Large Mammal 52 145.0 Calcined Bone 6 38.0

An interesting special area was a pocket of meanders making up a portion of the Ehrenberg State Wildlife Management Area. We found two of the sites in the floodplain in this vicinity. The Ehrenberg Management Area certainly merits further work.

Site Potential

Critical determinants for site potential are two possibly related features: proximity of the river channel in relation to the bluff and the presence of timber. Both co-occur with the largest and most significant sites in the valley. Survey of other bluff settings tends to support the notion that when the river veers away from the bluff edge, the potential for sites drops.

Predicting sites in the floodplain is problematic. Of the 132 acres surveyed in the floodplain only two sites were identified, both near the Ehrenberg State Wildlife Management area. This is an area comprising a large abandoned meander. The single substantial site in the floodplain was positioned along the margins of a former channel and near this wildlife preserve. Perhaps working with abandoned meanders may assist in identifying site potential.

Little survey was done on land away from the floodplain, although the meager tracts examined yielded no sites. Certain biomes, like marshy zones and the confluences of intermittent streams in the valley may have great potential, but these landscape conditions were not consistently examined.

Examination of soil profiles was performed in borrow pits. One of these was in section 20 and another in 16 in Fairfield Township. Buried landsurfaces were not present. In the floodplain proper, the potential for buried sites appears limited given the thin alluvium overlying the till. In addition, the presence of a Late Archaic occupation on the surface of the floodplain suggests that the surface has been stable for a considerable time span. A potential for buried sites may exist

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along the talus slopes of the bluff edge. Deep testing was also performed along the margins and in the floodplain of the Pomme de Terre in this area. This is reported below under the deep testing protocol.

Dry Wood Lake Area

Background

Dry Wood Lake is a shallow lake located in the northwestern corner of the county and is divisible into northern and southern segments; part of the northern segment lies in adjacent Stevens County. The two segments total 637 acres of water. Creeks and streams drain the lake from all directions. Dry Wood Creek connects the lake to the Pomme de Terre River.

On the GLO Hegbert Township map the lake is identified as Lake Griffin. The sole timber patch around the lake occupied the peninsula dividing the two lake segments. Several platted claims dot the lake margins during the early American occupation and a residence existed within the timbered patch.

Survey

Field conditions were not ideal with high corn and soybeans in the fields on the east side of the lake. Seventeen linear transects or between 130 and 140 acres along the southeastern segment of the lake resulted in the identification of three sites. In addition, survey was performed on the disturbed surfaces of and around the lawn of a modern cabin. This is a wooded area along the peninsula separating the two Dry Wood Lake segments. This led to the identification of another site; the only one in the area with ceramics (Figure 18).

Material Debris and Occupation (Tables 18-20)

Most of the material recovered was lithic debris that matched the overall proportions of chert resources identified elsewhere. One rare chert source was a biface made from Fusulinid chert (identified by Bruce Koenen) that derives from Iowa. One of the sites yielded a Prairie Side Notched point (Table 28). The sites discovered in the Dry Wood Lake area are SW 49, 50, 51, and 52.

Although only a limited surface area was visible, pottery and bone from a site located on the peninsula conform to a pattern replicated elsewhere. This pattern appears to start during the Late Woodland period. None of the sites discovered were subsequently revisited.

Interpretation

The combination of peninsula landform and timber stands represented a target landform for native peoples in Swift County. As exemplified at SW51, this targeted landform became a focus for intensive occupation as judged by the appearance of extensive scatters with bone. The remainder of the sites were relatively small and occupied the margins of the lake.

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Figure 18. Dry Wood Lake area.

Site Potential

Several seemingly high potential areas did not yield evidence for prehistoric sites along the shore of the southern segment of Dry Wood Lake, although cultural material was found near the southeastern terminus of the lake. Equally, elevated areas along Dry Wood Creek and the southeastern margins of the northern segment of Dry Wood Lake were also barren. The paucity of sites is problematical. We did not survey the margins of Aritichoke Creek to the west.

Table 18. Inventory of Archaeological Sites, Dry Wood Lake.

Site Setting Size Density Time Periods 49 Lake Margins 20X20 moderate LW/LP 50 Lake Margins 40X100 light Prehistoric 51 Peninsula 50X50 moderate Late Woodland 52 Lake Margins 50X120 light Prehistoric

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Table 19. Tabulation of Chert Material and Categories by Site (SW), Dry Wood Lake.

Chert Material 49 50 51 52 Total Swan River 9 2 1 6 18 Red River 1 2 3 Quartz 2 2 Chalcedony 1 1 Tongue River Silica 1 1 Knife River Flint 1 1 2 Jasper 1 1 Cedar Valley 1 1 Siltstone 1 1 Basalt 1 1 Hudson Bay 1 1 Quartzite 2 2 Fusulinid 1 1 Total 17 4 5 9 35

Categories Core 2 1 2 1 6 Flake 12 3 2 5 22 Utilized Flake 1 1 2 Tool 2 1 2 5

Table 20. Ceramic and Bone, SW51.

Type N Wt Unidentified Bone 2 2.9 Calcined Bone 1 0.9 Grit Tempered, Cordmarked sherd 1 1.6

Lake Oliver Area

Background

Lake Oliver is a large shallow lake in the northwestern portion of the county, directly south of Dry Wood Lake. The lake occupies an area of 671 acres making it one of the largest single bodies of water in the county. The Hegbert Township GLO map reveals a prairie with timbered areas along the southeastern margins of the lake (Section 36). However, no other areas are shown as timbered, which is uncommon and perhaps unlikely. Numerous platted land claims document that lakeshores were an early focus for American settlement. No previous archaeological sites are known from the lake. In the immediate vicinity, private collectors have identified a Late Prehistoric occupation on an island in Artichoke Lake, within Big Stone County (D. Bonk and Scott Anfinson, personal communication, 2010).

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Survey

Two areas on the lake margins were surveyed comprising 88 acres or 11 linear tracts (Figure 19 and Table 21). The northern area comprised the margins of a marshy area and portions of Lake Oliver, within which no sites were found. The remaining portion was a larger area on the southeastern margins of the lake in which one site was identified. This site was near or within the timbered area identified on the GLO township map. There is an island mapped in the lake, however, it was under high water during our survey.

Figure 19. Lake Oliver area.

Material Debris

Only a small number of lithic items were retrieved from the single site found here, listed as SW53 (Table 22). The diagnostic tool is a Hanna point that dates from the Middle Archaic period.

Interpretation and Site Potential

Lake Oliver is surprising in the paucity of sites given the overall size of the lake. Two environmental zones were surveyed and the only location for a site was along the elevated lake margins. The absence of a site along a marshy outlet of the lake is in keeping with most other lakes surveyed in the county.

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Lake Hollerberg Area

Background

Lake Hollerberg is a narrow and shallow lake covering approximately 218 acres and is located in the east central portion of the county (Figure 20, Table 21). The GLO Kildare Township map reveals marshy areas to the north and southeast. These are still present today. Platting of the sections around the lake indicate an early interest during the initial American settlement. The earliest reported occupation is in Section 2, comprising the northern margins of Lake Hollerberg (McNeill and Bryant 1882:965).

Figure 20. Hollerberg Lake area.

No previously identified sites were known in the area, however, site leads in the state files and the suggestion of burials on an island in the lake made Lake Hollerberg a focus in our investigations. The only identified site nearby was SW11, which was located slightly more than two miles north of the lake along the extensive marshy area formed by the confluence of the East Branch Chippewa River and Mud Creek. This site was identified by a single flake.

Survey

The survey of this lake occurred late during the season, which may have adversely impacted site identification. Several areas on both sides of the lake were walked, and shovel testing was

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completed on two peninsulas. In all, we surveyed 9.5 linear tracts or 76 acres with only one site identified, SW55.

Most of our surveyed areas, and all of the shovel test areas represented prime locations yet yielded only one site. In short, most of the prime areas along the lake were canvassed. Apparently, the Lake Hollerberg area did not offer a resource draw for prehistoric peoples. Perhaps the isolated location of the lake, distant from other lakes and streams, was a factor in the relative lack of cultural material. There is an island in the lake, but this could not be investigated as it was underwater during our survey.

Material Debris

No diagnostic artifacts were recovered in the lithic sample from the site (Table 22).

Interpretation and Site Potential

Of all the lakes, Hollerberg Lake proved to be the most enigmatic as regards prehistoric use. The west side of the lake in particular featured two well formed peninsulas. These were thoroughly examined using pedestrian survey in exposed areas and shovel probes in grass. The peninsulas were also visited a second time, but with entirely negative results. We did not survey the margins of the expansive marshes of the East Branch Chippewa River.

Monson Lake Area

Background

The Monson Lake area lies in the northeast corner of the county in the Hayes and Kerkhoven Townships and marks the western-most extent of a lake cluster extending from adjacent Kandiyohi County. Our investigations were entirely in the northwestern corner of the Hayes Township (Figure 21, Table 21).

Monson Lake is reported as having the earliest American occupations (1854) in the county that were terminated by the 1862 Dakota war and memorialized in the current park (Gonsior and Radford 2001). Although there was no evidence on the GLO township maps for such an occupation, this location was platted during the 1856 survey. Forested areas were on the southern part of the lake, although Monson Lake and West Sunburg Lake are shown as continuous. We presume that the island in West Sunburg was forested as well. This lake is modest-sized (around 200 acres) yet is relatively deep (10 ft) for the county.

One site was previously identified (SW14) in the Monson Lake Park (Gonsior and Radford 2001). Investigations at this site represent the only professional prehistoric site excavations in the county. Although lacking evidence for subsurface features, the site comprises a large scatter of lithics, ceramics and bone and occupies a prominent peninsula on Monson Lake.

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Figure 21. Monson Lake area.

Survey

Survey in 2010 was limited in this area to a tract on the south of the park and shovel testing on an island in West Sunburg Lake. One site was identified within the 4.5 linear tracts comprising 36 acres on the lake margins. The site overlooks West Sunburg Lake to the southwest. It is listed as SW54. Shovel testing on the island failed to identify an archaeological site.

Materials

Only chert was recovered from the sole site. Chert resources resemble the overall pattern for the county. An Oxbow point was also recovered dating from the Middle Plains Archaic period (Table 22).

Site Potential

As with Lake Hassel, Monson Lake has greater likelihood for sites on lakeshore margins, especially peninsulas. However, moving away from shorelines, sites would appear to decline in frequency. The negative evidence for the island on West Sunburg Lake is intriguing as it is relatively large and was likely forested. The island does have an elevated spine that is wide enough for camping or extended stays. Hilly terrain surrounds the lake and is typical of this portion of the county. No survey was performed in non-lake terrain in this region. A highway survey project did identify one site nearby (SW12) that was characterized by two flakes. In short, site potential is regarded as low away from lakes in the northeastern portion of the county, but this does require further investigation.

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Table 21. Inventory of Archaeological Sites (SW) by Tract.

Site Tract Size Density Time Periods 37 Upper Chippewa Isolate IF Middle Archaic 53 Lake Oliver 40x100 Light Middle Archaic 54 Monson 40x60 Moderate Middle Archaic 55 Hollerberg 50x50 Light Prehistoric

Upper Chippewa Area

The middle reaches of the Chippewa River, near the town of Benson, were avoided during our survey because much of it appeared channelized and relatively level terrain. Although the upper reaches of the creek in the Clontarf Township were equally level, and with some evidence for channelization, we decided to survey here because of the presence of small isolated ridge features in the floodplain. A site was previously found along the Chippewa River (SW7) in Six-Mile Grove Township. The GLO map of Clontarf Township reveals a broad area of wetlands bracketing the river that ranges from ¼ to ½ mile in width.

The survey in this township was along the river margins and the isolated ridge features with negative results. Also surveyed were the elevated river margins and an intermittent stream. A total of 336 acres or 42 linear tracts comprised our sample (Figure 22, Table 21). The only evidence for prehistoric use was an isolated Hanna, Middle Archaic point. This point was located nearly ¾ miles from the river channel along the edge of a field drainage canal. Field conditions for survey were excellent.

Figure 22. Upper Chippewa River area.

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Swift Falls Area

The moraine topography of the northeastern portion of the county differs markedly from the remainder of the county. Owing the lack of large rivers and inability to obtain permission for the lakes in the region (for example, Camp Lake) we attempted to sample the area by focusing on a park in Swift Falls (Figure 23). Shovel testing of an area 5.6 acres failed to yield evidence for a prehistoric site. The shovel-tested area was on a bench overlooking the East Branch Chippewa River. Although forested areas were present around Camp Lake and near the inspected area, the remainder was within prairie.

Table 22. Tabulation of Chert Material and Categories by Site (SW) from Lakes Oliver, Monson, Hollerberg and Upper Chippewa.

Chert Material 37 53 54 55 Total Swan River 2 4 6 12 Red River 2 1 3 Chalcedony 1 1 Tongue River Silica 2 2 Knife River Flint 1 1 Lake of the Woods 1 1 Prairie du Chien 1 1 1 3 Total 1 5 10 7 23

Categories Core 2 2 4 Flake 3 7 5 15 Tool 1 2 1 4

Shible Lake Area

Shible Lake is located in the western edge of the county near the Big Stone County border. The lake is large and shallow encompassing an area of 340 acres. Low lying areas dominate the surrounding area and during the 1850s, based on the Shible Township GLO map, Shible Lake was much larger encompassing at least two sections. Forested areas are shown on the northwestern boundary of the present limits of the lake, which formed a peninsula for the GLO mapped lake. Platting indicates an interest in occupying the lake margins. We only surveyed and shovel tested two linear tracts (about 16 acres) on the northern edge of this lake with no evidence for an archaeological site (Figure 24). A portion of this tract was forested.

Survey Assessment (see Table 23)

The goal of our survey was to find sites and for this reason was concentrated on areas that we believed would yield readily obtainable evidence for a site, i.e., watercourses. This reasoning was based on the results of various surveys in the county and on the Mn-Model, as well as the commonsense notion that people live near water. As we have found out for this county, water was a sufficient resource to cause people to pause on the land, but not linger. Evidence for

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prolonged or repeated usage is found only when other advantages co-occur, for example transportation access (i.e., access to other zones), elevation, and the presence of timber.

Figure 23. Swift Falls area.

Figure 24. Shible Lake area.

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Repeated use of the same landform, the site-complex phenomenon, was particularly prominent along the bluffs of the Pomme de Terre River. These locations represent recurrent use of the same landform for generations. Each visit likely occupying a different area on the mile long bluff edge. In both cases, Emde and Pomme de Terre Village and Mound Complex occupation was probably related to the proximity of the river and timber stands. For the most part, these occupations span the Archaic period, and for the village, the Woodland as well.

The lakeshore equivalent to the complex was the sprawling occupation of peninsula and lakeshore margins. Although not nearly as large, since the surface areas were not commensurate, the same attractions prevailed: timber and water. However, these sites tended to encompass a later time span. It is tempting to see these as winter occupations given the shelter and timber stands.

The only other location witnessing prolonged occupation was the confluence of the Chippewa River and Shakopee Creek. Shakopee Creek offers a direct connection to the east and an alternative to the parallel Minnesota River. We suspect other resources were available here such as timber, although it was not identified in the GLO survey.

Sideslope margins of the Chippewa and to a lesser extent, the floodplains of the Pomme de Terre were another favored location for sites, yet for the most part, these sites were insignificant and ephemeral.

To be sure, occupation did not cover every patch of available land along watercourses. Several examples are worthy of discussion. As a rule, intermittent creeks or even presumably perennial creeks were not desirable. Even stretches of the major rivers were not occupied. While some lakes revealed the large spread out occupations (Hassel, Monson, Dry Wood), other lakes were largely unoccupied. Lake Hollerberg, and perhaps Shible were examples of this avoidance pattern. We can only surmise that they were located distant from the thoroughfares and/or resources and thus unattractive. This could be used to suggest a low-density residential occupation or that visitors seldom strayed far from the thoroughfares.

Finally, upland areas displaced from water sources were as a rule unoccupied. The notable exception was along the Chippewa River. We identified several small lithic scatters on the slope of a very prominent hill near the river. Other upland hills that were surveyed with this pattern in mind failed to yield evidence for occupation. One previously identified site, SW12, is located on an isolated hilltop near marshy areas. This site is also positioned near Spring Creek and a marshy expanse. Although we did not consistently sample such locations, based on our limited survey of hilltops and the previously identified site, we can surmise that one possible non-watercourse location would be hilltops or elevated landforms equidistant to multiple water sources.

One glaring enigma remains in our survey and that is SW1 (Old Airport Site). The results of the pipeline surveys in Swift County reveal that the vast tracts of level land displaced from watercourse do not yield archaeological sites. Why then was this seemingly important site found

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away from water? Wilford (1944) identified the site in an area disturbed for a projected but not built airport just outside of Benson. The site yielded pottery and lithic tools (Anfinson 1971) (see Appendix 2). The pottery is reported to be of the Mille Lacs Late Woodland variety (Kathio). The points likely also include Archaic examples. The site is enigmatic because it is the only site to yield a large collection, including pottery, not positioned on a watercourse or body of water. We consider two alternatives to understanding this site. First, if indeed the collection does derive from this location, we can infer that it was important because it was situated on a large level rise (elevation 1050 ft amsl) between the Chippewa River and Mud Creek and must have had some overland importance. Second, it is possible that the collections actually derive from a number of sites in the area and are not representative of this particular location. At the present, we cannot resolve the merits of either.

A consistent pattern observed in the county survey was the tandem occurrence of native pottery and bone. Of the seven sites with pottery, five or 71% yielded bone. In addition, the relative amount of bone correlated with the number of sherds. We did not find sites with bone but not without pottery. This of course excludes the stray modern bone deriving from recent hunting. It could simply mean that the greater the volume of bone at the site, the more that will preserve. Regardless of the soil conditions, the observation still holds that sites with bone on the surface in this county are different kinds of sites. Based on accumulating evidence in the archaeology of the Upper Midwest and Plains, population levels do not appear to burgeon until Woodland times and in many areas not until Late Woodland times. Such an observation would help explain many aspects of the archaeology of the region, namely, the presence of animal bone and the presence of mounds. More discussion of this is below.

Table 23. Site Density per Acre by Survey Area.

Survey Area Acres Sites Site per acre Lake Hassel 318 8 .02 Lake Hollerberg 76 1 .01 Lake Monson 36 1 .03 Lake Oliver 88 1 .01 Dry Wood Lake 136 4 .03 Lower Chippewa River 302 16 .05 Pomme de Terre 420 6 .01 Minnesota River 156 4 .03 Upper Chippewa River 218 1 .004

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Deep Testing

Introduction

The deep testing component of this project focused on the application of down-hole magnetic susceptibility techniques using a protocol for identifying buried sites developed within the Red River Valley region of Minnesota and North Dakota (Dalan 2006; Dalan and Goodman 2007). With this approach, a small diameter (ca. 25 mm) hole is made with a hand-held push-tube corer. A sensor is then lowered down this hole to document changes in magnetic susceptibility with depth. Paleosols and other horizons associated with archaeological deposits are often characterized by enhanced susceptibility values. Soil collected from these enhanced zones may be tested, using archaeological (e.g., microartifact analysis) or soil magnetic techniques, to determine whether enhanced values are linked to an archaeological occupation.

Goals of this research were to test the usefulness of this protocol for site survey and to sample locations within Swift County with a high likelihood for buried soils and archaeological deposits. These include landforms along the margins or within the floodplains of the Minnesota, Pomme de Terre, and Chippewa Rivers such as alluvial fans, terraces, natural levees, point bar deposits, oxbow lakes, and other where buried soils were suspected.

As for the surface survey, deep testing investigations were directed toward assessing the potential of the county for, in this case buried, archaeological sites rather than aiming to identify each and every site. Even more broadly than site location, the deep testing program aimed to identify buried soils (paleosols) which correspond to period of stability and thus have an increased likelihood for human use and occupation (Mandel and Bettis 2001).

A total of 11 different areas within the county were tested using this approach. Microartifact studies of soils from three of these locations, described below, indicated the potential for buried archaeological deposits at the confluence of the Chippewa and Shakopee Rivers and on an alluvial fan on the margins of the Pomme de Terre River.

Methods

Magnetic susceptibility is a measure of a material’s ability to be magnetized in a weak (5-100 µT) magnetic field (Banerjee 1981). In the SI system of units, this ratio of magnetization to magnetic field, also called volume magnetic susceptibility (κ), is dimensionless. The down-hole sensor measures the volume susceptibility of soil surrounding the core hole. Magnetic susceptibility is affected not only by the concentration of magnetic materials but also by their mineralogy and grain size.

The term “magnetic enhancement” refers to changes in the magnetic mineralogy of upper soil layers, resulting in larger susceptibility values of surface as compared to subsoil horizons. These

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magnetic changes in the soil profile are the result of firing and/or pedogenic processes. Pedogenic enhancement occurs as part of soil development both through low-temperature chemical reactions (inorganically) as well as organically through the influence of bacteria or bacterial-induced chemical reactions (Evans & Heller 2003).

Magnetic characteristics of soils will depend on the type of material in which the soils form, the time over which enhancement has been allowed to proceed, climatic variables such as precipitation and temperature, the landform in which the soil develops, and the plant and animal life on and in the soil. As one of the living organisms that may influence soil development, human activities may be investigated via soil magnetic techniques. Archaeologists have long recognized (Aitken 1970; Mullins 1974; Tite and Mullins 1971) that soils from archaeological sites are often more magnetic than surrounding “noncultural” or non-site soils.

Providing they have not been gleyed or the iron minerals otherwise reduced or lost, buried soils maintain this signature of enhanced magnetic susceptibility. Thus the magnetic enhancement process is not only pervasive but in general also conservative (Maher 1986; Thompson and Oldfield 1986). For these reasons, down-hole susceptibility techniques can be used to locate paleosols and buried sites through their association with enhanced magnetic susceptibility values.

The first step in deep testing was coring using a small diameter (ca. 2.54 cm) hand-held JMC push-tube corer and backsaver handle (Figure 25). Soils brought up in the core barrel were

Figure 25. Coring with the JMC push-tube corer, Roadside Park, Pomme de Terre River.

inspected for evidence of buried soils or cultural layers in order to determine whether further testing using the down-hole susceptibility sensor was necessary. We proposed coring to depths of 1-1.5 m or depth to gravel, whichever was shallowest. Most cores were within this range; in several cases, however, coring extended to between 1.5-2 m.

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A Bartington Instruments MS2 meter and MS2H down-hole sensor were used to measure susceptibility (Figure 26). The Multisus FieldPro (v1.0.1) database program was used to record all measurements and other information about these tests. After first zeroing the sensor in air, it was lowered down the core hole, stopping and taking readings at 2-cm depth increments and then concluding with a final reading in air at the end of the test. The difference between the initial zero reading in air and the final air reading measures temperature-induced drift; a linear correction was applied to compensate for the measured drift. At some locations, a quick reconnaissance test was also run where readings were recorded automatically at one-second intervals as the sensor was lowered down the core hole. Measurement depths are not as accurate with these “timed” tests, however, they do provide an advance understanding of subsurface variation that can be used in planning subsequent susceptibility tests. All tests started at 10 cm below the surface (bs) to avoid edge effects. Values were recorded in SI units using a sensitivity setting of 1.0. A calibration factor of 1.7E-5 was applied to convert field recorded values to SI susceptibility.

Figure 26. Down-hole susceptibility testing at the Roadside Park, Pomme de Terre River.

Some deep testing revealed enhanced susceptibility layers. These are regarded here as possible paleosols and/or cultural layers. A 3.5 inch bucket auger was used to collect bulk soils from these enhanced zones (Figure 27). These bulk samples were used in for the microartifact study described at the end of this section.

Table 24 lists the 11 different areas that were tested and provides information on the number of locations cored, tested using down-hole susceptibility, and augered at each of these areas. Where exposures permitted inspection of subsurface soils, these are also indicated, as well as the geomorphic setting and parent material in which these soils developed.

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The 11 areas are located in the floodplains and along the margins of the Pomme de Terre, the Chippewa, and the Minnesota Rivers and at Lake Moore and near Appleton. Thirty locations were cored at these sites, with down-hole measurements completed at 14 (approximately half) of these locations. Including the quick reconnaissance tests, 23 down-hole tests were recorded. Bucket auger samples were collected from 3 locations, with two bags collected from two of these locations. GPS coordinates were recorded for all locations using a Garmin eTrex Vista. Accuracy was generally between 4.5 and 8 m. All locations were also recorded on topographic maps and aerial photographs.

Figure 27. Using a bucket auger to sample a possible buried soil near Appleton.

Fieldwork was initiated on July 22, 2010 by Rinita Dalan, George Holley, and Michael Michlovic. No down-hole tests were conducted on this first day; activities included six cores at three areas (Lake Moore and two areas on the Pomme de Terre) and inspections of landforms, exposed soils, and access at a number of potential deep testing areas. This fieldwork was used to refine the deep testing plan employed from July 28-30, 2010.

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Fieldwork during the period from July 28-30, 2010 was accomplished by Rinita Dalan and MSUM students Cody Beach, Chrys Harris, and Sarah Jacobs. Activities during this period included coring, down-hole tests, and bucket augering in the Pomme De Terre River, Appleton/Minnesota River, and Chippewa River areas. Each core location during this period was sequentially numbered, starting with Location 1 and ending at Location 24.

Results

Results for each of the 11 deep-testing locations in Table 24 are presented below. Results are arranged by area and then within each area by Township, Range, and Section. Soil descriptions are from the 2005 digital Soil Survey of Swift County (Kristoff 2005) unless otherwise noted.

Table 24. Summary of Deep-Testing Investigations

Lake Moore

Lake Moore Peninsula (T122N R39W Sections 14 and 15) (Figure 28)

The Lake Moore peninsula is the location of Site 21SW2. Inspections there were directed toward assessing the potential for buried components. A single core (Core 1, N45° 22.809’ W95°32.498’) was taken from the lowland on the south end of the peninsula within the area mapped as Arveson sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes formed in outwash deposits. Sand and gravel were encountered within 60 cm of the surface. The two cores on the elevated northern tip of the peninsula (Core 2, N45° 22.847’ W95° 32.460’ and Core 3, N45° 22.858’ W95° 32.429’) met refusal in a till layer at approximately 50 cm bs. These soils are mapped as Sisseton-Heimdal complex, 12 to 20 percent slopes, eroded, and these are soils that formed in till. Soil exposures on the north margins of the peninsula were also inspected and evidence for slumping was noted. As all locations revealed shallow soils and no evidence for buried deposits, no further tests were conducted at this location.

Swift County Deep TestingLocations

Locations w/Down-Hole Locations Exposures ParentArea Township Range Section Cored (#) Tests (#) Augered (#) Inspected (#) Material Geomorphic Setting

Lake Moore 122 N 39 W 14, 15 3 0 0 1 Till/Outwash Moraine/Outwash plain

Pomme de Terre 122 N 42 W 32 2 0 0 0 Outwash Oxbow on outwash plainPomme de Terre 122 N 42 W 16 0 0 0 1 Outwash Outwash plainPomme de Terre 121 N 42 W 18 5 4 0 0 Alluvium FloodplainPomme de Terre 121 N 42 W 5 (nw1/4) 5 1 0 1 Till/Lacustrine Moraines/Till plains/Lake plainPomme de Terre 121 N 42 W 5 (sw1/4) 3 2 1 0 Colluvium Alluvial Fan

Appleton 120 N 43 W 2 2 2 1 0 Outwash Outwash plainAppleton 120 N 43 W 19 3 0 0 0 Lacustrine/Till Lake plain/till plains/morainesAppleton 120 N 43 W 20 1 0 0 0 Alluvium Floodplain

Chippewa 120 N 40 W 15 3 2 1 0 Alluvium FloodplainChippewa 121 N 40 W 13 3 3 0 0 Outwash Outwash plain

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Pomme de Terre

Ehrenberg Wildlife Area Oxbow (T122N R42W Section 32) (Figure 29)

Two locations within the Pomme de Terre floodplain in the Ehrenberg Wildlife Area near site SC44 were cored; one north (N45° 20.263’ W95° 57.799’) and one south (N45° 20.031’ W95° 57.801’) of an old oxbow. Soils on the north are mapped as Arvilla-Sandberg complex, 2 to 6 percent slopes and soils on the south as Renshaw loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes; both formed in

Figure 28. Core locations on the Lake Moore peninsula.

outwash parent material. In the north core we encountered a gravelly subsoil at 20 cm which is common for several of the component soils of this mapping unit (either a Bk or AC horizon). Soils in the south core were also shallow; with refusal in a gravelly loamy sand C horizon at 55 cm. The potential of this area for buried sites was deemed low, and no further work was done.

Just over 2 miles north, also on the east side of the Pomme de Terre floodplain, exposed soils around the rim of a gravel pit (N45° 22.189’ W95° 56.386’) were inspected (Figure 30).

These soils are also mapped as Renshaw loams and other soils formed on outwash plains. We observed thin soils over gravel and no evidence of a buried soil (Figure 31). Surface soils thicken toward the north edge of the pit.

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Figure 29. Cores in the Ehrenberg Wildlife Area.

Gravel Pit (T122N R42W Section 16) (Figure 30)

An area within a Roadside Park adjacent to the Pomme de Terre River just north of Highway 12 was also tested (Figure 32). An initial core met refusal at 60 cm bs. Dark silty clay loam alluvial soils, slightly lighter below 28 cm, were recorded throughout. A second attempt at coring (7/22/2010 core, N45° 17.059 W95° 58.750) revealed a much different profile consisting of 35 cm of loamy surface soils, 15 cm of light colored sand, and a clayey soil to 70 cm bs, where a hard object or layer again caused refusal. Based on these findings, it was decided to return to this location for further coring and down-hole studies. Four locations were cored on 7/28/2010 (Location 1, N45° 17.049’ W95° 58.757’; Location 2, N45° 17.055’ W95° 58.758’; Location 3, N45° 17.040’ W95° 58.727’; and Location 4, N45° 17.017’ W95° 58.743’) and down-hole susceptibility tests were conducted at all locations.

Roadside Park (T121N R42W Section 18) (Figure 32)

Soils in this area formed in alluvium on floodplains and are mapped as Rauville silty clay loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, frequently flooded. Soils in this mapping unit include Rauville and similar soils (80-95%) and Lamoure soils (5-15%), with typical profiles consisting of thick silty clay loam A1 and A2 horizons (0-68 cm), silty clay loam or silt loam Cg horizons, and, in the case of Rauville soils, a 2Cg horizon of stratified gravelly sand to clay loam from 114 cm. Our cores documented dark silt loam surface soils over dark and gleyed silty clay loams to depths of up to

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181 cm (Location 1). At Location 4, bands of sand were observed below 75 cm. We did not see any evidence of buried soils or even the buried dark layer observed during coring on 7/22/2010.

Figure 30. Gravel pit in the floodplain of the Pomme de Terre.

Figure 31. Shallow soils observed around the rim of the gravel pit.

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Down-hole susceptibility tests indicated uniformly low susceptibility soils in all cores (Figure 33). Susceptibility decreases on all records below approximately 60 cm at the transition from the A2 to Cg horizons. At Location 2, a large spike in susceptibility between 22-24 cm is likely related to modern metal trash. Susceptibilities at Location 4, the sandier core, are slightly higher at depth. Based on these four cores and the down-hole results, this location is considered to have low potential for buried deposits. The location cored on 7/22/2010 probably corresponds to a localized disturbance, perhaps associated with park construction or use.

Figure 32. Location of 7/22/2010 and 7/28/2010 tests at the Roadside Park.

Four locations (Locations 5-7 and 9) were tested on a low terrace along the west side of the Pomme de Terre floodplain just southwest of the Ehrenberg State Wildlife Management Area (Figure 34). Site 21SW5 is located upslope of this area. Single flakes were collected from the surface near Locations 5 and 6, suggesting Site 21SW5 extends into this area. Another location (Location 8) just south of the terrace in the floodplain east of an old farm was also cored and soils exposed in a dammed and thus dry drainage channel were inspected. Down-hole measurements were conducted only at one location (Location 7) on the terrace.

Terrace (T121N R42W NW¼ Section 5) (Figure 34)

Location 5 (N45° 19.373’ W95° 57.976’) and 6 (N45° 19.349’ W95° 57.939’) are on the upper part of the terrace and Locations 7 (N45° 19.286’ W95° 57.974’) and 9 (N45° 19.309’ W95° 57.950’) are on the lower part of the terrace. Soils are mapped as Byrne-Buse complex, 2 to 6 percent slopes on the upper terrace and Langhei-Barnes complex, 12 to 20 percent slopes, eroded

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on the lower terrace. The Byrne-Buse complex soils formed in till on hills on till plains or in lacustrine deposits over till. The Langhei-Barnes soils formed in hills on moraines or till plains.

Figure 33. Down-hole tests at the Roadside Park.

The soils encountered at Locations 5 and 6 were shallow with loamy textures, suggesting they formed in till parent material. The soils cored at Locations 7 and 9 were siltier. A darker layer was noted at a depth of 80-89 cm at Location 7. A down-hole susceptibility test at Location 7 showed a corresponding minor peak in susceptibility around 80 cm (Figure 35). Note that susceptibility values for these soils are approximately double those recorded at the Roadside Park. This darker layer was not seen in the nearby Location 9 core and no indication of buried soils were seen in Locations 5 and 6 or near a small dam along the sides of a dry drainage that cuts through these same Langhei-Barnes complex soils. Therefore, the potential for a buried site at this location appears low.

Location 8 lies at the intersection of a number of soil mapping units. Soils recovered in the core look most like the Quam silty clay loam, 0 to 2 percent slope mapping unit. These soils formed on drainage ways, flats, or depressions on till plains in lacustrine deposits. They are very unlike the soils on the adjacent terrace, finer-textured, deeper and poorly drained. The core at Location 8 revealed 116 cm of dark silt clay loam to silt loam to loam soils with no indication of a buried horizon. No further tests were conducted here.

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Figure 34. Test locations on the Section 5 terrace and margins.

Figure 35. Down-hole tests on the Pomme de Terre terrace (Location 7) and alluvial fan (Locations 16 and 18). (For the discussion of the alluvial fan tests, see below.)

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Alluvial Fan (T121N R42W SW¼ Section 5) (Figure 36)

Further south in this same section, several alluvial fans are located on the edge of the floodplain. Three locations (Locations 16-18) on one of these fans were tested. Down-hole tests were conducted at Locations 16 (N45° 18.793’ W95° 58.093’) and 18 (N45° 18.799’ W95° 58.089’) but not at Location 17 (N45° 18.810’ W95° 58.090’). Down-hole results for this area are presented in Figure 35 above, together with the down-hole test from Location 7 on the terrace. A small fragment of burnt bone was recovered from the surface of the fan near Location 18.

This area is mapped as Darnen loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes. These loam soils formed on moraines in colluvium and are much deeper than soils on the terrace. In a typical profile, Ap and A horizons extend to 61 cm, AB and Bw1 horizons to 86 cm, and the Bw2 horizon to over 200 cm. As expected on a fan, soil profiles at the three locations varied. At Location 16, textures were generally loams, but several darker and clayier (clay loam) layers were also encountered. Distinct and slightly darker layers were noted between 74-94 cm and between 124-143 cm. Down-hole tests showed a corresponding localized peak in susceptibility from ca. 70-90 cm and again below 120 cm, with the highest values between approximately 130-150 cm. At Location 17, we could not get through a pebbly layer at 59 cm bs. Soils at Location 18 were also coarser than those at Location 16. This core revealed loam surface soils, a slightly clayier (but not darker) layer at 80-89 cm, and, below 99 cm, interbedded layers of coarse sand, loam, and clay loam, approximately 4-7 cm in thickness. This layering is reflected in the erratic and higher values of susceptibility below 90 cm in the down-hole test at Location 18. Susceptibility values for soils at Location 18 are very similar to those recorded on the terrace.

A bucket auger was used to collect samples from the two possible buried soils at Location 16. Soils were collected between 70-100 cm and again from 120-160 cm bs. These samples yielded possible microlithics. It is uncertain whether the horizon at Location 18 between 80-89 cm relates to the upper darker zone at Location 16 or whether it relates to clay enrichment as part of B horizon development.

Appleton

Section 2 (T120N R43W) (Figure 37)

Locations 10 (N45° 14.366’ W96° 1.240’) and 11 (N45° 14.368’ W96° 01.221’) tested an area of Renshaw loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes, in the Appleton Township (Figure 37). The 1973 soil survey of Swift County (Diedrick 1973:37), states that, in the Appleton Township, this soil in many places has a second dark-colored layer just above the sand and gravel and that this layer is thought to be a buried surface layer. Soils in this mapping unit formed on flats on outwash plains. Loam surface soils (Ap 0-18 cm; Bw18-38 cm) are typically underlain by gravelly loamy sands (2Bk 38-51cm; 2C 51-152 cm); it was this interface that we wanted to investigate for a buried soil.

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Figure 36. Test locations on the Pomme de Terre alluvial fan.

Figure 37. Deep testing in Section 2 in the Appleton Township.

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At Locations 10 and 11, slightly darker and clay rich soils were recorded between 65 and 87 cm (Location 10) and 73 and 87 cm (Location 11), with this change better expressed in the core from Location 11. Sands (2C horizons) were encountered from 90 cm to refusal at 104 cm at Location 10 and from 87 cm to refusal at 98 cm at Location 11.

To investigate the possible surface on top of the 2C horizon, down-hole tests were conducted at both locations. These results are presented in Figure 38. Both indicate enhanced susceptibility values from approximately 65 to 90 cm bs, with the top 5-10 cm of this zone better expressed in the Location 11 test. Bucket auger samples were collected from a depth of 60 cm at Location 11 to further investigate this layer. Microartifact study (below) was negative.

Figure 38. Down-hole tests in Section 2, Appleton Township.

Minnesota River/Marsh Lake (T120N R43W Section 19) (Figure 39)

Three locations were tested on the margins of Marsh Lake in Appleton Township (Figure 39). Two were located on CRP land on the north edge of a peninsula extending into the lake (Location 12, N45° 10.982’ W96° 5.571’; Location 13, N45° 10.999’ W96° 5.497’) and one was located on the northern shore of the lake (Location 14, N45° 11.121’ W96° 5.565’). Down-hole tests were not deemed necessary at any of these locations.

Locations 12 and 13 are within areas mapped as Hantho silt loam, 1 to 3 percent slopes and Zell-Eckman complex, 2 to 6 percent slopes. Both formed in lacustrine parent materials and have silt

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loam textures. In both cores, we hit what appeared to be C horizon material at between 42 and 51 cm bs. We did not see any evidence of buried soils or cultural material.

Location 14 is located within an area mapped as Hokans-Buse complex, 2 to 6 percent slopes, formed on hills on till plains on till parent material. These soils were quite shallow; coring stopped at a sandy, pebbly layer at 60 cm bs.

Figure 39. Location of all cores on the margins of Marsh Lake.

Marsh Lake/Pomme de Terre Mouth (T120N R43W Section 20) (Figure 39, above)

Location 15 (N45° 10.914’ W96° 4.419’) sampled the Pomme de Terre floodplain where the river meanders into Marsh Lake (Figure 39). This core was taken near the base of the slope, approximately 15 m from the marsh. Soils are Lamoure silty clay loams, 0 to 2 percent slopes, occasionally flooded. Component soils in this complex typically have A1 and A2 horizons over a Cg horizon. These soils formed in alluvium. Our core indicated dark silty clay loams to near the base of the core (86-99 cm) where a pebbly silty clay loam was encountered and we could core no further. This profile seems most like the Rauville soils, a component of this complex. Rauville soils typically have a 2Cg horizon below the Cg horizon. The typical depth of this stratified gravelly sand to clay loam 2Cg horizon is 114 cm. As there was no evidence of a buried soil, no down-hole measurements were completed at this location.

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Chippewa

Chippewa/Shakopee Confluence (T120N R40W Section 15) (Figure 40)

Lamoure silty clay loams, 0 to 2 percent slopes, occasionally flooded, formed in alluvium on flats in floodplains were also mapped within the area at the confluence of the Chippewa and Shakopee Rivers. For Lamoure and similar soils, which make up 75-95% of the unit, a typical profile consists of deep silty clay loam A1 and A2 horizons (0-69 cm), over a silty clay loam Cg1 horizon (69–86 cm) and a silt loam Cg2 horizon (86-152 cm).

This area is a boat access point and has been disturbed by road and ramp construction and potentially also by the construction of the adjacent highway and bridge. Three locations were tested (Figure 40), one south of the access loop approximately 15 m north of the river (Location 19, N45° 12.296’ W95° 39.849’), one in the center of the access loop (Location 20, N45° 12.301’ W95° 39.856’) and one between the access loop and the main bridge (Location 21, N45° 12.306’ W95° 39.845’). Down-hole tests were conducted at Locations 19 and 21.

Figure 40. Deep testing locations at the confluence of the Chippewa and Shakopee Rivers.

At Location 19, textures were silty clay loams, but we did not observe the dark deep surface characteristic of Lamoure soils. A dark layer (10YR 2/1 to 3/1) extended from the surface only to 28 cm bs. Below this were lighter, gleyed soils (2.5Y 5/4) from 28-57 cm. At 57 cm there was an abrupt boundary with a dark layer (2.5Y 2.5/1) recorded from 57-76 cm (Figure 41). A 4-cm-

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thick light band (2.5Y 4/1) separated this horizon from another darker zone (2.5Y 2.5-3/1) that extended to approximately 114 cm. A transitional layer from 114-121 cm lay above what appeared to be a C horizon that was lighter in color and loamier in texture. Several pieces of wood were noted in the darker layers. Small pebbles and sand concentrations were observed in the lower layers.

The down-hole test at Location 19 (Figures 41-42) indicated a large peak in susceptibility below 57 cm in the buried dark layer. In general, susceptibility values remained relatively high until approximately 130 cm, with several distinct peaks. Susceptibilities measured in this dark zone were 2-3 times the magnitude of those observed in the floodplain of the Pomme de Terre at the Roadside Park.

Soil samples were collected using the bucket auger approximately 6 m east of Location 19. The soil profile was very similar to that at Location 19, except that the buried darker layer started at approximately 70 cm bs rather than at 57 cm bs. This dark layer, extending to ca. 126 cm, was 56 cm thick, similar to the 57 cm spanning the two dark zones recorded at Location 19 (i.e., 57-114 cm). These darker soils were collected in two bags, from 70-100 cm and 100-126 cm bs.

Figure 41. Top of dark soil at Location 19, boundary at 57 cm bs.

Soils at Location 20, located in the center of the access loop, appeared to be disturbed and therefore no further testing was conducted at this location. In fact, coring was attempted at several other locations before a core was taken at Location 21. At Location 21, a dark silty clay loam was observed from the surface to 15 cm, a light layer from 15-27 cm, then a darker horizon again from 27-51 cm, perhaps mirroring the profile observed at Location 19. Below 51 cm, however, soils were a fairly uniform dark silty clay loam (2.5Y 3/1) to the bottom of the core at 135 cm bs.

The down-hole test at Location 21 (Figure 42) indicated low susceptibility values for the light-colored layer, as observed at Location 19, and then increased susceptibilities in the darker layer below. These values were not as high as the susceptibilities observed at Location 19 below 57 cm. Below approximately 56 cm at Location 21, susceptibilities are relatively low and uniform.

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In summary, based on soil profiles observed when coring, and markedly enhanced susceptibility values, Location 19 appears promising as a buried site. Susceptibility enhancements of 2-3 times those in surface layers and those at depth in the Location 21 down-hole test were observed in addition to abrupt boundaries and horizon sequences that do not match expected typical soil profiles. Whether these deposits were buried by alluvium, or by construction associated with boat ramp and access, or even the adjacent highway and bridge, is unknown; but certainly, if this is a site, it would not be visible from the surface.

Figure 42. Down-hole tests at the confluence of the Chippewa and Shakopee Rivers.

Section 13 (T121N R40W Section 13) (Figure 43)

Further north along the margins of the Chippewa River another area with potential for buried soils layers was tested (Figure 43). The 1973 county soil survey mapped this as an area of Hecla loamy sands, 0-3% slopes. These soils, formed in outwash sands, are recorded as, in many places, containing buried soils layers (Diedrick 1973:25). Three locations were tested (Location 22, N45° 17.344’ W95° 37.868’; Location 23, N45° 17.340’ W95° 37.828’; Location 24, N45° 17.325’ W95° 37.884’) and down-hole susceptibility tests were conducted at all three locations.

In the subsequent digital soil survey (Kristoff 2005), this area is also mapped as Hecla loamy fine sands. For Hecla and similar soils, which make up 70-90% of the unit, a typical profile

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consists of a loamy fine sand Ap horizon over a fine sand C horizon with a boundary at approximately 22.5 cm. Clontarf (5-15% of the unit) and Sverdrup (1-10% of the unit) soils both have sandy loam surface textures and include Ap, A, and Bw horizons over a 2C sand horizon. We assume that the potential for buried soils would be on top of this 2C horizon. The typical Bw/2C boundary is at just over 60 cm bs.

At Locations 23 and 24 we hit sand at around 40 cm bs. We did not see anything resembling a buried horizon on top of this layer and we documented sand from this depth to the bottom of these cores at 115 cm (Location 23) and 96 cm (Location 24). At Location 22, the transition from a loamy sand to a sand was slightly deeper (ca. 63 cm bs) and we observed multiple layers of dark and light interbedded sands and loamy sands below this. The darker layers, however, did not appear to represent developed soils.

Figure 43. Deep testing locations on the margins of the Chippewa River.

Results of the down-hole tests are presented in Figure 44. Susceptibility values are about half those observed at the Chippewa/Shakopee confluence and, except for surface layers, more similar to the low susceptibility soils observed at the Pomme de Terre Roadside Park. An abrupt shift to lower susceptibilities occurs below approximately 40 cm. This corresponds to the transition from surface soils to C horizon sands observed at Locations 23 and 24, and it occurs at the same depth for Location 22, even though visually this transition appeared to be deeper. Susceptibilities gradually increase with depth below this point for Locations 22 and 23, and gradually decrease for Location 24.

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Susceptibility enhancement of surface horizons is expected, but we suspect that the observed abrupt decrease in susceptibility near 40 cm is also related to the instability of the core holes in these dry sands. Without sand or silt sized particles to hold the soil together (as in the loamy surface soils), the dry sands lining the core holes have a tendency to collapse, thus increasing the size of the hole, the distance between the sensor and the side of the hole, and ultimately measured susceptibilities. Lower in the profile, moisture functioned to stabilize soils on the sides of the core hole and susceptibilities increased slightly. Collapse of the core hole may have been more of a problem in the midsections of the core holes at Locations 22 and 23 then at Location 24. The banding observed at Location 22 is apparent in more variable readings below 70 cm bs. No further investigations in this area were deemed necessary based on these results.

Figure 44. Down-hole tests in sandy soils on the margins of the Chippewa River.

Microartifacts

Six samples from magnetically enhanced soil samples taken during the deep testing procedure were analyzed for microartifacts at the MSUM Archaeology Lab in October-November, 2010.

Microartifacts are culturally produced objects that are too small to be detected or recovered using standard archaeological field procedures. Fladmark (1982) considers microartifacts any items smaller than 1mm diameter. In this study, they are simply items smaller than the size of the mesh normally used on archaeological sites for the recovery of cultural materials (i.e. smaller than 1/8 inch). Most microartifact studies have been concerned with microlithics. These tend to be

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transparent or translucent, they are often larger than other items in the sample (being thin, they tend to slip through mesh sizes smaller than their largest dimension), they usually have regular geometric shapes, rather than rounded shapes, and they often display some aspects of conchoidal fracture (Fladmark 1982). Microlithics are a sensible target for study since lithic reduction produces thousands of fragments during the manufacturing of stone tools that are too small to be recovered with normal field procedures. Even so, the protocols used in this study were designed to recover not only microlithics, but any small items that might reflect the possibility of a cultural layer being intersected by a core sample. This would include small bone fragments, charcoal, pottery or burnt clay fragments, and microlithics.

There are several reasons for looking for microartifacts, and several problems associated with their study. Microartifacts are more common than macroartifacts, they are more likely to be present in core samples than macroartifacts, and they often reflect primary activity areas rather than discard areas (dumps), since they are too small to have been cleaned up in routine domestic maintenance. The major problems with the study of microartifacts are that they are hard to detect. Part of this has to do with the presence in soils of many unfamiliar small items that may appear to be pottery fragments, or small flakes, but which are actually naturally produced soil products. For example, many deposits have angular clasts that are naturally produced, or they have large quantities of quartz particles that mimic microlithic debris. Finally, microartifacts are small and may be transported by water and even wind. They may occur in deposits that are not sites, but contain sediments that have been eroded off of sites.

The method used for recovering microartifacts from the soils sample involved soaking each sample in tap water for several hours to break down clays. Since many of the samples were mostly sandy, it was not regarded as necessary to use deflocculants. After standing in water each sample was gently washed through standard soils sieves #20 and #60. These have mesh sizes of 850 um and 250 um respectively. The larger mesh size (#20) broke down larger aggregates of soil, and the smaller size (#60) was used for final recovery of the microartifact sample. Any sediment smaller than 1/4mm was not examined.

The object of the microartifact study was to discover whether magnetically enhanced signature deposits, which reflect relict land surfaces, might also contain cultural materials. For this reason entire samples were examined no matter their total volume. Surprisingly, the largest sample contained no indication of possible cultural material, while the smallest samples did.

The cores examined for microartifacts from the Swift County deep tests included six samples. These are listed below with brief descriptions of each sample, and a discussion of the possible microartifacts recovered.

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Location Depth Sample weight

1. Moyer township, sec.5, loc.16, 70-100cm 385g

The sample is quite dark in color. It includes plenty of mafic materials along with clumps of black clay and silt that was not broken down in the sieving. Many quartz and granite-like fragments are present as well. Few limestone clasts are present, although they are abundant in some of the other samples examined. There are a few charcoal fragments. There are very few or no snails and shell fragments. A single microflake was observed.

2. Moyer township, sec.5, loc.16, 120-138cm 225g

The sample is relatively light colored in aggregate. There are many limestone fragments and granitoid clasts. There are a wide variety of clast sizes present, and the sample overall has a heterogeneous appearance. One charcoal fragment was observed. There is a single possible flake in this sample, but it is somewhat colorful, with a yellow interior and a translucent edge. The item is about 2mm on its longest axis.

3. Moyer township, sec.5, loc.16 138-158cm 215g

This sample is very stony with a wide variety of clast sizes. It is very light colored and contains a large amount of calcium carbonate. Most of the rock fragments present are limestone. A few charcoal fragments are present, but no snail or shell. No microartifacts were observed.

4. Chippewa-Shakopee confluence, loc 19 70-100cm 99g

This is perhaps the darkest of all the samples examined. There are dozens of small snails present in the sediment representing a variety of species, along with small animal bones and bone fragments. Roots and woody pieces are also found. Larger clasts in the sample seem to be rounded, while smaller clasts appear more angular. There are 3-4 microlithic artifacts possible in the sample. One is almost 3mm along its longest axis and is translucent brown, similar to Knife River flint.

5. Chippewa-Shakopee confluence, loc 19 100-126cm 78g

This sample is also quite dark in color. There is a combination of larger and smaller clasts, and some larger pebble sized items as well. Limestone, granite-like and feldspar fragments are common. Shell fragment and snails are present in relatively large numbers. Charcoal fragments are present but they are quite small. A few very small animal bones from small animals are found. Rock fragments are rounded, but smaller clasts (sand sized) are sub-angular to angular. One or two microlithic artifacts are present.

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6. Location 11, section 2 60cm 605g

This sample is light colored. Not many colorful rock fragments are found. As with other samples, larger clasts are more rounded, while smaller clasts appear more angular. Very few woody fragments, and no animal bone fragments or shell. No microartifact are found in this sample.

The presence of microartifacts may not indicate an archaeological site. Since it is always possible that false positives may occur, particularly for microlitics, the results offered here are provided as suggestions of possible deeply buried cultural components. On the basis of the work performed here we suggest that the combination of enhanced magnetic susceptibility and possible microartifacts in two buried contexts provides specific locations for further testing. More broadly, it suggests that several localities in Swift County do contain buried deposits that may contain archaeological materials in well preserved subsurface contexts. Naturally, other such deposits must also exist in the county in comparable depositional environments. Finding well preserved buried, and perhaps, stratified sites, is a reasonable expectation based on these results.

Discussion and Conclusions on Deep Testing

Small-diameter down-hole magnetic susceptibility instruments provide a relatively non-invasive and inexpensive means of locating and exploring paleosols and buried cultural layers. This approach identifies magnetic changes that occur as part of soil development and cultural occupation. With measurement speeds of approximately 1 second per data point, susceptibility data can be easily and quickly collected. Down-hole measurements at 2-cm intervals provide the resolution necessary to discriminate thin and potentially low contrast archaeological horizons at depth, something that is not possible using surface geophysical methods. Application of this technology involves only minimal disturbance from a small-diameter push-tube corer. These hand-held corers are not only low cost but are also more portable than vehicle-mounted coring rigs or backhoes. While these hand-held corers will not be able to reach the depths achieved with these other systems, small-diameter core barrels can be mounted on hydraulic and other power coring systems, thus extending high-resolution down-hole susceptibility testing to greater depths.

Some of areas tested within Swift County exhibited relatively low and uniform susceptibilities with little enhancement of surface horizons. This was true, for example, for soils at the Roadside Park in the floodplain of the Pomme de Terre River, and certainly not unexpected for relatively young alluvial soils. In other floodplains, such as at the confluence of the Chippewa and Shakopee Rivers, we noted little enhancement of surface horizons but significant enhancement (2–3x) in underlying possible cultural horizons. Soils further north along the Chippewa River, formed in outwash sands up above the floodplain, exhibited equally modest susceptibilities in contrast to soils formed in outwash sands near the Appleton area. Although a discontinuity was observed at this latter area, and possible evidence for a buried soil in cores and down-hole data, microartifact analysis did not suggest any evidence for cultural occupation of this surface. Soils

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on the terrace and alluvial fan located on the west side of the Pomme de Terre floodplain also exhibited much higher susceptibilities and magnetic enhancement of deeper horizons, though these changes were not as obvious as at the Chippewa/Shakopee confluence.

As discussed above, the deep testing program was exploratory not comprehensive. It was not designed to find all, or even most, buried sites within the county but to assess the potential for buried sites in certain contexts as well as the usefulness of coring and down-hole susceptibility techniques in surveying for buried sites. These techniques did provide an effective deep-testing approach. A number of the areas tested revealed discontinuities and/or indications of buried surfaces. These include the above-mentioned location near Appleton, as well as the alluvial fan on the Pomme de Terre and the confluence of the Chippewa and Shakopee Rivers. In the other eight areas tested, our research indicates the potential for buried sites is low.

Two areas tested, the Pomme de Terre alluvial fan and the Chippewa/Shakopee confluence, suggested not just buried paleosols but perhaps even the presence of buried archaeological deposits. Based on the findings of the microartifact analysis, these areas should be investigated further. Other alluvial fans along floodplain margins should also be considered potential locations of buried sites. And even though a site was not indicated at the discontinuity within the Renshaw soils tested in the Appleton area, other locations within this mapping unit (e.g., those next to water sources) might have a higher potential for buried sites.

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Materials Recovered

Lithics were the most common item recovered, which was in part due to preservation, and in part the nature of the occupation. Bone and ceramics were next most common. Rock was not uniformly collected as many fields were loaded with till erratics. Although not collected, cracked rock is a likely residue from earth ovens at the rich sites, particularly at sites SW5 and SW31. The single most unique artifact recovered during our survey was a fragment from an incised catlinite tablet. This Late Prehistoric artifact ties the area to a large cultural tradition associated with the Plains and Oneota.

Chert

Bakken’s (1995) attempt to characterize regional patterns in Minnesota chert use places Swift County in the Western Lithic Resource Region. As such, it is supposed to display a use of the following primary materials: Swan River chert, Red River chert and quartz. This projected pattern conforms largely to that identified in our survey. However, his projected secondary materials reveal a weak correlation and perhaps are not a reliable indicator. The secondary materials identified are rhyolite and Tongue River silica. Finally, other materials present included jasper, jasper taconite, KRF, quartzite, and silicified wood.

Chert resource patterns display spatial and temporal trends. For Southwestern Minnesota Archaic the pattern appears to focus on local cherts (Anfinson 1997). The Woodland period witnessed an increase in the representation of “chalcedony cherts” (including KRF) (Anfinson 1997:69) yet by Late Woodland times and beyond there is a decline in “chalcedony cherts” (Anfinson 1997:81); Great Oasis in an exception (Anfinson 1997:94). Cambria and later complexes such as Oneota reveal a greater reliance on local sources than earlier (Anfinson 1997:100-101; 116-117). Overall, the use of KRF is consistent with down-the-line patterns (Michlovic 1990:47). That is, sites near the quarries in North Dakota have more than 50% represented by KRF, to the east on the Sheyenne River it represents around 25%, while along the Red River 15%. One would expect that in Swift County the proportional representation would range from 5-10%. Excavations at the Van Zomeren site in Stevens County, dating from the Early Archaic time span, revealed about 14% by weight of KRF -- an exception that proves the rule. Namely, as we discuss below, the earliest occupations (late Paleo Indian) were ephemeral and likely involved large territories, which became smaller during the Archaic period. The return to KRF use later in time is due to the establishment of exchange networks among sedentary and semi-sedentary populations.

Following a criterion of abundance, we assume that the most frequently occurring chert source is local (Table 25). For our sample, this would translate as Swan River, Red River and quartz, matching primary materials identified by Bakken (1995). This reasoning does not presume that other sources, for example jasper and chalcedony are not local, only that they are not abundant locally. Till sources are diverse and small quantities of a variety of chert sources are expected. Sources that we believe derive from eastern locations, particularly along the Minnesota River

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comprise Prairie du Chien (most of which was of the fossiliferous variety) and Grand Meadow. Further north and east are Hudson Bay, Lake of the Woods chert and Knife Lake siltstone. Cedar Valley and Galena are far eastern resources, although Hixton has been recovered from the county. Knife River flint is our sole western raw material and is the most distant of all identified sources, although obsidian has also been identified in the county, but not recovered by the present survey. A suite of southern sources from Iowa includes Fusulinid Gray, Maynes Creek and Wassonville cherts (Table 26).

From a regional perspective, Swift County mirrors surrounding counties where we have data. Meeker County for example has a greater representation of Prairie du Chien, quartz, Tongue River silica, and Red River chert (Mather et al. 1998). As a rule, Prairie du Chien chert use is more heavily represented on the Minnesota River and further east of Swift County (based on analysis of lithics from Fort Ridgely and personal communication, Bruce Koenen 2009). Chert sources used for tools in nearby Chippewa County (Koenen 1999) closely mirror the overall chert sources used in Swift County with the top five chert sources being in order of popularity: Swan River, Red River, Knife River flint, Indeterminate, and Prairie du Chien. A similar pattern prevails for the early occupation at the Van Zomeren site (Murray 2000) (See Table 27).

A large sample of lithics was recovered from testing at the Monson Lake State Park Campground site (21SW14). These also are similar to what we recovered from the county-wide sample: the top five chert sources comprised, in order of popularity: Swan River, Red River, Tongue River Silica, and quartz (Table 27).

The local cherts dominate the collections form the various survey areas (Table 26). Some exceptions may be due to sampling errors. However, the reduced amount of Knife River flint on Pomme de Terre (1%) is enigmatic, especially given the predominance of a later occupation at SW5. In other areas, where we suspect less collecting since the sites are relatively small, KRF is around 5%, which makes sense in the down-the-line trade pattern.

An examination of the proportion of tools, flakes and cores provides further support for the use of chert sources (Tables 29 and 30). As the most common chert, Swan River is amply represented in all categories indicating that was one of general and specialized utility. Red River and chalcedony, however, are not as frequently used for tools and reflect either undesirability or small size of the nodules. Quartz is the extreme example, as only one shaped tool was present in the sample, indicating that it was strictly expedient. Quartz appears in greatest proportion along the Chippewa River (18%) where it is likely picked up from till deposits available nearby, whereas at Dry Wood and Monson Lakes (SW14) it is no more than 7% of the total (Table 27). In turn, chert sources from further away such as Maynes Creek, Galena and Fusulinid have a greater proportion of tools to flakes. For local cherts, tools represent about 1-10% of the chert. Non-local cherts range from 13-80%.

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Table 25. Suggested Sources of Cherts.

Local East North West South Swan River Red River Quartz Jasper Tongue River Silica Rhyolite Quartzite Chalcedony

Prairie du Chien Grand Meadow Galena Cedar Valley

Hudson Bay Lake of the Woods Knife Lake

Knife River Flint Maynes Creek Fusulinid Wassonville

Table 26. Swift County Lithic Raw Materials.

Source Material Hassel Chippewa Appelton Pomme Dry Wood Other Total

Swan River 28 94 8 122 18 12 282

Red River 10 16 4 51 3 3 87

Quartz 7 39 2 38 2 88

Prairie du Chien 2 6 1 13 3 25

Grand Meadow 4 8 32 44

Chalcedony 1 14 16 1 1 33

Tongue River Silica 3 9 1 9 1 2 25

Knife River Flint 3 13 2 3 2 1 24

Other/Unknown 4 5 1 13 23

Quartzite 1 4 1 2 8

Maynes Creek 1 3 3 7

Wassonville 2 4 6

Jasper 4 16 1 21

Cedar 1 2 1 4

Galena 4 1 5

Hudson Bay 3 3 1 7

Lake of the Woods 1 1 2

Rhyolite 2 2

Knife Lake 1 1

Fusulinid 1 1

Siltstone 1 1

Basalt 1 1

Total 64 225 20 330 35 23 697

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Table 27. Comparative Chert Source Data.

Chert Source Swift County

21SW 14# 21SE16 Wt*

Stevens Co.

21SE16 N

Swan River 40.4 61.0 59.4 33.9

Red River 12.5 9.0 14.2 7.2

Tongue River Silica 3.5 8.3 0.8 1.7

Quartz 12.6 4.8 2.7 1.7

Rhyolite 0.3 3.1

Knife River Flint 3.4 2.8 14.8 47.8

Prairie du Chien 3.5 2.8 0.4 0.5

Other/Unknown 7.9 2.4 4.2 4.5

Chalcedony 4.7 1.7 1.3 1.1

Grand Meadow 6.3 1.4

Hixton 0 0.7

Siltstone 0.1 0.7

Burlington 0 0.3

Galena 0.7 0.3

Obsidian 0 0.3

Quartzite 1.1 0.3 1.7 1.1

Jasper 3.0 - 0.5 0.5

Total 100 99.9 100 100

# Gonsior and Radford 2001; * Murray 2000.

Cores, as opposed to decortication debitage, were fairly common and largely represented by local cherts as expected. The presence of bipolar cores indicates a maximization of the locally occurring nodules (Table 29).

Most bifaces were fragmentary. Of those we could identify the type of fracture on many were of the longitudinal variety, indicating they were likely points that fractured during impact (from hunting). It is also likely that most of the bifaces were broken points, since they were obviously completely thinned. Some of the bifaces, particularly those made from Swan River chert, were early stage bifaces and most probably performs. The proportion of endscrapers is low, especially when we interpret the primary use of the region as bison hunters. This is surprising since collections that we examined from the region have a good representation of end scrapers.

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Table 28. Projectile Point Data from Survey.

Site Point Type Chert Material

SW5 Prairie Side Notched Red River

SW10 Triangular Prairie du Chien

SW13 Oxbow Grand Meadow

SW13 Besant Prairie du Chien

SW24 Pelican Lake Swan River

SW27 Prairie Side Notched Knife River Flint

SW27 Pelican Lake Red River

SW30 Triangular Maynes Creek

SW31 Triangular Swan River

SW31 Triangular Galena

SW34 Pelican Lake? Red River

SW37 Hanna Prairie du Chien

SW40 Plains Side-Notched Swan River

SW41 Pelican Lake? Swan River

SW49 Prairie Side Notched Swan River

SW53 Hanna Swan River

SW54 Oxbow Prairie du Chien

SW59 Pelican Lake Swan River

SW62 Hanna Swan River

Figure 45. Selected points from Swift County survey. Top, Oxbow, 2 Hanna and 2 Pelican Lake Bottom, Besant, 2 Prairie Side-Notched, Plains Side Notched and 2 Triangular.

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As judged from the temporal diagnostics (Figure 45 and Tables 28 and 31 and Appendix 2), the following observations are possible regarding chert use. Early in the sequence (Late Paleo-Early Archaic) we have a combination of local cherts and Knife River flint. The Middle Archaic establishes the Archaic pattern with a nearly complete reliance on local cherts, especially during the Late Archaic period. By the early portion of Woodland sequence, we see the greater representation of non-local sources. This would include KRF and the eastern materials such as Grand Meadow and Prairie du Chien cherts. Non-local chert use increases during the late portions of the sequence to include areas well to the south and north, as well as maintain the reliance on Knife River flint and Grand Meadow and Prairie du Chien. Such a pattern begs the question of whether the Swift County area experienced a shift from local to non-local populations through time or that exchange became the rule during later times.

Table 29. Core Data by Chert Material.

Chert Material Core Fragment Bipolar Core Uni-Core Tri-core Total Swan River 10 1 3 14 Red River 11 3 1 15 Quartz 2 3 1 6 Chalcedony 3 2 5 Grand Meadow 1 1 TRS 1 1 Wassonville 1 1 Jasper 1 1 Total 28 11 4 1 44

Table 30. Chert Tools from Swift County Survey by Chert Material.

Chert Material Biface Point Endscraper Uniface Total Swan River 16 7 2 25 Grand Meadow 2 1 3 6 Red River 1 3 1 5 Tongue River Silica 5 5 Prairie du Chien 1 4 5 Other/Rare 2 1 1 1 5 Galena 1 2 1 4 Knife River Flint 2 1 3 Chalcedony 1 1 2 Maynes Creek 1 1 2 Jasper 1 1 2 Quarts 1 1 Total 32 23 7 3 65

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Table 31. Combined Points Swift County Survey and Briscoe Collection by Time and Source. Frequency and percentage (). See Table 25 for sources affiliations.

Source Paleo Early Middle Late Total

Local 1 (50) 22 (81) 14 (61) 13(42) 50 (60)

East 4 (15) 4 (17) 11 (35) 19 (23)

West 1 (50) 5 (22) 3 (10) 9 (11)

South 2 (6) 2 (2)

Unknown 1 (4) 2 (6) 3 (4)

Total 2 27 23 31 83

Ceramics

We recovered prehistoric ceramics from seven sites in the county. The sample of sherds from the survey is regrettably small (Figure 46). Small sherds deriving from multiple periods with only surface contexts limit the certainty in assigning temporal affiliation. Nevertheless, based on trends for the Midwest and Plains, we can present a preliminary assessment of the ceramic periods spanning from the Middle Woodland through Late Prehistoric periods. We were aided by a large sample of rims and sherds from the Briscoe collection, which are discussed separately (see Appendix 3).

Figure 46. Swift County Pottery. Upper - cordmarked exterior wrapped-dowel decoration interior (SW5), middle – cordmarked rim (SW10), lower – plain rim and rounded-angular shoulder (SW31).

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Two sites, SW5 and SW31, yielded the bulk of our sample. Nearly all of the ceramics are grit tempered and those with intact surface finishes are predominately cordmarked. A small number of shell and shell-grit tempering are the only divergences. Few of the sherds are diagnostic, further complicating temporal assessment.

The earliest pottery likely dates from the Middle Woodland period based on sherds from SW5 and 31. These sherds are thick walled, some of which have a contorted paste and looked different from the majority of cordmarked Late Woodland ceramics. The wall thickness ranged from 8.0-8.9 mm, conforming to trends identified in the region as well as elsewhere in the Midwest. In order to reliably use wall thickness data it is important to control for the portion of the vessel the measurement derives from and the size of the vessel, impossible parameters to control with these small sherds. Consensus is lacking as to the earliest pottery to appear in the Plains. Based on the Midwest, we expect that this pottery would be thick-walled and coarsely tempered, commensurate with the sherds in our sample. Crude pottery is also reported from the James River in eastern North Dakota (Toom 2007) conforming to the notion that early equals crude. Recent dating of so-called Brainerd sherds with very early temporal assignments has brought this correlation into question. We maintain that the dates, taken from charcoal adhering to the sherd fabric are dubious and do not constitute sufficient evidence to reject the pattern supported from a wider region.

We are lacking diagnostic decorative features to place these sherds within the Middle Woodland period, yet they are likely the first ceramic containers in the area. A possible decorated sherd is present in the Briscoe collection. Whether these putative early sherds end up being earlier or slightly later is not germane at the present. These designated early ceramics were found at sites with the greatest ceramic samples and might represent continuity in occupation for these favored locations.

A few cordmarked ceramics were thick-walled and coarsely tempered and could represent early ceramics and are identified as Middle-Late Woodland. These sherds were retrieved from SW5 (n=4, avg. 7.0 mm, range 5.0-9.7). It is just as likely that they represent a range in variation of the Late Woodland cordmarked jar as it is they are Middle Woodland in age.

The majority of the ceramics are assigned to the Late Woodland period from five of the seven ceramic-bearing sites, which is commensurate with the overall trend in other places of the Midwest. Designation as Late Woodland was based on thin-walls, grit temper, cordmarked to the lip, weak neck junctures, and notched decorations on the lip, or interior. Based on our sample and the Briscoe Collection (Appendix 3), it appears that we have representatives of Transitional Late Woodland, Onamia, Blackduck, Lake Benton, and Big Stone phases (Figure 47).

The only other description of ceramics from the county (Gonsior and Radford 2001) from the Monson Lake State Park Campground Site (21SW14) resembles the kinds of ceramics reported from our project. They describe thin-walled cordmarked and smoothed plain sherds that likely

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span Late Woodland through the early Late Prehistoric (Cambria). A cord wrapped rod impressed decorated jar neck is identified as Lake Benton.

Figure 47. Regional Late Woodland and Early Late Prehistoric phases.

The Late Prehistoric is difficult to define in this part of Minnesota. In principle, we have three cultures – Cambria, Oneota, and Sandy Lake (Figure 48). Although simple stamped sherds are present that are problematic and must date after 1200. Cambria diagnostics comprise grit temper, polished or smoothed plain surfaces, angled shoulders, plain surface rims, and broad incising (see Figure 46). Cord impressed, simple stamped and tool impressed surfaces are Plains traits but difficult to precisely place and thus assigned to the Late Woodland-Late Prehistoric time range. The presence of shell and grit tempering with a cordmarked surface (SW31) must indicate a Sandy Lake occupation, which is problematical as northern movement into the Chippewa River is not suspected at this time. However, the Pond (1893) narrative does record movement from the north and south along the Chippewa by antagonistic groups (Ojibway from the north and the Dakota from the south) in historic times. The sole shell-tempered sherd from the same site has an exfoliated surface, rendering affiliation impossible. We suspect Oneota because of the presence of an incised catlinite tablet.

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Figure 48. Regional Late Prehistoric phases.

The Briscoe collection (Appendix 3) reveals ceramics spanning Middle Woodland through the Late Prehistoric, although no shell-tempered ceramics are present. Most of the sherds are Late Woodland. A cornucopia of styles are indicated and include St. Croix (minority), Blackduck-like (present), Lake Benton (present), and Onamia (minority) (see Figure 46). We also have examples from Great Oasis (minority), possibly Cambria (present), and a Plains affiliation in the form of simple stamped rims and sherds. The collector’s great grandson now owns the Briscoe collection, and he reports that many artifacts in it are from western Swift County (probably SW5 on the Pomme de Terre). Some of the collection is also from Big Stone County and from other nearby areas. The overall look of the collection, in raw materials and types of artifacts, supports this claim.

Catlinite

The Norby Tablet (Figure 49) is a shaped, polished and incised catlinite tablet found on the surface at SW31. The fragment is 10.8 x 8 cm with only two sides finished; the piece was likely a square to rectangular tablet. The tablet tapers near the finished edges (.6 cm) and is thick in the center (1.2 cm). Of the two surfaces, the flat surface is excessively marred by plow scars and contains a plethora of fine incised lines. It is difficult to discern patterns, except for a linear

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series of rectangles and a scattering of triangular like elements. The obverse surface is plano-convex with only minor scaring. Additional modification of the tablet is evident on the finished edges with horizontal striations, perhaps resulting from manufacture, and one edge has at least ten vertical cuts.

Figure 49. Catlinite tablet from SW31 (Norby Tablet).

Catlinite tablets with incised or scratched designs are often encountered on Oneota sites (Henning 1998). Site SW31 yielded our only shell tempered ceramics, although we are unsure as to the affiliation of these sherds. The presence of the tablet, however, securely places this site into the orbit of Oneota culture.

Aside from the Norby tablet, a small pipe bowl made from catlinite is in the Briscoe collection. This item is 8 mm diameter and is blackened on the inside. It is about 15 mm long and broken. Catlinite was not much in evidence in the field collections.

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Discussion and Conclusions

Sequence and Land Use

Private collections reveal the presence of Late Paleo Indian occupation in the county (Appendix 2, Table 31). Judging by the infrequency of these points, we can only conclude that the occupation was ephemeral. The same qualification extends to the Early Archaic, although this is only a presumption based on the tentative identification of Early Archaic points in private collections (Appendix 2). In contrast, the Middle Archaic period is well represented by Hanna and Oxbow points throughout the county, with a particular focus on the northern portion. Based on the widespread distribution of Middle Archaic points, it seems reasonable to conclude that the population was highly mobile and did not intensively occupy the county.

The Late Archaic represents the maximal Archaic use in the county as judged by the recovery of Pelican Lake points (n=5). As in many other areas of the Midwest (Farnsworth and Emerson 1986) and Plains, the Early Woodland presence is enigmatic. If, as others have argued that many points are misidentified, then it is possible that some of the gaps are illusory.

Pottery appears first during the Middle Woodland period; at least that is our assumption. Only a few sherds exist within the collections, although the Besant point is well represented in our collection and the Briscoe collection. Regarding population density and settlement distribution, we can only surmise sporadic use by small groups.

Sometime within the Late Woodland period there was a dramatic change in land use. Based on accumulating evidence in the archaeology of the Upper Midwest and Plains, population levels in the region do not appear to grow substantially until Woodland times and in many areas not until Late Woodland times. Such an observation agrees with our survey data from the county. We do not witness large intensively occupied sites until the Late Woodland period. By large and intensive, we refer to intuitive observations of surface collection conditions and indirectly to the overall relatively large number of artifacts recovered. Another indicator is the presence of animal bone. Sites with bone on the surface in this county are different kinds of sites. And, to a significant extent sites with pottery also yielded bone, but the reverse does not hold.

Using the Briscoe collection for the Pomme de Terre River (Appendix 3), and presumably this holds for the mound and village complex (SW5), the Late Woodland occupation dates after 700. This span (700-1200, or thereabouts) represents the apogee in visibility across most of the county. What we lack is an understanding of the impact of Late Prehistoric cultures on the margins, i.e., Great Oasis, Initial Middle Missouri, and Cambria. Does the presence of ceramics belonging to these types signal the presence of cultures fully participating in these expressions, or do the presence of these traits signal only the penetration of outside influences? For example, phases in nearby regions display influence of these cultures on essentially a Late Woodland base,

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examples being Big Stone (Anfinson 1997); Lucas (Holley and Kalinowski 2008), and Blackduck (Michlovic 1979, 2005) (see Figure 47). Further, given that sites closer to the Cambria source, for example Guatefald and Gillingham display only portions of this complex supports the notion that people in Swift County had to be marginal participants. This is symptomatic of a down-the-line phenomenon for participation in the Cambria experience, and indirectly the Cahokia experience. That is, the further one moves away from the source, the more likely the bundle of traits making up Cambria is discarded.

The local character of the ceramic tradition during Cambria times is unclear, yet it is without doubt that there was a Plains cast to Swift County. The Briscoe collection has a number of vessels with simple stamped surfaces, atypical for the Late Woodland Minnesota traditions. We presume these date solely from the Late Prehistoric period.

What happens after 1200 is poorly known. Only a trace of shell tempered ceramics are present and may point to Oneota or Sandy Lake, or both. Regardless, it appears that Swift County was used only sporadically. Triangular points outnumber late period sherds, suggesting that hunting was the preferred use of the area.

An Interpretation

Two related topics figure prominently in our interpretation of the prehistory of Swift County southwestern Minnesota: the ecotone-effect and historic Dakota settlement patterns.

Swift County lies within Anfinson’s Prairie Lake Region (1990, 1997), although it lies in close proximity to the Central Deciduous Lakes and Red River Valley physiographic regions as well. The county also lies near the ecotone between the forest and prairie biomes. The lake-forest region is only around 30 km from the center of the county. This ecotone has served a major role in the interpretation of the prehistory of Minnesota. Each biome offers a variety of resources that when brought together characterized the adaptation of historically documented native groups in Minnesota. Major resources offered by the forest biome comprise wild rice, deer, fish, berries, and wood, while the prairies offered the buffalo, elk, waterfowl, prairie turnip, berries, forbs, and some other resources (Anfinson 1997; Grimm 1985; Shay 1978). Historically identified groups such as the Dakota and Ojibwa occupied an east to west swath across the state to take advantage of these biomes. Seventeenth century observers identified Dakota groups tethered to each biome (E. Johnson 1985; Little 1985; Michlovic 1985, 1990). Although once believed to represent the by-product of European arrival, archaeological data reveal that this pattern likely continued back in time to the Late Prehistoric Period. Coinciding with this boundary was another kind of boundary, an ethno-political one, separating the Dakota from the Ojibwa. This boundary does not reflect adaptation, since both groups were historically characterized as having a prairie and lake-forest adaptive niche.

Valuable resources were not confined exclusively to single biomes. Lakes and forests were not limited to the forest biome. However, lakes in the Lake-Prairie region tend to be shallow and

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lacking abundant wild rice patches (Anfinson 1990). Wild rice was identified during the GLO survey of Swift County, however, it was not ubiquitous and since many of the shallow lakes dry out during droughts, this resource was not likely perennial. Forests when present were limited in the Lake-Prairie region to thin patches along stream course and lake margins. Oak groves were also more likely than fully developed hardwood forests.

Given the contrastive nature of the biomes and the widespread adaptation of historical groups, archaeologists have examined the historic adaptations to guide interpretations of past life ways, particularly the Dakota (Anfinson 1997; Spector 1985; E. Johnson 1985; Whelan 1990, 1993). Two related models of land use, tailored for Swift County, are evident in this literature.

Lake-Forest Tethered Prairie Exploitation

This model holds that lake-forest based people sent groups into the prairie to hunt buffalo as well as gather other resources. Lake country, with deep lakes and uniformly forested environs were located 30 km north of Swift County. It is likely that the lakes and rivers would serve as base camps for these movements into the prairie. Along-the-way briefly used camps are expected.

The lake-forest centric pattern is based on 17th Century French observations in the Mille Lacs locality and involved seasonal sedentism interspersed with resource-specific forays (E. Johnson 1985; Spector 1985; Whelan 1990). Localities such as Mille Lacs served as settled nodes where intensive and long-term occupations reveal evidence for residential structures, earthen monuments, cemeteries, and settings for ritual activities (Birk and Johnson 1992; Mather 2000; Spector 1985). Forays from these nodes involved either gender-specific or task-oriented groups resulting in small settlement.

River-Tethered Prairie Exploitation

This model operationalizes an eyewitness account by Pond (1893) in 1834 of a trek that was presumably seasonal. Moving in spring from a forest-based permanent settlement (reservation) on the Minnesota River Pond traveled with a group of diverse gender and age into the prairie interior following the Chippewa River. They eventually settled along lakes to the north, more than likely the Lake Hassel locality in Swift County. A Chippewa raiding party interrupted their stay. We presume that the stay at the lakes during the spring would have been of the specialized variety, not a village proper. This journey would fit nicely with the model proposed for nineteenth century Dakota by Spector (1985) and Whelan (1990, 1993). Summer villages would be large and represent multi-family aggregations (on reservations). The corresponding winter occupations would be much smaller. Small parties would disperse from the villages for specialized exploitation. Previous archaeological investigations have resulted in the identification of villages only (Spector 1985). In Swift County it may be that some of the short-term seasonal occupations are in evidence.

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Both models presume seasonal/activity specific use of the prairie. Archaeological evidence has been mustered to document bison hunting sites in the prairies (Shay 1978; Watrall 1985), which would support the notion of specialized use of this region by forest dwellers for the Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric periods. However, other sites such as 21CY39 on the Buffalo River (Michlovic 2005) do not entirely support such a narrow interpretation. Indeed, several sites in the prairie region, while evidencing a focus on bison, were not strictly speaking specialized bison hunting sites (Michlovic 1986, 2008). A similar interpretation applies to sites in the ecotone (for example, Mather et al. 1998; Michlovic 1979) (Figure 50).

Figure 50. Swift County in relation to the ecotone.

These Dakota-based models, focusing on villages along major rivers or lakes, ignore the ethnohistoric record of occupation of the prairies as well. Neither of the Dakota-based models presumes any form of village or sedentary existence in the prairie or ecotone zones. A description of life away from these settlements is limited since few Europeans ventured into the depths of the prairie. At the heart of this issue is the notion that the prairie adaptation was of recent vintage, due to the impacts of colonization and part of a broader westward movement of many tribal groups. This issue is relevant to our Swift County survey. For these reasons we offer a third model that proposes an indigenous population, tied to local resources in their movement and origin.

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Prairie Based Semi-sedentary

This model presumes a form of residential living occurred within the prairie along timbered watercourses or lakeshores. In this model, we are giving credence to the documented “Sioux of the West.” One early description provides tantalizing information on these groups in identifying the presence of hide and mat housing – a blending of house forms tethered to the respective prairie and forests. Further west in the prairies and plains, some form of residential life characterized the Northeastern Plains Village pattern of the Late Prehistoric (Picha and Gregg 1982; Michlovic 2008; Schneider 1982; Toom 2004) along timbered watercourses. If some form of semi-sedentary life were tethered to resource patches in the ecotone, we would expect an assortment of smaller specialized sites and larger aggregation sites.

Archaeological testing of sites within the ecotone, or near the ecotone, has been limited. At least four sites have been tested in the Prairie-Forest ecotone. These sites are Washington Creek (Mather et al. 1998), Lake Bronson (Anfinson, Michlovic and Stein 1978), Dead River (Michlovic 1979), and Maplewood (Watrall 1985). Occupations at these sites extend from the Late Woodland through the beginnings of the Late Prehistoric. No consistent pattern of occupation is evident as the occupations range from spatially extensive to localized intensive. Although a bison hunting focus is typical, such sites as Dead River show an equally important focus on fish. Each site has evidence for seasonal occupation, although the seasons identified comprise the year round (mild and cold). The notion that ethnically diverse groups occupied the sites singly or in consort, an interpretation consistent with the early French eyewitness account, is also part of the interpretation of these sites.

Evaluation of Models

We do not expect that any of the three models would be applicable for the entire prehistoric sequence in Swift County. However, the presumed focus on bison hunting appears substantiated by the faunal remains recovered from several sites and from the burial mounds. Bison hunting was a major preoccupation.

The meager Paleo sample is based on private collections and two of three points from the region (not necessarily Swift County) are made from Knife River flint. We presume that during this time the population was wide-ranging and that the source material was procured as part of an annual round and not through trade. Although the shift to more local lithic resources may characterize the Early Archaic, use of the area is equally minimal.

Middle and Late Archaic occupation is likely widespread with notable concentrations. For example, the Emde and SW5 site complexes along the Pomme de Terre. As a rule, however, we could not identify large intensively occupied ceramic sites.

Point styles are potentially significant regarding regional affiliations, especially as the county lies near the ecotone between the prairie and forest-lake regions. Archaic point styles are decidedly

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Plains-like. There is a twist to this affiliation. For example, for the Middle Archaic we are lacking two point styles typical of the Plains: Duncan (only one noted in a collection) and McKean. This absence is suggestive of a possible eastern Plains focus or regionalization. Oddly, although the point styles are western, even in to the Woodland period, there is not a corollary of Knife River flint use for the manufacture of the points. The region may be characterized as having western style points with eastern chert.

By the Late Archaic all of the points are local lithics and nearly all are the Pelican Lake type. The only reliable single-component Archaic site (SW59), that was also Late Archaic, had only 8% non-local material and may represent the paradigm for Late Archaic occupation. It is not possible to disentangle the movement of people with the chert as opposed to the movement of the chert. Sample size is undoubtedly a problem. Yet, this period most likely represents the peak of localization and it might indicate the absence of trading and movement. If the population is indeed local, it is quite small.

The early portion of the Woodland period is weakly represented in the ceramic sample. We suspect little change in the occupation of the area and the Plains point styles continued. One enigma concerns the relative paucity of endscrapers in our sample. The same holds for the Briscoe collection. Curiously, the Ostlie collection from nearby Chippewa-Lac qui Parle-Big Stone counties features a lithic tool collection with 30-50% endscrapers.

Based principally on the Briscoe collection, we recognize a cornucopia of styles for the Late Woodland period and are unsure if this represents diverse peoples or diverse times. An argument against the former is that the example of Blackduck is divergent from styles recognized in Otter Tail County and other northern sites (Michlovic 1979). Late Woodland points also reveal an increase in diverse styles unmatched in earlier times. Is this the result of exchange or movement?

We are on less comfortable grounds during the Late Prehistoric. Again, we see diverse cultures represented in the presence of Plains-style pottery. The points, however, are too generic to reveal affiliations (Plains Side-Notched and Triangular).

In summary, localization began during the Middle Archaic by Plains affiliated bison hunters. These people remained Plains affiliated throughout the sequence, perhaps until the Late Woodland period, when ceramic styles emerged that are ensconced in the Woodland tradition. By the end of the prehistoric period it appears that the area was largely abandoned and used only on a marginal basis.

The model that postulates a movement out into the prairies for bison hunting by forest-based peoples appears unsubstantiated. Although eastern chert sources are present, the predominance of western point styles, present since Early to Middle Archaic times, argues instead that the cultural foundation of Native Americans in the county were outside the lake-forest region. Temporary use of the area by people moving from the Minnesota River could be argued based on the presence of chert resources likely traveling along that river (Prairie du Chien and Grand

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Meadow). Our survey of the river, however, revealed no difference in the kinds of sites present and no evidence for a base camp or substantial village. We favor some kind of small local groups probably beginning during the Middle Archaic that moved around the county and elsewhere that became increasingly focused on advantages in the county. In total, we would not suspect these groups to total more than 50-100 people. Groups amounting to this many, perhaps in two or three bands, moving from resource to resource on a seasonal round and with occasional formation of base camps or small villages would accommodate the archaeological record.

Explaining the Pomme de Terre Village and Mound Complex

The Pomme de Terre Village and Mound Complex (SW5) is one of the most important archaeological resources of the county and was therefore a focus of our investigations. Mounds are relatively infrequent in the county and their frequency pales in comparison to surrounding counties with most having more than two dozen reported mound sites.

Such a disparity is symptomatic of a small residential population. Charles and Buikstra (1983) note that highly mobile populations seldom have cemeteries, we may thereby conclude that increasing sedentism is reflected in increasing group burials. Thus, the appearance of the multi-mound group at SW5 must signal a change in population dynamics in the county. To understand this mound complex we need to examine local prehistory, the distribution of mounds in the region, the lay of the land, and the Pomme de Terre River basin.

We have argued that evidence for settling-in dates from the Woodland period in the county, particularly the Late Woodland period and likely continues into the early portion of the Late Prehistoric. This evidence consists of the presence of extensive deposits associated with animal bone in favorable locations, although we lack critical supporting evidence from excavation, such as botanical data and subsurface feature data. It also appears likely that mound construction dates strictly from this period. Mound construction in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest seems to begin during Middle Woodland period and taper sometime during the Late Prehistoric period.

Ceramics from the village occupation at SW5, based on our collection and the Briscoe collection, date largely from post-Middle Woodland or roughly 600-1200; we suspect that most of the ceramics diagnostics span the 800-1000 range. Ceramics from SW5 appear to be typical for the county. We thus conclude that the local population reached a point where semi-sedentary residential groups occupied all favored locations, with SW5 serving as a nodal center for a larger group for feasting and ritual activities in warm weather. SW5 would be periodically enlarged due to visiting groups from surrounding areas. It is easy to speculate that by Late Prehistoric times, the intensive occupation associated with the mounds resulted in overexploitation of the timber resources, putting an end to the use of the mound complex. We believe that other factors are at work in the termination of mound rituals.

The nine-mound complex was the largest such complex on the lower reaches of the Pomme de Terre River. In Grant and Stevens counties to the north on the Pomme de Terre (Winchell 1911:

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300-301) mounds are not documented until more than 20 miles north. The largest mound complex comprised only four mounds. Although the SW5 complex is one of the largest on the Pomme de Terre River, there are large mound complexes nearby. Lake Minnewaska in Pope County has a 30 mound complex, the Bartke Mounds (21PO1) (Anfinson 1971; Winchell 1911: 298) presumably dating from the Late Woodland period. Nearby the mounds was an enclosure (Winchell 1911: 298). To the immediate west Artichoke Lake has a seven mound complex (Winchell 1911: 121). A large mound complex, Lake Villard mounds 21PO10 (Anfinson 1971), features 25 mounds in T126 37, Sec 22. This is north and east of SW5 in Pope County.

If examined from the point of view of the lay of the land, we see that southeast of the mound complex the terrain is low-lying from the Minnesota River north until reaching an impressive large moraine (highest elevation 1132 ft amsl). The mound site is thus a beacon if traversing from the south along the Pomme de Terre drainage. Additional terrain features of interest include the terminus of the bluff edges just a few miles south of the complex. Finally, the mound rests on a projecting bluff edge that further enhances its visibility. For presentation, what better way to highlight an above floodplain location than to place it within a narrowing of the river valley?

Lastly, we have the nature of the Pomme de Terre basin that provides insight into the location of the mound group. In contrast to the Chippewa basin, which takes a typical triangular shape, the Pomme de Terre basin is a linear watershed with two bulbous sub-basins resembling a barbell with four physiographic units. From north to south, these comprise the headwaters in Otter Tail County, a broad fan-shaped basin, a narrow basin in Douglas County, another broad basin in Grant and Stevens counties and a narrow basin as it meets the Minnesota River. The SW5 mound group was downstream of a large sub-basin and intermediary to the Minnesota River. The bottleneck location of the lower or southern bulge, where SW5 is situated, is strategic.

Given that mound distribution is scattered in Swift County and surrounding counties, what are we to make of areas that have hundreds of mounds. For example, the Mille Lacs area has a great density of mounds that coincides with extensive and intensive long-term occupation. A nearby example is Otter Tail County, which is part of the Lake Forest region and has hundreds of mounds (Winchell 1911). Yet here we lack sufficient control over the prehistory of the county. We suspect that areas characterized by such high numbers of mounds were home to larger resident populations than existed in the prairie-lake region.

To conclude, the Pomme de Terre Village and Mound Complex emerged in concert with a settling down in the region during the Late Woodland period to service a local population. The mound group appeared at an important traverse juncture and visibility point. By the end of the early portion of the Late Prehistoric period, around 1200, the mounds ceased to function and whatever slight growth once characterized the region soon retrenched. This village and mound complex is not alone and shares features with the Norby Complex and perhaps various ceramic bearing sites at lake-peninsula locales.

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Boundaries and Ecotones

An important consideration in the Late Prehistory of this and surrounding portions of Southwestern Minnesota is the impact of fluctuating boundaries between divergent cultural groups. Signatures of border phenomena can be read in the presence of small fortified redoubts stretching from Yellow Medicine County to the South Dakota Border and east to Pope County (Winchell 1911), and the ubiquity of Late Prehistoric burial mounds in a much larger area (Anfinson 1997:71; Johnson 1961). The erection of mounds can serve the dual purpose of honoring the dead and staking a claim on the past and present (Buikstra and Charles 1999; Holley 2008). As support of this border phenomenon, Elden Johnson (1961:77) has observed that elongated and flat-top mounds in Southwestern Minnesota are associated with Cambria site and not Great Oasis sites, although there is much debate regarding the contemporaneity of these cultural units, the distribution is striking. A more localized expression of such bordering situations is also evident in Traverse County (Johnson 1991). We need of a deeper understanding of the context of mound sites in the county, and of how they fit within the local settlement pattern.

There were intense border wars to the north of Swift County during historic times between the Dakota and Ojibwa, which may have an antiquity involving different players (Hickerson 1970; Howard 1966; Wedel 1974). Swift County lies roughly in the center of a series of fortified settlements to the west, around Big Stone and Traverse Lake, to the southeast at Gillingham, and to the northeast in Pope County (Winchell 1911: 298). Such enclosures signify problems in relation to borders. Border problems also signify that groups are not moving seamlessly from one major resource zone to another. This is support for our interpretation of largely local peoples residing in and around Swift County.

American Occupation

We only identified two historic sites in our survey, one a dugout, which was given a site number, the other an artifact scatter, which was not given an official number. The paucity of historic archaeological sites is likely due to two factors: a short history and retention of abandoned farmsteads as forested plots. Early (pre-1866) occupation appears quite limited in the county. Documented locations include Lake Monson, Lake Hassel, Shible Lake, Six-Mile Grove and West Bank Townships on the Chippewa, Moyer Township on the Pomme de Terre. By the 1870s, large areas around all of the lakes were platted and towns first appeared. Multiple abandoned farmsteads with existing buildings were identified but not inspected in the project, and all appeared to represent early to middle twentieth century occupations. These abandoned farmsteads were shrouded in trees and represent an important habitat for farmers and hunters; one was observed in the process of being dismantled.

An interesting correlation exists with the early American and significant Native American occupations. Many of the first American settlements in townships correlated with the location of

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significant Native American sites. Two, of many, examples may suffice. The nascent village of Fairfield along the Pomme de Terre River was established in the floodplain very near the SW5 mound village complex. On the Chippewa River, the first claim made in the Swenoda Township was at the juncture of the Chippewa and Shakopee Creek, an area of prehistoric settlement. There are additional patterns that deserve further study. For example, early American settlements were primarily in the valley with cemeteries placed on the bluff tops. We also see the proliferation of mounds on bluff tops. Lakeshore occupations exhibit an even greater correlation with the co-occurrence of timber and water drawing Americans and Native Americans.

Swift County Survey Final Remarks

The Swift County Survey was conceived as an effort to locate as many sites as possible in what was regarded as a low site potential region. The assumption about site potential arose from the results of previous survey efforts, particularly the MnSAS and Mn-Model projects. From MnSAS it was clear that in prairie areas sites would be mostly near water. Mn-Model was an attempt to more precisely predict site locations. The Swift County Survey did locate a relatively large number of sites, exceeding initial expectations. Sites did tend to cluster more or less where Mn-Model predicted. For instance, the Minnesota River area south of Appleton, the lower and middle Pomme de Terre, and the lake cluster in the northwest portion of the county. Furthermore, the upper Chippewa and Hollerberg Lake are, counterintuitively, areas of low potential in Mn-Model. The survey results posted here confirm the accuracy of those Mn-Model predictions. On the other hand, the heavy concentration of sites in the Lake Hassel area does not appear to be a Mn-Model prediction, although it does predict moderate site density there. Also, the Chippewa-Shakopee confluence, an area of high site density in this survey, seems under-predicted for site density in Mn-Model. Overall, the survey provides at least some reason to rely on previous predictive surveys to show where sites are most likely to be, although in the case of Swift County, the predictions seem to underestimate site density in some areas. In the opinion of the authors of this report, future survey in Minnesota might appropriately assume the general reliability of previous predictive surveys, and design new surveys for more than site prediction, but perhaps for increasing site identification and the recovery of larger samples of cultural material for the purpose of more completely modeling the prehistoric culture history of Minnesota.

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Johnson, C. M. 1990 A Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Robert Smith Farm in Camp Lake and Kerkhoven Townships, Swift County, Minnesota. Institute for Minnesota Archaeology, Report 116. Minneapolis. 1991 Archaeological Reconnaissance in Traverse County, Minnesota. Reports of Investigations no. 150, Institute for Minnesota Archaeology. Johnson, E. 1961 Cambria Burial Mounds in Big Stone County. Minnesota Archaeologist 23:52-81. 1985 The 17th Century Mdewakanton Dakota Subsistence Mode. In Archaeology, Ecology and Ethnohistory of the Prairie-Forest Border Zone of Minnesota and Manitoba, edited by J. Spector and E. Johnson, pp. 154-166. Reprints in Anthropology, Vol. 31. Lincoln. 1991 Cambria and Cahokia’s Northwestern Periphery. In New Perspectives on Cahokia, edited by J. Stoltman, pp. 307-318. Monographs in World Archaeology 2. Prehistory Press, Madison, Wisconsin. Kluth, R. and D.Kluth 1997 A Phase I Archaeological Survey of TH-Replacement of Bridge 5359 with 76012, Swift County, Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Transportation, St.Paul. Koenen, B. 1999 A Catalog of the Wayne Ostlie Collection 1998. Unpublished report on file at the Minnesota Historical Society, Fort Snelling. Knudson, R. A. 1967 Cambria Village Ceramics. Plains Anthropologist 12 (37):247-299. Kristoff, J. 2005 Soil Survey of Swift County, Minnesota. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, in cooperation with the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and the Board of Water and Soil Resources. Kruger, S. 1994 Draft Phase I Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report MnDOT S.P. 7601-11/13 for Replacement of T.H. 7 Bridge over the Pomme de Terre River in Appleton, Swift County. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Kuehn, S.R. 2000 The Granite Falls Site (21YM47), A Prairie Archaic Bison Kill in Southwestern Minnesota. Paper presented at the Joint Plains Anthropological-Midwest Archaeological Conference, St. Paul.

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Lane, R.B. 1974 An Archaeological Surface Survey of Dome Pipeline Corporation’s Proposed Pipeline Right-of-Way Across the State of Minnesota, May-September,1974. Report submitted to the Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Linebaugh, D.W. 2003 Digging into a Dugout House (Site 21SW17): The Archaeology of Norwegian Immigrant Anna Byberg Christopherson Goulson, Swnoda Township, Swift County, Minnesota. Archaeological Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Little, Bryce 1985 Early Mdewakatnon Dakota Culture and Interpretations for Archaeology: A Re-evaulation, 1640-1760. In Archaeology, Ecology and Ethnohistory of the Prairie-Forest Border Zone of Minnesota and Manitoba, edited by J. Spector and E. Johnson, pp. 146-153. Reprints in Anthropology, Vol. 31. Lincoln. Maher, B.A. 1986 Characterisation of Soils by Mineral Magnetic Measurements. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 42:76-92. Mandel, R.D., and E.A Bettis III 2001 Use and Analysis of Soils by Archaeologists and Geoscientists. In Earth Sciences and Archaeology, edited by P. Goldberg, V.T. Holliday, and C. Reid Ferring, pp. 173-204. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. Marschner, F.J. 1974 The Original Vegetation of Minnesota (Map). North Central Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul. Mather, D. 2000 Archaeological Overview of the Mille Lacs Locality. Loucks Project Report 96506-2. Submitted to the Minnesota Depart of Transportation, St. Paul. Mather, D., T. Olmanson, K. G-Johnson, and L. Schuster 1998 The Washington Creek Site (21ME14) and the Archaeology of the Prairie-Forest Border. The Minnesota Archaeologist 57:97-134. McElrath, D. L., T. E. Emerson, and A. C. Fortier 2000 Social Evolution or Social Response? A Fresh Look at the “Good Gray Cultures” After Four Decades of Midwest Research. In Late Woodland Societies: Tradition and Transformation across the Midcontinent, edited by T. E. Emerson, D. L. McElrath, and A. C. Fortier, pp. 3-36. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. McNeill, E. D. and C. S. Bryant 1882 History of the Minnesota Valley. North Star, Minneapolis.

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Murray, M.L. and G. Bourgerie 2002 Alaska Gas Pipeline Project Phase I Cultural Resources Survey Minnesota Portion. Natural Resources Group, Minneapolis. Neuman, R. W. 1975 The Sonota Complex and Associated Sites on the Northern Great Plains. Publication no. 6, Nebraska State Historical Society Publications in Anthropology, Lincoln Patterson, C.J., A.R. Knaebel, S.E. Gran and S.J. Phippen 1999 Quaternary Geology-Upper Minnesota River Basin, Minnesota. Minnesota Geological Survey, Minneapolis. Peterson, D.L. 1995 Phase I Archaeological Survey Replacement of Bridge No. 2335 and Realignment of Approaches in Moyer Township, Swift County, Minnesota. Swift County Highway Department, Benson. Picha, P. R., and M. L. Gregg 1991 Northern Red River Study Unit Archaeological Component of the State Plan. Archaeology and Historic Preservation Division. State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck. Pond, S. W., Jr. 1893 Two volunteer missionaries among the Dakotas. Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society, Boston. Available online: http://ia700209.us.archive.org/9/items/twovolunteers 00pondrich/twovolunteers00pondrich.pdf. Accessed November 2, 2010. Reeves, Brian O. K. 1990 Communal Bison Hunters of the Northern Plain. In Hunters of the Recent Past, edited by Leslie B. Davis and Brian O. K. Reeves, pg. 168-194. Unwin Hyman, London. Rittenour, T.M., K.L. Geiger, and J.F.P. Cotter 1998 Glacial Lake Benson, West Central Minnesota. In, Contributions to Quaternary Studies in Minnesota, edited by C.J. Patterson and H.E. Wright, pp.97-102. University of Minnesota, St. Paul. Schneider, F. E. 1982 A Model of Prehistoric Cultural Development in the James River Valley of North Dakota. Journal of the North Dakota Archaeological Association 1:113-133. Scullin, M. 2007 Cambria Focus Subsistence: The View from the Price Site (21BE36). In Plains Village Archaeology: Bison Hunting Farmers in the Central and Northern Plains, edited by S. A. Ahler and M. Kay, pp. 83-95. The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

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Shay, C. T. 1978 Late Prehistoric Bison and Deer Use in the Eastern Prairie-Forest Border. Plains Anthropologist, Memoir 14, vol. 23, no. 82, pt. 2:194-212. Skaar, K.A. 1995 DNR Trails and Waterways Unit Water Recreation Program Cultural Resources Review Preliminary Project Report. Office of the State Archaeologist, St. Paul. 1997 MNDNR Public Water Access Lake Hassel, Swift County. Preliminary Project Report. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Smith, B. D. 1995 Seed Plain Domestication in Eastern North America. In Last Hunters-First Farmers: New Perspectives on the Prehistoric Transition to Agriculture, edited by T. D. Price and A. B. Gebauer, pp. 193-213. School of American Research, Santa Fe. Spector, J. D. 1985 Ethnoarchaeology and Little Rapids: A New Approach to 19th-century Eastern Dakota Sites. In Archaeology, Ecology, and Ethnohistory of the Prairie-Forest Border Zone of Minnesota and Manitoba, edited by J. Spector and E. Johnson, pp. 167-203. J & L Reprint Company, Lincoln. Swift County Historical Society 2000 Images of America: Swift County, Minnesota. Arcadia Press, Chicago, Illinois. Thompson, R., and F. Oldfield 1986 Environmental Magnetism. Allen and Unwin, London. Tite, M.S., and C.E. Mullins 1971 Enhancement of the Magnetic Susceptibility of Soils on Archaeological Sites. Archaeometry 13:209-219. Toom, D. L. 2004 Northeastern Plains Village Complex Timelines and Relations. Plains Anthropologist 49:281-297. Toom, D.L. 2007 Synthesis and Interpretation. In Naze Site (32SN246): 1994 Archaeological Excavations, Stutsman County, North Dakota, edited by D. L. Toom, pp. 14.1-14.11. James River Report No. 4, University of North Dakota, Anthropology Research. Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission 2007 Draft Comprehensive Plan. Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, Appleton.

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Watrall, C. R. 1985 A Structural Comparison of the Maplewood, Scott, and Lake Midden Sites. In Archaeology, Ecology and Ethnohistory of the Prairie-Forest Border Zone of Minnesota and Manitoba, edited by J. Spector and E. Johnson, pp. 65-72. Reprints in Anthropology, Vol. 31. Lincoln. Wedel, M. M. 1974 Le Sueur and the Dakota Sioux. In Aspects of Upper Great Lakes Anthropology: Papers in Honor of Lloyd A. Wilford, edited by E. Johnson, pp. 157-171. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Whelan, Mary K. 1990 Late Woodland Subsistence Systems and Settlement Size in the Mille Lacs Area. In The Woodland Tradition in the Western Great Lakes: Papers Presented to Elden Johnson, Guy E. Gibbon (ed.), pp. 55-76. Publications in Anthropology, no. 4. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 1993 Dakota Indian Economics and the Nineteenth-Century Fur Trade. Ethnohistory 40 (2):246-276. Wilford, L.A. 1941 A Tentative Classification of the Prehistoric Cultures of Minnesota. American Antiquity 6 (3):231-249. 1944 Memo on Swift County, August 9, 1944. Manuscript on file, Minnesota Historical Society, Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. Williamson, A. W. 1976 [1885] Minnesota Geographical Names Derived from the Dakota Language, with some that are obsolete. The Minnesota Archaeologist (4):15-23. Winchell, Newton H. 1911 The Aborigines of Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul. Zumberge, J.H. 1952 The Lakes of Minnesota their Origin and Classification. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

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Appendix 1. Correlation of Field Number (SC) with Assigned Site Number (SW)

Field Number (SC) Site Number (SW) 1 19 2 20 3 21 4 22 5 23 6 24 7 25 8 26 9 28

10 27 11 - 12 29 13 30 14 31 15 - 16 32 17 33 18 34 19 35 20 36 21 37 22 38 23 39 24 40 25 41 26 42 27 43 28 44 29 45 30 46 31 47 32 48 33 49 34 50 35 51 36 52 37 53 38 54 39 55 40 56 41 57 42 58 43 59 44 60 45 61 46 62 47 63

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Appendix 2: Private Collections: Data and Commentary

Two major collections were used for a preliminary understanding of the culture historical sequence in Swift County. One is the Ostlie collection, reported by Koenen (1999). The other is the Briscoe collection, now owned by a Swift County resident, Mr. D. Bonk, a great-grandson of Ambrose Briscoe. The Ostlie collection was reviewed from Koenen’s report; the Briscoe collection was loaned to the MSUM Archaeology Lab for study. The following table provides a list of diagnostic points and raw material types. Neither collection is entirely or even substantially from Swift County. The Ostlie collection was put together from 13 sites in Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, and Yellow Medicine counties. The Briscoe collection was made by a resident of Appleton, Swift County, and includes artifacts from Swift and surrounding counties. No better provenience is available. Points that were not classifiable were left out of this analysis.

The Briscoe collection was examined in the MSUM Archaeology Lab in November, 2010. The raw materials could here be identified using a comparative lithic materials collection, and the artifacts could also be compared directly to those found in Swift County during the survey. The collection contained a large number of artifacts besides projectile points, and included bifaces, several of which were quite large and made from a reddish quartzite that appeared similar to that found at the Jeffers site. Scrapers, utilized flakes, some debris, a pipestone pipe bowl fragment, a black stone elbow pipe and miscellaneous other lithic items were also in the collection. The tables below are descriptive of the projectile point collection only, since this is regarded as the most significant part of the lithic collection from a culture historical point of view. It is worth noting that the lithic materials from the collection more or less mirror the raw materials found in the present survey, suggesting that the Briscoe collection, although not well documented in terms of provenience, is most likely from the general Swift County area, as the collection owner attests. One other worthwhile matter of note is the presence of two Paleoindian points in the collection. One is a complete and very well made Folsom point on Knife River flint with basal grinding. The other is a complete unfluted lanceolate point, similar in form to those found at Browns Valley.

Projectile Points: Briscoe and Ostlie Collections

A large sample of projectile points was available from two regional collections, one from surrounding counties, and the other from Swift County and, according to the owner, nearby areas. For this reason, the lithic sample from these two collections was divided into diagnostic artifacts and non-diagnostics. Since the non-diagnostic artifacts did not reveal much that had not been found in the recovered survey collection, the diagnostic points were the focus of study.

The idea of using projectile point styles is identical with the idea of using pottery styles to understand prehistoric cultural dynamics. Styles vary over space and time in a roughly predictable way. People living in separated communities with no contact are likely to develop idiosyncratic ways of decorating pots, or of making projectile points. People in constant contact

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with one another are likely to share some of the same ideas about decorating pots or about how to best design a haft element for a projectile point. However, there are several problems associated with the use of projectile point styles to track cultural changes, movements, and dates.

First, points are made from stone and are not decorated. They merely have stylized hafts, and occasionally, distinctive blade outlines. Point blades may be straight sided or convex (no regional types are concave), but while blades may be longer or shorter, or convex or straight sided, for instance, in order to re-sharpen a point the blade may be reduced in length, or the convex blade edge may be chipped straight.

Second, since projectile points are made from stone, it is difficult to determine whether differences between points are due to intended manufacturing outcomes, or due to the difficulty of creating the form the maker intended. For example, if the raw material is not of high quality the knapper may have been unable to achieve an intended haft, making the point appear to the archaeologist to be of a style different than the one the maker had in mind. Besides this, some flint knappers are more skilled than others and may more expertly approximate the intended form. The result of all this is that sometimes it may happen that a broad notch becomes a stem, or a side-notch becomes a side removal, or an eared point may become a side-notched point.

The archaeologist is not always able to know exactly what a prehistoric flint knapper had in mind for the precise form of a point, so occasionally may mis-classify what was intended as a Plains Side-Notched point as a Prairie Side-Notched point, or a crudely made Avonlea as an aberrant Oxbow. For these reasons, the typology and proposed chronology offered here on the basis of projectile points is tentative. It cannot be as assured as one based on ceramic designs.

Briscoe Collection: Owner, D. Bork. Provenience, Pomme de Terre-Appleton-Artichoke Lake and other nearby areas.

Briscoe Collection Late Prehistoric Projectile Points

Chert Material Triangular Selkirk Plains Side Notched Total

Grand Meadow 3 5 8

Swan River 2 3 5

Knife River Flint 1 2 3

Quartz 2 1 3

Unknown 1 1 2

Prairie du Chien 1 1 2

Jasper 1 1 2

Wassonville 1 1

Red River 1 1

Total 11 3 13 27

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Briscoe Projectile Points Middle-Late Woodland

Chert Material Prairie Side notch Besant Avonlea Total

Swan River 4 3 7

Knife River Flint 1 1 2 4

Jasper 3 3

Grand Meadow 1 1

Prairie du Chien 1 1 2

Red River 1 1

Chalcedony 1 1

Total 2 7 10 19

Briscoe Paleoindian and Archaic Projectile Points

SRC- Swan River, RRC – Red River, TRS – Tongue River, PdC – Prairie du Chien, KFR – Knife River Flint

Ostlie Collection

The Wayne Ostlie collection was not available for first hand study, and the comments here are based on the illustrations in Koenen’s (1999) report. Koenen did not identify point types, but did bifaces and projectile points along with raw material identification. The Ostlie collection was not as carefully characterized as the Briscoe collection since this study relied only on published photographs. A few listed points were not typed here due to uncertainty about the proper designation. However, the similarities between the two collections, Briscoe and Ostlie, and the similarity of both with the artifacts found in the Swift County survey should be obvious.

Point/Material SRC RRC TRS PdC KRF Other Total Pelican Lake 1 1 2 Late Archaic 1 1 Indet Archaic 1 1 Hanna 3 1 1 1 6 Oxbow 3 3 Raddatz 1 1 Delong 2 1 3 Browns Valley 1 1 Folsom 1 1 Total 10 3 3 1 1 1 19

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Projectile point types Ostlie Collection

Point Type SRC RRC KRF GM PdC CV TRS Gal Oth Total Hell Gap 1 1 Logan Cr 1 1 Oseola 1 1 Oxbow 5 1 1 1 8 Hanna 1 2 1 1 4 9 Duncan 1 1 Pel.Lake 3 1 1 1 1 7 Larter 1 3 1 2 7 Besant 3 1 1 1 5 11 Samantha 1 1 Nutimik 4 1 1 6 Avonlea 1 1 Selkirk 1 1 Prairie 4 1 1 1 1 8 Plains 6 2 1 1 10 Triangular 6 3 2 1 2 1 15 Total 33 7 8 4 9 3 4 3 17 88

SRC=Swan River chert, RRC=Red River chert, KRF=Knife River flint, GM=Grand Meadows Chert, PdC=Prairie du Chien chert, CV=Cedar Valley, TRS=Tongue River silica, Gal=Galena, Oth=Other

Nord Collection

Presumed to be from SW5. A large number of chert points and tools (ca. 150). Most of the points appear to be Plains Side-notched, followed closely by Triangular. Earlier points were not as common and comprised examples such as Besant and Hanna. Large biface fragments and endscrapers complete the sample. Notably, there was a low proportion of Knife River flint. Of particular interest was a cache of bifaces, presumably from a mound (see photo below). More than 100 bifaces were present made from two different raw materials. Most were made from a blue-gray chert, perhaps Grand Meadow, which were a variety of shapes but most appeared to represent performs. The remainder was made from a lighter colored speckled chert and is larger bifaces that resemble small digging tools. These appear to be similar to other examples from the Briscoe collection, but these were made from Sioux Quartzite.

Other items from SW5 comprised four large heavy-duty mauls and a sample of ceramic rims and sherds. The ceramic sample would appear to include Transitional Late Woodland, Late Woodland (Blackduck and others), Late Prehistoric (plain surface and modified) rims.

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Cache of bifaces from 21SW5, Nord Collection (courtesy, S.F. Anfinson).

SW1 Collections

Photographs of samples from SW1 although poor quality reveal that the majority of points are Archaic, including Raddatz, Oxbow, Larter, Pelican Lake, and Avonlea. The pottery appears to date solely from Late Woodland. These items are documented by Anfinson (1971).

Pedersen Collections

The Pedersen collection (SW2-4) included points from the Archaic through Late Woodland periods. The earliest points appear to comprise Raddatz, Pelican Lake and Besant, among others. Point styles unique to these sites include examples of Waubesa (Early Woodland) and Steuben-Lowe (Middle Woodland). Also present were examples of Prairie Side-notched. The Waubesa and Steuben-Lowe are rare examples of Upper Midwest points found on the prairie. These items were documented by Anfinson (1971).

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Appendix 3: Briscoe Ceramic Collection

The Briscoe collection contained several dozen potsherds, some of which are diagnostic. Many of these are presumably from 21SW5. It is perhaps the most useful ceramic collection for reconstructing the culture history of the Swift County area.

The Briscoe ceramic collection consists of nearly 50 sherds and rims. Many of the rims are sufficiently large to estimate diameter and obtain correct rim orientation. The sample is exclusively grit tempered. The temporal periods represented span the Middle Woodland through Late Prehistoric periods. Middle Woodland is sparsely represented, as it would appear the early portion of the Late Woodland period. Most of the ceramics span late Late Woodland through at least the early portion of the Late Prehistoric period (ca. 600-1300). Stylistic affinities are recognized with surrounding culture areas during the Late Woodland including Blackduck and Lake Benton. Cambria and Great Oasis are also represented for the early portion of the Late Prehistoric. An undefined Plains-related Late Prehistoric component is present, which does not readily fit into known analytical units. The overall impression is that much remains to be defined for the regional sequence along the Minnesota River drainage that may represent a unique assortment of stylistic treatments.

Middle Woodland

Similar to Laurel Dentate Stamped. Likely a late Middle Woodland or Early Late Woodland decoration on a plain smoothed surface (Figure 3.1). Similar sherd recovered from Gillingham site. Wall thickness of .75 cm.

Fox Lake Incised (?) distinguished by two bands of diagonal lines separated by vertical dashes (Figure 3.1). The sherd is thick-walled (thickness 1.04 cm).

Figure 3.1. Middle Woodland (?) sherds. Left dentate stamped, right Fox Lake Incised?.

Early Late Woodland

Onamia-related. One rim cordmarked to the lip (Figure 3.2) with a row of circular punctuations, has thin linear stamps on the interior identical to Onamia.

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Figure 3.2. Onamia-related sherd with row of circular punctuations.

Late Woodland Blackduck (Sample: 3 sherds, 5 rims)

Blackduck is distinguished by a neck band of impressions that are wrapped rod or fabric, with our without row of punctuations, on upper body of cordmarked vessel (Figures 3.3-3.5). Four or more rows of impressions are present. Tool impressions at the base of the rows are also present (Figure 3.4, bottom row). The rim is wedge-shaped or slightly swollen/modified (Figure 3.3). Rim decoration is diagonal wrapped rod impressions on the lip, rim exterior (Figure 3.4) and occasional on the interior. Rim thickness ranges from .69-1.0 cm. Wall thickness ranges from 5.1-8.4 cm (mean 6.2, n=8). Neck junctures are sharp or gradual.

Figure 3.3. Blackduck profiles. Top with radius diameter. See Figure 3.4 and 3.5. for surface treatment.

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Figure 3.4. Blackduck rims (top row), neck sherds (bottom row). Upper left rim profile is seen in Figure 3.3. bottom; upper center rim is seen in Figure 3.3. center.

Figure 3.5. Blackduck rim. For profile of rim see Figure 3.3. top.

Late Woodland Lake Benton (Sample: 2 sherds, 3 rims)

Similar to Blackduck in decoration layout (Figure 3.7), but the impressions rows are thinner. Four or more rows are present, without the appended row of punctuations. Surfaces appear to be plain and smoothed. Walls average .65 cm thick (n=5). Tool impressions decorate the rim interior and exterior. Jar neck junctures are moderate to weak. Wrapped rod impressions on lip superior also present, overlapping with Blackduck in effect, however, this treatment is also seen on Plains-related rims (see below).

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Figure 3.6. Profile of Lake Benton jar. Exterior view 3.7 top left.

Figure 3.7. Lake Benton rims (top row) and necks (bottom row).

Late Woodland Lake Benton Dentate Stamped

Single rim with cordwrapped dowl impressions or bar stamp dentate on cordmarked surface to form a decorative band on the exterior (Figure 3.8) (see Anfinson 1997:Figure 39). The lip is slash notched on the crest. The decorative band comprises from top to bottom: diagonal impressions, two lines bordering an undulating triangle. An isolated decorative impression is below the band. This sherd combines the decorative presentation of Blackduck and Cordimpressed A.

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Figure 3.8. Lake Benton Dentate Stamped rim.

Late Woodland/Late Prehistoric Cordmarked (Sample: 9 sherds, 9 rims)

A majority of the sample comprised cordmarked (Figures 3.9-3.14) or perhaps even fabric impressed (rarely) surfaces that appear to date from the later portions of the Late Woodland period. Affiliations with Sandy Lake are present, but perhaps a “proto” Sandy Lake might be a better approximation. Use of terms such as “Lake Benton Cordmarked” confuse the issue. One of the rims has a slight outflaring that resembles the vogues at the Pedersen site (Hudak 1976:Figure 6).

For the most part, the vessels are cordmarked all-over with vertical cordmarking on the neck but criss-cross patterns resulting from paddling present below the neck (Figure 3.12, right). Most of the identifiable twists are of the “S” type. Rims fall into two main groupings. One has flat lips with slight exterior swelling/bolstering of the rim and notching limited to one example of six with an interior elongated tool impression (Figure 3.9-3.11). The other type has a “squashed” rim made by the deep impression of a cordwrapped dowel on the lip crest (Figures 3.13 and 3.14). One of cordmarked sherds is from a slightly angled-shoulder jar (Figure 2.12 lower left). Wall thickness for the cordmarked sherds averages .61 cm (n-15).

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Figure 3.9. Cordmarked rims. See Figure Figure 3.10. Cordmarked rim. See Figure

3.11 bottom for profile of right rim. 3.11 top for profile.

Figure 3.11, Profiles, cordmarked jars. Figure 3.12. Cordmarked sherds.

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Figure 3.13. Cordmarked rims. Figure 3.14. Cordmarked rims.

Late Woodland Cordimpressed A (Sample: 2 sherds, 1 rim)

Cord impressions on cordmarked surface to form linear rows and undulating triangles/chevrons on weak-necked jars (Figures 3.15 and 3.16). Lip notched with slash-type tool impressions on crest. Wall thickness averages .62 cm. This is different from the examples found in the region (Anfinson 1997: Figure 30). The motif is popular throughout the Upper Midwest. Generalized affinities are with Minotts Cord Impressed (Benn and Green 2000: Figures 18.23-18.24).

Figure 3.15. Rim profile of Late Woodland Cordimpressed A. See Figure 3.16 left for view of rim.

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Figure 3.16. Late Woodland Cordimpressed A rim (left) and sherd (right).

Late Prehistoric Cordimpressed B (Sample: 2 sherds)

Cordimpressions of a small number of rows (three or more) on the neck of a plain surface jar (Figure 3.17), yet no rims are in the sample. Although parallel rows of cord impressions are found at sites in the region (Anfinson 1997: Figure 30), the large expanse of smoothed plain surface sets this material apart. It is possible that these sherds date from the early portion of the Late Prehistoric period, and therefore might be Plains-related.

Figure 3.17. Late Woodland Cordimpressed B neck sherds.

Late Prehistoric Plains Related

The following comprise examples relating to known complexes (Great Oasis and Cambria) and undefined Plains-related complexes including NEPV wares.

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Five rims are plain surface (Figure 3.19 right). Four of the five are notched (Figure 3.19). The notching comprises wrapped dowel impressions on the lip (Figure 3.19 top right), rounded tool impressions on the exterior lip (Figure 3.19 bottom right), and two deep slash impressions on the lip crest (Figure 3.19 left). In addition, one sherd and two necks have a plain surface. Three rims are simple stamped (Figure 3.22) (either horizontal or vertical, the former may represent tooling). Two of these rims are modified. Two additional neck sherds bear evidence for simple stamping.

Decorations comprise one rim with broad-line trailing (Figures 3.19 top, 3.19 left); two sherds with moderate-width incisions that represent line bounded geometric figures with horizontal lines; (Figure 3.20 top) and a shoulder tool impression (Figure 3.20 bottom). In addition, one neck sherd and body sherd have what appear to represent tool impressions on a plain surface. The incised designs and execution are Cambria-like, whereas the use of punctuations on the shoulder is present at Cambria sites, but more common at Cambria-related sites such as Gautefald and Gillingham.

Figure 3.18. Plains-related rims. Top Figure 3.19. Late Prehistoric Plains-related rims. Cambria see Figure 3.19 (left); bottom Top Cambria related, right Plains-related. see Figure 3.19 top right.

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Figure 3.20. Late Prehistoric Decorated. Top left and right possible Cambria. Bottom left cordimpressed row of punctuations on jar shoulder.

Figure 3.21. Plains-related jar profiles, simple stamped. Top see Figure 3.22 left; bottom see Figure 3.22 right.

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Figure 3.22. Simple stamped rims, Plains-related.

The sole Great Oasis rim has cord impressions forming rows on the exterior along with diagonal impressions (Figure 3.23). The rim is shelved with cord impressions and incised lines.

Figure 3.23. Great Oasis rim.

Undefined Plain

One rim has a plain surface with a squared direct rim and a high neck (Figure 3.24), although the neck juncture is weakly defined. The vessel resembles Middle Woodland style; however, it is relatively thin walled.

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Figure 3.24. Plain surface, weak-necked jar.

Regional Comparisons

Surface collections from nearby counties (Koenen 1999) reveal several similarities with the Briscoe collection and our material. Most of the ceramics from the Ostlie collection appear to be confined to the Late Woodland period as nearly all of the sherds have cordmarked surfaces. Favorable comparisons with the Briscoe collection comprise the presence of Cordimpressed A, Lake Benton and Blackduck. Cambria appears represented as well. A site in Pope County yielded a possible shell-grit tempered cordmarked sherd.

Although Blackduck is seen by many as strictly occupying the lake-forest region of Minnesota and further north, unambiguous Blackduck components have been identified in the west and Red River Valley. Two examples suffice: along the Buffalo River in the middle of a prairie in Clay County (21CY39; Michlovic 2005) and in the ecotone of the forest-lake region in Otter Tail county (Michlovic 1979). Just as in historic times, groups rooted in the forest often took forays into the prairie to hunt buffalo, as well as groups affiliated (linguistically and ethnically) with the woodland peoples who themselves were strictly bison hunters. We are in need of finding secure deposits for Late Woodland to fully resolve the nature of cultural affiliations in this region.

To the west there are two complexes, Randall and Big Stone, that overlap the Late Woodland and the Late Prehistoric periods. Haberman (1993) defined the Randall phase for a series of collections from eastern South Dakota. The Randall phase, dating 1050-1250, consists in part of grit-tempered ceramics with cordmarked bodies and smoothed plain necks that are (largely) decorated with the Great Oasis style of circumferential parallel-incised lines. Connections with Great Oasis are generic, as the Randall phase collections lack the fine-line control and neck shape diversity of Great Oasis. Also absent is any hint of the Stirling horizon. It is necessary to distinguish Great Oasis from Great Oasis-like. Researchers familiar with the variability (Dale Henning, personal communication), consistently stress that the Great Oasis style occupies a tight

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area and that specific traits (i.e., behavioral mannerisms) are seldom broadcast outside of the hearth. This is the same argument made for Cambria. The Randall Phase is represented at the Brown’s Valley site, but not present to the immediate east in other parts of Minnesota. Traits shared with Brown’s Valley and the Briscoe collection include the predominance of cordmarked surfaces, Lake Benton ware (uncommon at Brown’s Valley, and the squashed notching resulting in a T-shaped or bulbous rim (see Figures 3.13 and 3.14). However, a popular treatment at Brown’s Valley (Anfinson 1994: Figure 53), the Schoen Mound (Anfinson 1997:Figure 55), and the Randall Phase is an incised (parallel and overlapping diagonal) upper rim band with exterior notching that does not appear to move westward into the Minnesota River or the nearby Big Stone phase (Johnson 1991:Figure F2.). The Big Stone phase ceramics appear to match the Blackduck/Late Benton/Cord impressed A ceramics identified in the Briscoe collection.

South and east of the county are two sites in Yellow Medicine County with large collections, Gautefald and Gillingham (Anfinsion 1997, examination of collections by Holley). Guatefald has Late Woodland, Cambria and Oneota (early) ceramic styles. The Late Woodland resembles ceramics from the Briscoe collection in general form only. The Gillingham site has Middle Woodland and Cambria occupations. For both sites the Cambria influence appears as a down the line-phenomenon with a gradual decline in the intensity of Cambria-like ceramics and the exactitude of the copying. A presumed Middle Woodland sherd from Gillingham is identical to one from the Briscoe collection (see above).

The other Plains related material from the Briscoe collection are enigmatic and most likely represent developments in southwestern Minnesota postdating 1000 and prior to 1300. The presence of what appears to represent simple stamped surfaces and unusual rims and forms are testimony to this undefined complex. We also note the peculiar absence of very popular motifs such as cross-hatching of the rim from the early Late Prehistoric, that may harbor implications for boundary issues and further the notion that the local population is to an extent insular.