II. Old Copper Sites

Baerris, David A., Hiroshi Daifuku, and James E. Lundsted

1954

The Burial Complex of the Reigh Site, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Archeologist 35(1):1-36. (Reprinted in The Wisconsin Archeologist 38(4):244-277.)

Salvage work at the Reigh site in 1953 resulted in the excavation of 43 burials, all believed to belong to a single cultural complex. The grave goods and burial modes suggest affiliation both with Archaic Old Copper complex cemeteries and Glacial Kame (Early Woodland?) sites. On the basis of greater similarity with Glacial Kame sites, the authors here consider Reigh an Early Woodland site with persisting Late Archaic Old Copper traits. (See also II. Ostberg 1956; Ritzenthaler et al. 1957.)

1962a

Radiometric Analysis of Bone Material from the Oconto Site. The Wisconsin Archeologist 43(2):31-41.

Binford discusses application of an alternative radiometric dating technique to 31 samples of human bone from the Oconto site. The technique is based on measuring the radioactivity absorbed by bone from soil and ground water. He concludes that the burials are contemporary, and that the burials postdate the Nipissing high water stage. This contradicts the very early Oconto C-14 dates. (Cf. Mason and Mason 1961; Quimby 1962b; Ritzenthaler 1970.)

1969

The Archaeology of Petaga Point: The Preceramic Component. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Petaga Point is a multicomponent site in central Minnesota near Mille Lacs Lake. The earliest levels appear to have Old Copper affiliations. The stratigraphy of the site was badly disturbed by forest clearing and modern habitation, and the presented stratigraphy is basically a statistical reconstruction. In this book, Bleed is the first to suggest a possible native copper source in the area of the Snake river in east central Minnesota.

1959

University of Michigan Radiocarbon Dates IV. American Journal of Science Radiocarbon Supplement, Vol. 1. New Haven.

This source lists radiocarbon dates from the Old Copper sites of Osceola, Reigh and Riverside Cemetery.

1961

The McCollum Site, Nipigon District, Ontario. In Lake Superior Copper and the Indians: Miscellaneous Studies of Great Lakes Prehistory, pages 91-102, edited by James B. Griffin. Anthropological Papers, Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, no. 17. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

McCollum is more a cache than a site. Over forty copper artifacts (described and illustrated) were discovered along a small section of beach along Lake Nipigon, north of Lake Superior in Ontario. The beach had recently been created by a bank being bulldozed. The find also contained stone artifacts. Test excavations in 1957 failed to detect any archaeological context.

1966b

Radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites of Old Copper and related cultures in the Great Lakes area. Artifacts 4(4):1-11.

1967

The Riverside Site: a Late Archaic Manifestation in Michigan. The Wisconsin Archeologist 48(3):145-260.

The Riverside site, located in Menominee County, Michigan, was discovered prior to 1900 and excavated only in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Parts of the site had been damaged by sand quarrying and earthmoving activities, and many artifacts had been removed by collectors. The site consisted of a scatter of village debris, considered to be Archaic and Late Woodland, and over 50 burials. The burials were all believed to be late Archaic, transitional from Old Copper to Red Ochre. Although the preservation of bone was poor in the sandy soil, contact with copper had preserved samples of fabric, leather, cordage and the hafting of several copper implements. Five radiocarbon dates on charcoal range from 510 B.C. to 1 A.D. A single date of 1045 B.C. was obtained on a bone sample. (Cf. Mason 1981, who does not consider this an Old Copper site.)

1970

An Analysis of the Reigh Site Old Copper Human Remains. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

1966

Preliminary Report on the Morrison's Island-6 Site. National Museum of Canada, Bulletin no. 106, Anthropological Series no. 72, Ottawa, Ontario (pages 100-117).

The Morrison's Island 6 site is located on an island in the Ottawa River in eastern Ontario. It was discovered in 1961 and excavated in 1961-62. The site contained 18 burials, and 276 copper artifacts including 28 projectile points, a "spud," 39 gorges, 2 knives, two wedges and other objects. Both worked and unworked copper scraps were common, probably indicating copper manufacture on the site. The site is clearly Archaic in age, and appears to be affiliated with the Brewerton complex of the Laurentian tradition, defined in New York state. The copper indicates contact with "Old Copper" cultures to the west. A C-14 date places the site at 4,700 + 150 year B.P. Kennedy also provides a review of other copper bearing sites and copper finds in or near eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

1957

The Inverhuron Site. Occasional Papers, no. 1, Royal Ontario Museum, Division of Art and Archaeology, Toronto.

The Inverhuron site, located on the east shore of Lake Huron in Ontario, was excavated in 1956. The archaeological materials are contained in beach deposits, with earlier materials farther back from the present shore. A conical copper point was recovered from the limited testing of the extensive Archaic component. Kenyon compares it to those found at Farguhar Lake (Popham & Emerson 1954:18). He also describes a stone adze with an unusual form which he feels may have been derived from Old Copper celts.

1956

Additional Material from the Reigh Site. The Wisconsin Archeologist 42(4):143-155.

This paper describes two burials and associated copper artifacts found at this site subsequent to the 1954 excavations. (See also Ritzenthaler et al. 1957.)

1988

Osceola Revisited: Archaeological Investigations on the Potosi Terrace, Grant County, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Archeologist 69(1-2):1-61.

Overstreet presents the results of additional field investigations at and near the Osceola site in 1984. He notes that the site context has been badly disturbed by both natural and cultural activities. He re-examines the Osceola site and Old Copper complex in terms of Late Archaic trade networks involving the exchange of luxury goods such as copper, Gulf shell, galena cubes and Galena chert.

1988

Summary of Osceola Site Skeletal Remains. The Wisconsin Archeologist 69(1-2)61-62.

The human remains from the Osceola site are briefly characterized. The brevity is due mostly to the poor preservation and paucity of the remains. Interpretations of the age and sex of the individuals are made. Earlier physical reports are described.

1965

A Preliminary Survey of a Fowl Lake Site. The Minnesota Archaeologist 27(2):51-92.

Platcek discusses a copper-bearing site from the extreme northeastern tip of Minnesota. A large number of copper artifacts were recovered from the beach of an island on a shallow lake. The site also contained lanceolate points, apparently of Paleo Indian affiliation, later side-notched point types, but very little ceramic material.

1992

A Functional and Temporal Analysis of Copper Implements from the Chautaugua Grounds Site (47-MT-71), a Multi-Component Site Near the Mouth of the Menominee River. The Wisconsin Archeologist 73(3-4):160-176.

"This paper examines the functional aspects of copper implement technology from a lakeshore site in northeast Wisconsin (Chautauqua Grounds site 47-Mt-71) and the importance of fishing. The paper also presents a new accelerator (AMS) date on a wooden shaft fragment from a surface collected copper harpoon" from the same site. The sample was dated to 4210 ± 60 BP.

1954

The Old Copper Assemblage and Extinct Animals. American AntiquitY 20:169-170.

Quimby analyses an occurrence of deeply buried copper artifacts and associated animal bones near Fort Williams in southwest Ontario. The discovery, made in 1913 and 1916, was recorded in a geological report. Quimby reasons that the site may date to the Altithermal, approximately 3500-2000 B.C., and that the bones are those of bison and the extinct native horse.

1970

Another Radiocarbon date for the Oconto Site. The Wisconsin Archeologist 51(2):77.

Ritzenthaler reports a new radiocarbon date for the Oconto site. The date of 4,540 + 400 replaces two earlier, less technically reliable dates of 7,510 and 5,600. (Cf. Mason and Mason 1961; Binford 1962a; Quimby 1962b.)

1946

The Osceola Site Ñ An Old Copper Site Near Potosi, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Archeologist 27(3):53-70. (Reprinted in The Wisconsin Archeologist 38(4):186-203.)

The Osceola cemetery was the first Old Copper site to be excavated. The site was eroding into the Mississippi River when discovered and dug in 1945. The Old Copper bundle burials and artifacts were contained in a black sand layer 5 feet thick, intermixed with Woodland artifacts and a single Woodland extended burial. The admixture of Woodland material was used to posit a late date for this site and the persistence of Old Copper into the Woodland (based on a now obsolete chronology and culture history.)

1952

The Oconto Site Ñ An Old Copper Manifestation. The Wisconsin Archeologist 33(4):199-223. (Reprinted in The Wisconsin Archeologist 38(4):222-234.)

This is a preliminary report on the discovery and excavation of the Oconto site, at the time only the second Old Copper site to be dug. The portion of the site which had not been destroyed by gravel quarrying contained at least 45 burials, as well as stone and copper artifacts of uncertain relation to the graves. Post molds were present but did not form a discernible structural pattern, and no other clear habitation remains were found. The site was thought to be Archaic. Carbon dates were not planned but not yet available. (See also I. Mason and Mason 1961; Quimby 1962b. II. Binford 1961a; Ritzenthaler 1970.)

1957

Reigh Site Report - Number 3. The Wisconsin Archeologist 38(4):278-310.

This is a supplementary report on the Reigh site, dealing especially with the discovery of two additional burials uncovered by gravel quarrying. Ritzenthaler feels these burials are different from those excavated earlier, and that they are specifically Old Copper. He is undecided whether the site as a whole is Old Copper or Glacial Kame (and transitional to Early Woodland).

1975

Taxonomic and Associational Considerations of Copper Technology During The Archaic Tradition. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

This source provides the first detailed information on four site related to the Old Copper complex. Pickerel Lake (aka "Sarberg"), collected 1968-71, is located in Quetico Park, southwest Ontario. Copper artifacts were found along a beach and rocky shore ky campers, along with corner notched lithic points. There were indications of copper manufacture. Steinbring examines that possibility that this site, which strongly resembles the McCollum site, may represent the last vestiges of the Old Copper complex. Tulabi Falls, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, was excavated in 1972. The site contained 4 copper artifacts, rich faunal remains and no signs of copper manufacture. Whitemouth Falls on the Winnipeg River in Manitoba produced 1 copper artifact. The site is deeply stratified, with a middle stratum radiocarbon date of 4860 + 150 suggesting that the earliest strata may be 7000 years old. Houska Point on the Rainey Lake in Ranier, Minnesota was excavated in 1970-71. The stratigraphy was significantly disturbed. The site produced approximately 600 copper artifacts, all characterized as fragile. Two gracile socketed forms were found in ceramic strata, and a possible socket fragment in a pre-ceramic strata. Trim bits and nuggets eroding from adjacent shoreline indicated copper manufacture on the site. (See Rapp 1984 regarding raw material source of the copper here.) Steinbring 1975 is cross-listed und er Section I with notes on other contents.

1971

Test Excavation at the Fish Lake Dam Site, Minnesota. The Minnesota Archaeologist 31(1):3-40.

This site, located 20 miles northwest of Duluth, Minnesota, was investigated by the University of Winnipeg in 1969. Copper artifacts were first discovered here by a collector in association with "Late Paleo/Boreal Archaic" lithic artifacts. A few copper artifacts were discovered in 1969, also in association with typologically Plano materials. The stratigraphy was essentially destroyed, but because there were no ceramics present all the prehistoric material was treated as a single Archaic component. Many copper artifacts were reportedly removed from the vicinity in the early 1900s, from sites which are believed to now be under water.

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