Title

Archaeological Artifacts

Description

Artifacts found during the 2017-2018 Pope County Archaeological Survey.
A total of 29 prehistoric lithic and five historic artifacts were collected from this site.

Lithic Tools: Tools included two early stage bifaces of heat-treated Swan River Chert; one end scraper, broken end to end, of Knife River Flint; and two flake tools, one of heat-treated Swan River Chert and the other of Tongue River Silica.

Raw materials and flaking debris: There was a freehand core of Animikie Silicate and two bipolar cores, one of Lake Superior Agate and the other of Red River Chert. Flaking debris included 15 flakes (Swan River Chert = 10, Fat Rock Quarts = 2, chert = 2, quartzite = 2), 2 pieces of shatter (both Swan River Chert), and 4 pieces of bipolar flaking debris (one Fat Rock Quartz, the other Red River Chert).
The age of the prehistoric component at this site cannot be estimated based on the available evidence.

The historic artifacts appear to be related to agricultural settlement (padlock, late 19th or early 20th century glass, white earthenware), span a period from the mid 19th to early 20th Century, and are related to the precontact materials recovered at this site. Historic artifacts from the site (21PO69) included 2 glass bottle fragments, 1 white stoneware bowl fragment, 1 white stoneware body sherd, and 1 iron or steel padlock, rather badly corroded. The two glass sherds are non-diagnostic but are consistent with late 19th to early 20th C manufacturing. A whiteware steep sided small bowl and plate sherds are thick and utilitarian with glaze puddling in groves giving a slightly blue tint suggesting mid-19th century manufacture. A padlock created by riveting two circular plates around the mechanism has an unprotected keyhole made for a two-pronged key. This style of padlock was used for hundreds of years, into the early 20th C, but the double prong key may be a more recent style. The historic artifacts span a period from the mid 19th to early 20th Century and do not appear related to the precontact materials recovered at this site.