Pottery Analysis of a Middle Woodlands Archaeological Site in Southern Minnesota
Location
CSU 253
Start Date
25-4-2006 8:45 AM
End Date
25-4-2006 10:15 AM
Student's Major
Anthropology
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Ronald Schirmer
Mentor's Department
Anthropology
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
The time period of the Middle Woodland era (200 BCE to 400 CE) was a time of great transition and change. The transition from hunter-gatherer subsistence to more settled, horticultural existence occurred throughout the Midwest and was shared in its own unique way by the Native American residents of Minnesota. Changes in pottery style vividly illustrate this transition, providing clear evidence of intercultural contact. Beginning in 1977, Richard Strachan from the Minnesota State University, Mankato excavated an archaeological site in Nicollet County, Minnesota. Artifacts at the site are believed to date to the Middle Woodland era, a time ripe with the construction of extensive earthworks and elaborate burials throughout the Midwest. Although Richard Strachan never completed his report on the site, there is abundant evidence of the site's complexity. The extensive amount and variety of pottery at the site demonstrates the repeated use of the site by multiple groups over time and suggests extensive cultural exchange (such as intermarriage or trade) between neighboring groups. The pottery analysis done on this site will help in answering questions about the rate of change in Minnesota and the extent of contact between Native American groups in Minnesota and the Midwest at large.
Pottery Analysis of a Middle Woodlands Archaeological Site in Southern Minnesota
CSU 253
The time period of the Middle Woodland era (200 BCE to 400 CE) was a time of great transition and change. The transition from hunter-gatherer subsistence to more settled, horticultural existence occurred throughout the Midwest and was shared in its own unique way by the Native American residents of Minnesota. Changes in pottery style vividly illustrate this transition, providing clear evidence of intercultural contact. Beginning in 1977, Richard Strachan from the Minnesota State University, Mankato excavated an archaeological site in Nicollet County, Minnesota. Artifacts at the site are believed to date to the Middle Woodland era, a time ripe with the construction of extensive earthworks and elaborate burials throughout the Midwest. Although Richard Strachan never completed his report on the site, there is abundant evidence of the site's complexity. The extensive amount and variety of pottery at the site demonstrates the repeated use of the site by multiple groups over time and suggests extensive cultural exchange (such as intermarriage or trade) between neighboring groups. The pottery analysis done on this site will help in answering questions about the rate of change in Minnesota and the extent of contact between Native American groups in Minnesota and the Midwest at large.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Andrew. "Pottery Analysis of a Middle Woodlands Archaeological Site in Southern Minnesota." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 25, 2006.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2006/oral-session-J/1
