Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience: Menominee Community withinthe reservation locality and in Milwaukee, WI; statewide avocational archaeologists, colleagues (Anthropologists, Archaeologists, and Geographers throughout the Midwest). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A total of 6 college internships were funded under this project. Each intern received field and lab instruction in archaeological methods and techniques. Emphases were placed on compilation of field notes and documentation including mapping of excavation units in plan and profile, completion of excavation level records, recording of excavation progress with digital imaging, and mapping archaeological sites in environmental settings of dense forest and brush. Interns were also familiarized with soil formation processes and the identification and recording of soil horizons including use of Munsell color charts and recognition of texture differences. Interns also participated in two informal field conferences and were encouraged to participate in the dialog between individuals from several academic disciplines with the intent to familiarize undergraduate students with the applicationS of interdisciplinary research. Three interns and one project staff member attended a 3-day international workshop at the Forest Products Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Alex Weidenhoeft. The workshop was designed to educate participants with wood identification and pattern recognition, basic wood biology and wood identification, and sample preparation. The workshop is categorized by Dr.Weidenhoeft as the first step in identifying arboreal species from archaeological charcoal, preparation of samples, and appropriate use of hand lens for identification. During 2013 and 2014 more than 20 Menominee High School students participated in the on-going research. During the 8 week program approximately 40% of the 20 hour per week schedule was spent in class-room and laboratory settings. Sixty % of the 20 hour weeks were spent in the field carrying out archaeological field survey investigations and controlled test excavations under the direct supervision of staff and consulting archaeologists. Volunteers also participated following the 8 week period. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Field conferences were held during the field seasons in 2013 and 2014. The conferences were attended by soil scientists, archaeologists, and anthropologists. Participants visited sites on the Menominee Reservation (Joe Dick Road, Sepaxticum, Kinepoway's Village, Waykay Creek, and Big Eddy West) to examine exposed garden ridge and ditch profiles, plan views, landscape settings, soils and related geological characteristics, and material culture derived from the excavations. The following events and venues have been employed to disseminate project data and information to academic and avocational organizations: (1) 20th Anniversary program at College of Menominee Nation, students, faculty, and community members. Speech posted on CMN website. (2013) (2) A lecture was presented to the UW-Milwaukee Anthropology Department and the Milwaukee chapter of The Wisconsin Archeological Society. (2013) The lecture was open to the interested public. (3) An additional lecture was presented at the annual dinner of The Wisconsin Archeological Society held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Society video-graphed the lecture and it was subsequently posted on U-Tube. (2014) (4) The on-going research was also noted in the Spring 2014 issue of American Archaeology magazine in an article highlighting research being conducted at sites managed by The Archaeological Conservancy. In this instance the activities at the White Potato Lake site were reviewed. (5) A poster presentation was made at the CMN Earth Day celebration as part of the activities planned by the Sustainable Development Institute at College of Menominee Nation (2014). (6) A presentation was made to members of the Scott Zaeger Fund during the dedication of a temporary exhibit at the Culture Building, CMN. The exhibit was enhanced by a loan of supporting artifacts provided by the Neville Museum of Green Bay, WI. The lecture was attended by the Scott Zaeger Fund members, CMN faculty, staff, students, and the local community.(2014) (7) Presentation at the FALCON conference, St. Paul, MN (2014). (8) Presentation at New College and Time Sifters Organization, Sarasota, FL (2015) (9) Presentation to the Pleasant Prairie Historical Society, Kenosha, WI (2015). (10) Presentations at the Mid-States Anthropological Confence (2013, 2015). 5 (11) In progress-demonstration garden outdoor and indoor exhibits at the Menominee Cultural Museum (2014-2015). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Planned tasks for the next reporting period include completion processing of matrix samples from the Sepaxticum site at the Department of Geography, UW-Madison (soil particle size, soil chemistry). The Archaeological Laboratory at UW-Milwaukee continues to process the flotation samples at that facility using Dausman-type flotation systems. On 5/19/15 John D. Richards and David F. Overstreet met with curators at the Neville Public Museum to review type collections for the Heins Creek, Point Sauble, and Mero ware. These sites have been employed to cross-date ceramics recovered from 5 of the 7 raised field sites investigated. Thirteen (13) sherds were identified for collection of food residue from the interior rims. These samples will be radiocarbon dated using AMS technology and the residues will be identified. A loan agreement was executed with the Neville Public Museum and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for documentation. D. Overstreet will transport the selected sherds from Green Bay to Milwaukee where they will be housed at the UWM Archaeological Laboratories for documentation (rim profiles, digital images, paste characteristics, etc.). Following documentation and collection of samples J. Richards will prepare all 14C samples and submit them to the Illinois Geological Survey for radiocarbon assay. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee collaborators will assist CMN in carrying out the fieldwork in progress at the Backlund-White Rapids raised fields during the coming field season. At that time, assuming all of the permitting requirements are met with the State of Michigan, Overstreet and Richards will complete a review of collections housed at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and at the Office of the Michigan State Archaeologist in Lansing, MI. Richards will also conduct reconnaissance fieldwork at the sites in the locality previously identified during the 1070s survey and testing program carried out by Northern Michigan University under the Direction of Dr. Marla Buckmaster. The purpose of this reconnaissance will be to identify any raised agricultural fields that might have been missed during the NMU surveys carried out during the 1970s.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
CMN proposed to carry out investigations at six (6) raised agricultural field complexes as follows-(1) 47ME0107, Joe Dick Road East Garden Beds site; (2) 47ME0107, Joe Dick Road West Garden Beds site; (3) 47ME0064, Wayka Creek Garden Beds, site; (4) 47ME0012, Sepaxticum Garden Beds site; (5) 47ME0167, Big Eddy West Garden Beds site; and (6) 47OC8, White Potato Lake Garden Beds site. Owing to various efficiencies, two additional sites were also studied. These included (7) 47OC0309, Archibald Lake Garden Beds site; and (8) 20ME0061, White Rapids/Backlund Site complex garden beds. Sites 1-5 are situated within the interior boundaries of the Menominee Reservation, sites 6-7 are situated to the northeast of the Menominee Reservation in Oconto County, Wisconsin and site 8 is located on the north shore of the Menominee River in Menominee County, Michigan. Investigations included site mapping, phytolith sample collection both from Oakfield tool cores and from controlled excavation levels and features, micro-morphology blocks from exposed stratigraphic profiles from the 5 sites on the Menominee Reservation, flotation samples of at least 1 liter for each provenience unit, from the 5 sites on the Menominee Reservation, isotope samples from the 5 sites on the Menominee Reservation, soil structural and chemical analyses, e.g., particle size, organic content, phosphates, pH, etc. More than 2,000 samples were collected far exceeding our proposed collection of 3 samples of each category-phytolith, soil chemistry, isotope, flotation, and radiocarbon assay that was originally anticipated in 2012. The geometric increase in sampling strategies was implemented following the almost immediate realization during controlled excavations at the Joe Dick Road East and Wayka Creek sites that the raised agricultural field construction was much more complex than published records suggested. The stratigraphic contexts, owing to rebuilding and/or refreshing the gardens, contained many segregated temporal and spatial units, and that different methodologies were applied by the prehistoric residents at different landscape positions. Matrix samples for micromorphology, soils analyses, and isotopes were inventoried and transported to the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where laboratory work continues. Flotation samples were inventoried and transported to the Archaeological Laboratories where processing with Dausman-type flotation systems are being employed to remove plant macrofossils from provenienced matrix samples for identification to the species level where possible. Phytolith samples have been inventoried and transported to the Smithsonian Institution, Tropical Plant Laboratory for chemical reduction and identification. Matrix samples were also processed by Midwest Ethnohorticulture LLC. To date the phytolith and starch grain analyses have identified maize, sunflower, and squash. Non-domesticates including wetland grasses and Chenopodium have also been identified. 1 2 The former may be the result of soil amendments added by the prehistoric gardeners while the latter may perhaps be a domesticate but this has not been verified and it may simply be a friendly weed as prehistoric people have utilized both domesticated and natural Chenopodium for thousands of years. All artifacts have been assigned lot numbers and a digital catalog compiled at the CMN facilities. Ceramics dominated the assemblage while chipped stone and bone artifacts are very rare. This of course may be a function of what implements were being utilized in the gardening activities. Ceramic types include 3 ware groupings--Heins Creek, an early Late Woodland style, Point Sauble Collared, a late Late Woodland style, and Mero I and II, shell and grit tempered largely plain wares often classified as Upper Mississippian or Oneota ceramics. Also recovered, In addition to these ware groupings, were so-called "pinch pots", most likely associated with the Upper Mississippian culture, and grit tempered vessels that may represent attempts to emulate Middle Mississippian rolled rims. Collectively these ceramics have gernerally been assigned to the interval between about A.D. 1050 and 1450. At UW-Madison, under W. Gartner's direction the soil sample analyses have been completed for Joe Dick Road east and west beds, Wayka Creek, Big Eddy West and those remaining from the Sepaxticum site will be analyzed in the coming months. Under Gartner's direction all of the excavation records, plan views, profiles, photographs, and notes have been incorporated in a project data base so that all records can be queried.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
FALCON Conference and Midstates Anthropological Conference
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Community members, undergraduate students at College of Menominee Nation, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee and professional and non professional audience interested in Native American agriculture. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?CMN Interns Menominee HS students, JOM and JTP programs in collaboration between School District, CMN, and Menominee Community Services How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Multiple public presentations; temporary and permanent exhibits at College of Menominee Nation and Menominee Cultural Museum, and enhancement for curriculum HIS 122, Pre-contact history of Menominee Nation. Field conference for lay and professional archaeologists, tribal historic preservation officers,soil scientists, agronomists and other scholars in 2013 and 2014. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Fieldwork: During the years 2013-2015 fieldwork was carried out at raised agricultural fields at the following Sites: On the reservation: Joe Dick Road East raised fields Joe Dick Road West raised fields Sepaxticum Waykay Creek Big Eddy West Other locations in Wisconsin and Michigan: White Potato Lake, Oconto County, WI White Rapids (WI), Marinette County, WI Backlund/White Rapids/Chalk Hill Complex Archibald Lake, ;Oconto County, WI Lab Analyses: Lab analyses are ongoing at UW-Madison owing to the extensive sampling that arose unexpectedly during excavation. It would have been unprofessional not to collect samples based on natural and cultural stratigraphy. Duriing the course of the grant cycle lab work was carried out at College of Menominee Nation and all excavation records were digitized, samples were inventoried, prepared for shipment and either send by tracked carrier or hand-delivered Artifacts were cataloged and digitized inventories were prepared. :Artifacts were categorized and described by archaeological assemblage, e.g., lithic assemblage, ceramic assemblage, rough-rock assemblage.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The Menominee community including students, staff, and faculty at CMN; the academic community with research interests in the late prehistory of the upper Great Lakes; soil scientists, foresters and agronomists who may benefit from diachronic studies of Agroforestry. Changes/Problems: Proposal was submitted under the assumption that 6 sites would be sampled for phytoliths, AMS C14 assay, soil chemistry, micro-morphology, and other isotopes, However, during excavations at Joe Dick Road it was apparent this was not possible. Multiple building stages were constructed atop the original A soil horizon. The amount of cultural material was more than adequate to demonstrate that raised fields were constructed and utilized for a longer period than expected; in excess of 700 years. These are not the simple gardens we anticipated. It is premature to speculate at this point but we are confident we will refine the chronology of this cultivation system at the northern limits of maize agriculture and identify crops cultivated. The results also suggest greater population aggregates utilizing a swidden or fallow system, and employing a heretofore unidentified settlement-subsistence system. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Four college internships funded under this project. Each received field and lab instruction. in archaeological methods and techniques. Interns also attended 2 field conferences and were encouraged to take part in the dialog between individuals from several academic disciplines. Three interns and one project staff member attended a 3-day international workshop at the Forest Products Laboratory to educate participants with wood identification and pattern recognition. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? (1) Two field conferences; On two separate occasions soil scientists, archaeologists, and anthropologists visited sites on the Menominee Reservation (2) several public lectures about the on-going research were presented. The lecture was video-graphed and posted on the CMN web-site entitled “Ancient Gardens.”; (3) a lecture was presented at the annual dinner of The Wisconsin Archeological Society who filmed and posted the lecture on U-Tube; and (4) on-going research noted in the Spring 2014 issue of American Archaeology. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Complete test excavations at 3 sites, complete phytolith and soils analyses, and hold a field conference in fall of 2014.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The 2013 activities at 6 sites: Joe Dick Road: Datum points were established and survey identified more raised fields. Beds were mapped in detail and locations of gardens and features recorded using GPS technology. Test units excavated in east and west beds and matrix sampling completed. Wayka Creek: Test excavations focus to resolve two issues: (1) the downslope portions of fields had dramatic relief thought to be due to erosion; (2) we needed to ensure the beds were prehistoric. Two units were selected to confirm the erosional nature of the downslope raised field and determine the chronology of the beds. Sepaxticum Site: The Sepaxticum site was identified as a “kidney” mound in1932. It proved to be much more extensive and survey revealed additional mounds, pit clusters and 5 raised fields. Bed 1 was selected for testing on a former Wolf River channel. White Potato Lake: Three visits were made to White Potato Lake to coordinate with local land-owner and with The Archaeological Conservancy (TAC). A proposal to TAC was peer reviewed and accepted. In 2013 the site was mapped, encompassing 1.73 acres, test unit locations were established, and phytolith studies completed. Big Eddy West: This is the largest raised field complex on the Reservation encompassing 20 acres. Survey found no evidence of storage features or mounds in the tract. Site datum points were established and a site map of raised fields compiled following placement of 10 m interval base-lines. A second visit was made with soil scientists from the UW-Madison to assess site soil characteristics for comparison with related sites. Backlund Village: A Michigan permit application was submitted and approved. Two visits were made to select locations for test excavations. Mapping by Buckmaster depicts Backlund raised fields situated for 3 miles along the north shore of the Menominee River. The map is at a scale that results in a 4’-long paper document. During 2013 survey we identified additional gardens on the Wisconsin side of the Menominee River at White Rapids. Requests were made to visit Lansing and Ann Arbor repositories to review notes and collections to guide excavations in 2014. Preliminary conclusions from the investigations at the 6 raised field sites include: (1) based on the ceramic assemblage and C14dates, the era of construction and use of beds is more extensive than expected; (2) based on cross-dated ceramics we suggest a time of about 700 years, approximately A.D. 700-1450; (3) field observations of the lithic debris led us to consider that stone hoes may have been cultivation tools but closer scrutiny in the lab dismissed the possibility owing to the absence of hoe-chips; and (4) the history of raised field agriculture at the northernmost limits of maize cultivation is more complex and sophisticated than assumed. The 2013 data spur new questions: (1) did the fields’ architects alter landscapes with fill signifying intensive labor-input; (2) did people constructing/refreshing planting surfaces manage soil fertility by composting and hoeing-up of ditch debris; (3) did gardeners manage soil chemistry thru addition of ash to planting surfaces; (4) did populations significantly exceed estimates from ethno-historical and ethnographic documents and (5) the population collapse prior to French arrival ca.1650 is certain, but were the methods of raised fields retained by remnant populations and subsequently practiced in 1860s? Collaborative research has enhanced scientific capacity by bringing together soil scientists and archaeologists from 5 universities, the Smithsonian, and 3 corporate entities.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems: A change in personnel by Dr. Overstreet and the archaeology department being released from College of Menominee Nation staffing for budgetary reasons. Brian Kowalkowski, Dean of Continuing Education and former supervisor of Dr. David Overstreet will be taking on duties of PI and contracting with Dr. Overstreet to see the NIFA Research project through. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Orientation has been carried out with the four College of Menominee interns who will participate with Overstreet and Gartner during the 2013 field season. The next tasks to be completed within the next 30-60 day is the establishment of vertical and horizontal controls at the six sites selected for excavation and sediment sample collection. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Dr. Gartner and Dr. Overstreet will move the project into full swing during the summer field season, utilizing the 4 student interns.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the period September 1, 2012 through April 30th, 2013 emphases have been placed on securing access to two off-reservation raised field agricultural sites: (1) White Potato Lake Site (47OC0347), owned and managed by The Archaeological Conservancy; and (2) The Backlund Garden Beds (20ME0061), owned and managed by the State of Michigan, A research permit application was submitted to the Midwest Regional Office of The Archaeological Conservancy in Columbus, Ohio to the attention of Mr. Paul Gardner. We anticipate receipt of the research permit from TAC in the coming quarter. Finally, I applied for a State of Michigan license to conduct archaeological investigations on state land. State Archaeologist Dr. Dean Anderson provided technical assistance and approved submittal of the final permit application on January 1, 2013. Permits are issues only for the year in which the application is dated and the vetting process with Michigan DNR requires a minimum of 45 days. The license issuance should occur no later than June 2013. Once the appropriate permits and license are obtained we will move ahead with the limited fieldwork to collect samples from these sites for transmittal to Dr. Piperno at the Smithsonian Institute for the identification of plant phytoliths and starch residues to identify species grown in the beds. Mapping of garden beds at the Joe Dick Road Site (47ME0107) in anticipation of 2013 fieldwork has been completed and the raised fields were brushed and documented with digital images. Garden beds at the Sepaxticum Site (47ME0012) were also mapped, brushed, and documented with digital images. At the Wakay Creek Site the raised agricultural fields have been brushed and mapping of the beds and associated storage pits is in progress. One radiocarbon date assay sample has been collected from a Mero Complex site in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, the Zarling Lake Site (47FR0186) in Forest County Wisconsin. A rimsherd from the site was identified by the excavator, former Chequamegon-Nicolet Nation Forest Archaeologist Mark Bruhy as a Mero Complex artifact. Permission was secured from the Forest Service to remove sufficient food encrustation for a precision Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon date. The encrustation residue was removed for processing at the Archaeological Laboratories, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). A second sample, in this instance a sherd from the Mero Complex component at the Boss Tavern Site in the Fabry Creek site complex in Door County, Wisconsin (47DR0107) was also processed at UWM. Samples were submitted to the Illinois Geological Survey for the AMS radiocarbon dating. Carbonized food encrustations were also removed from the two pottery sherds and submitted to the Smithsonian institution for the identification of plant phytoliths and starch grains. Preliminary fieldwork was also carried out at the Backlund Mounds and Village Site on the Menominee River in Menominee County Michigan. Consultation was conducted with Dr. Marla Buckmaster who carried out research at the site as part of her doctoral dissertation and subsequent research and mapping of the raised agricultural fields. The purpose of this consultation was to secure a better understanding of the contexts at Backlund and to aid in the selection of the areas for excavation.
Publications
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