Department of Anthropology
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Number 7, Winter 1965
Elden Johnson, Editor
[5 pages, 1 figure]
The ten year program of outdoor recreation and resource development created by the last Minnesota state legislature and financed by a one cent increase in the cigarette tax may include funds for archaeological research. The Minnesota Outdoor Recreation and Resources Commission members responsible for this program met with Minnesota Historical Society and University of Minnesota representatives who presented a comprehensive plan for historic and prehistoric archaeological research in Minnesota. Two separate proposals, one for historic site archaeology and development, and one for the prehistoric archaeological research, were approved by the Commission. An annual budge of $19,000 for prehistoric archaeological research and $10,000 for museum and site interpretation was recommended by the Commission for the prehistoric sites program. This program is intended to be statewide and to include research centered on several of the major areas of site concentration and on sites threatened by destruction through construction activities. The goal of the program is increased knowledge of Minnesota's prehistoric past and anew and stimulating presentation of this knowledge to the public through interpretation in established museums, development of historic site and state park museum exhibits, and through popular publications. The historic sites program, financed separately, has similar goals and will be under the direction of the Minnesota Historic Society while the prehistoric sites program will operate through the University of Minnesota. Both programs have been summarized in attractive pamphlets prepared by the MORRC (Report #1, Minnesota's Historic Sites, 50¢; Report #5, Archaeology Program, $1.00) which may be ordered from the Documents Section, State Capitol, St. Paul 1. The programs will now be presented to the present state legislature for approval of the budget request. We feel that both the historic site and the prehistoric site programs are extremely important and urge you to contact your local legislative representative indicating your support of these proposals.
C. T. Shay
The 1964 excavations of the Itasca Bison Site, Itasca State Park, which were financed by a grant from the Louis W. and Maud Hill Family Foundation proved successful and rewarding. A large quantity of paleontological, paleobotanical, and archaeological specimens were recovered and numerous geological and stratigraphic observations were made. Laboratory work on processing and identifying the material has begun as the next step toward reconstructing the environment and cultural attributes of this early Minnesota hunting complex. The season's work also showed that the site is much more extensive than originally thought. The work was not without problems, however, and water seepage proved to be the most serious of these. Some lesser problems were unforeseen simply because this is one of the first excavations of its kind that has been attempted in North America. Despite the problems, the excellent preservation of specimens and opportunities for precise dating make bog archaeology one of the most rewarding fields in archaeology today.
The major objectives of the season's work were 1) the recovery of bison and other animal remains under precise stratigraphic control, 2) obtaining samples suitable for radiocarbon dating, pollen analysis and marco-fossil [sic] analysis and 3) securing an adequate artifact sample to compare with material from other early sites in North America. Over 2,000 complete and fragmentary bones were recovered from several different layers, most of them probably belonging to the extinct species, bison occidentalis [sic]. Bison remains include three complete or partial skulls (necessary for species identification), a complete pelvis, and numerous ribs, vertebrae, long bones, hoof bones and miscellaneous fragments. Many of the bones had been broken during butchering activities, and several appear to have been modified to use as tools. Mollusc shells, abundant in the lower levels, were collected for identification, and several hundred specimens of plant and seed material were taken. Spruce, pine, aspen, larch, elm, oak, and several herbaceous species of plants already have been identified. Fragments of logs, stumps, and branches from several levels were beaver-gnawed, indicating a long history of beaver activity in the valley. Axe or knife marks showed on several pieces of wood.
The stone artifact inventory includes five projectile points, several crude chipping tools, scrapers and knives, plus a number of flint chips. All but one of the artifacts were recovered from the bog itself. The exception, a scraper, was found on the surface of the western slope of the valley. Further trenching in this slope area revealed several flint flakes indicating the location of a camp site nearby. Unfortunately, time did not permit further testing and exploration. The unusual feature of the artifact assemblage is that the points represent several different types. This variety of point types and the vertical extent of bones in the deposit suggests several occupations of the area. The duration of occupation, now estimated to be several thousand years, will be determined by radiocarbon dates and pollen profiles.
The preparatory phase of work at the site began on June 15th and involved clearing brush and deed trees from the excavation area of the bog and lower western slope. An extensive survey grid was then established, with base lines running north-south and east-west from the primary datum point at the bridge abutment. Next, an east-west trench measuring 20 x 2 meters with a northern extension of 10 x 3 meters was staked off, and a backhoe excavator was used to strip off the overlying meter of peat. The southern edge of the east-west trench was 10 meters north of the datum point. Work also began on detailed
topographic maps covering the entire site.
Efforts to control constant water seepage began as soon as the main trench was opened up. Drainage ditches which converged at the central sump hole were dug along the trench. A gasoline-driven pump was installed adjacent to eh sump to transfer water back into the nearby stream. The trench was not ready and crew members began excavating the deposit in 1 x 1/2 meter squares. The exact coordinates of each item found were measured and elevation noted with a survey rod and transit. Items were numbered, bagged separately, and then description, stratigraphic context and coordinates were entered in a master notebook. Later, in the field laboratory, the bags were sorted and checked, and the information in the master notebook was transferred to file cards so that a supplementary record could be kept.
While work proceeded on the main trench, several test trenches were excavated at intervals down the valley to a distance of 70 meters downstream from the bridge. These trenches proved to be extremely rich, yielding quantities of bone, parts of two bison skulls and three spear points. Two of four trenches located south of the road also yielded bones. These unexpected findings convinced use that our original estimates of the extent of the site were much too conservative. Bones extended along the valley for at least 100 meters and probably farther. In view of these developments several test trenches were enlarged in an effort to recover more material and to relate their stratigraphy to that of the main trench. Time did not permit additional exploratory trenching, but as an expedient several boring transects were made across the valley with a soil auger to provide needed stratigraphic information.
As the season drew to a close all work concentrated on the main trench, which was deepened along most of its length to the bottom of the deposit (see Fig. 2). The deepest point was over 2-1/2 meters, near the base of the slope. In addition to notes and photographs, detailed profiles were prepared for the main trench and the test trenches. The modern vegetation was sampled on the bog and slopes to aid in reconstruction of past vegetation patterns. At season's end (August 29th) a total of nearly 130 square meters had been opened up for excavation for a total of 200 cubic meters of material removed.
Kent Day
The MacMillan site is located in Wayzata, Hennepin County, near the east end of Lake Minnetonka (Fig. 1). The site area is on the crest of a gently sloping ridge that is part of the rolling, wooded terrain about one mile north of Wayzata Bay. At the foot of the west slope of the ridge is the dry channel of a small stream that drained into Wayzata Bay from the north.
During excavation of footings for an addition to the residence of Duncan MacMillan at 151 Westwood Lane in Wayzata, workmen discovered a pit containing human skeletons. Trenching operatings for the footings had crossed over the pit and most of the fill and a few of the bones were removed. In addition, previous surface grading and subsoil disturbance for fenceposts, plantings and a nearby underground fuel storage tank also contributed to the loss of most of the original pit outline and its surface origin. Except for the bones encountered by the workmen, the skeletal remains were intact. The undisturbed part of the pit was s shallow basin 42 inches in diameter, 12 inches deep and 50 inches below the present ground surface. Fill within the pit was sand mixed with small amounts of charred materials and red ochre (?).
Skeletons of five adults and two children were found crowded together in the bottom of the pit (Fig. 2). The remains of the adults are generally well preserved and nearly complete. The remains of the children, however, consist of cranial fragments, a few teeth, two pelves and several pieces of decayed long bones and epiphyses. Yet, since most of the phalanges and other small bones of the adults are present and in positions indicating articulation, the adults and children were probably buried together before decomposition had begun. The adults appear to have been decapitated and their bodies cut into two segments immediately above the sacrum before burial. In these cases there was not direct association of vertebrae and ribs with any of the adult skulls nor with the sets of pelves and lower limb bones that lay nearby. One pari of femora lay across a vertebral column that had a crushed fourth lumbar vertebra. Another nearby vertebral column has a small, triangular projectile point imbedded in the right lamina of the second vertebra. One of the disarticulated adult skulls found next to the remains of the children has a hole 5 cm. in diameter that was cut through the anterior portion of the occipital between the foramen magnum and the left occipital condyle. The cut appears to have been made at or shortly after the time of death. Another unusual feature of this skull is that it has a supernumerary tooth behind the upper left incisors.
The triangular projectile point mentioned above and a small quartzite chip are the only artifacts found with the burial. The projectile point is 2.4 cm. long, 1.9 cm. wide across the base and 0.4 cm. thick.
Geographically, the MacMillan site is within the area where Mille Lacs Aspect sites are most common (Wilford 1941:236-237). Although there is no previous report of a mound at this specific local, mounds are common archaeological features near the shorelines of Lake Minnetonka. Winchell (1911:229-234) reported three mounds in Wayzata, 20 on Orono (Starvation) Point and 41 in the vicinity of Crystal Bay. The only diagnostic artifact at the site is the triangular projectile point. These have been interpreted as indicators of late prehistoric occupation by Wilford (1941:238). On two bits of information Ò geographic location and a triangular projectile point Ò the MacMillan site is tentatively identified as an aberrant component of the Kathio focus of the Mille Lacs Aspect. If this information is correct, the MacMillan site burials were made after 1000 A.D.
Wilford, Lloyd A.
Figure 1. MacMillan Site [location]
Figure 2. MacMillan Site Burial Pit, Plan View