Title

Archaeological Artifacts

Creation Date

1830 – 1930

Description

Artifacts found during the 2017-2018 Pope County Archaeological Survey.
Ninety-four items were found at this location of site 21PO61.
The recovered artifacts represent two components that may be related: a thin scatter of lithic artifacts, and a more dense concentration of historic materials. The items of indigenous material and construction were found in features that appear related to the historic period. Thirteen lithic artifacts were recovered. Eighty-one non-lithic artifacts were recovered. These include faunal remains (n=69), metal objects (n=11), and glass (n=1). Lithics
Thirteen lithic artifacts were recovered. These include 1 bipolar core, 10 flakes, and 2 pieces of shatter. The bipolar core is Fat Rock Quartz. The flakes are Swan River Chert (n=6, 4 heat treated), Red River Chert (n=2), Tongue River Silica (n=1), and unidentified chert (n=1). Both pieces of shatter are heat-treated Swan River Chert. Daub (fired earth) In addition, numerous daub samples and one charcoal sample were collected. These were cataloged as batches rather than individual pieces. The daub is a pale brown, and is made from a relatively homogenous fired clay mixture with uniform color and texture. Several pieces preserve clear impressions of plant materials, and a few have mostly flat surfaces that look as though they may have been pressed against some kind of support or structural member. Enhanced magnetic susceptibility values confirm the samples are fire-altered and appear to have been burned at a moderately high temperature.
Faunal A total of 69 faunal fragments were recovered during the Phase I survey at this site. Bird remains comprised 19 elements (n=21%), mammal remains comprised 30 elements (n=41%), and fish remains comprised 15 elements (n=21%). Birds were represented by the genus Anas sp., (mallard or black duck), and a mixture of duck bone that could not be identified past the family Anatidae. Fish were represented by Perca flavescens (yellow perch), Micropterus sp. (largemouth or smallmouth bass), Ameiurus sp. (brown, yellow or black bullhead), and Lota lota (burbot/eelpout). The numerous faunal remains, appear to be related to the historic occupation and to the large collection of burned daub. Mammals were represented by the subfamily Bovinae (cattle or bison), Cervus canadensis (elk), Felix rufus (bobcat), Marmota monax (woodchuck/marmot), Spermophilus tridecemlineatus (thirteen-lined ground squirrel), and, by great majority, Ondatra zibethicus (muskrat).
One of the mammal bones was worked into a tool. The worked bone is a fragment flaked from a large mammal long bone shaft. The presence of a platform and clear point of percussion indicate the flake was intentionally made by impact to bone. The edge of the flake opposite of the point of percussion has been rounded to shape the flake into an edged semi-circle. The rounded edge has been intentionally and carefully worked using faceted cuts around the edge and overlap each other to sharpen the edge. The flat side of the piece is highly polished from use and appears to have been used as a scraper. This tool was found in close association with a collection of burned faunal remains in S.T. 71.
Historic artifacts The metal objects include pieces of sheet metal (n=3), square nails (n=5), and forged items (n=2). Nails: Nails are well represented in the artifacts recovered from the site. All have a “common” style rectangular shank and head. The overrepresentation of nails may be related to the fact that one method of investigation was a metal detection survey. There are a variety of nail sizes represented from 4D to 6D. Three of the 6D nails are 2-1/2" long, 3/16" by 1/8" just below the head, and the shank tapers to thetip. The head is flat. On one of these, the last 5/8" has been split into two tines, and the tines spread slightly apart. The purpose of this modification is not clear but may have been made to turn a nail into a pin or tool. One of the nails is 1-3/4" long, also with a tapering shank and flat head. It is bent, possibly clenched. The fifth nail is 2" long, ca. 1/8" wide, and has a straight shank. The edges of the head are flush with the shank on two sides. Another altered metal item is made from 1/4' bar that has been formed a loop on one end. In the cases of this and the altered nail, the modifications appear to have been made to machine made or mass-produced “blank” metal items supplied for blacksmithing.
In sum, some metal indicates that the site had an architecture element and that the occupants may have practiced metalworking. Sheet metal fragments were also found. Flat metal is notoriously difficult to identify and date. Two of the pieces of sheet metal are iron or steel. One may come from a food tin. The third piece is a silvery, non-ferrous, and somewhat soft metal, possibly zinc. It may be structural. It appears that 3/16" to 1/4" plate was folded over to form a thick lip on one edge. Little else of the object is preserved.An unidentified, possibly organic burned item could not be identified but appears to be related to cultural use. One small glass sherd (1.5 x .75 cm) was too small to identify as more than a probable bottle fragment. This sherd is unusual in that it broke off the bottle laterally through, and not cleanly across, the wall of the bottle and has multiple fracture scars. It is possible that it is a waste flake from using bottle glass to make a flaked tool or it might represent much more recent historic activity at the site.There is also a small, flat fragment of a material that could not be identified. It is thought to be related to the deposit of burned materials made in the historic period. Other materials not collected appear to be related to an old deposit of cottonwood bark, which resistant to rot.
21PO61 Discussion
The artifacts collected at this site combined with surface features represent an unusual pattern that may be most closely related to Metis winter cabin or Hivernant sites located in Canada (Burley et. al 1992, Supernaut 2018). Hivernants were also known as Métis or “mixed” because they were a people associated with both European (typically French) and indigenous ancestors who participated in the fur trade and overwintered in the country rather than return to Montreal in the winter. Métis wintering sites are recognizable as cabin sites that feature collapsed wattle and daub fireplaces and associated cellar pits, often with charred food remains, surrounded by mudding pits where clay was harvested for chinking and the fireplace covering (Burley et. al. 1992) . Window glass and other architectural artifacts are rare. This possible cabin site could have been reused and modified with fasteners, but there was no evidence of window glass or other hardware. Metis archaeological sites often have lithic remains, and although there is some debate as to the origin, lithics have been found in stratified deposits. On Metis sites flakes tend to be overrepresented while finished, usually expedient, tools are rarer than expected (Ibid). This fits the pattern of lithics recovered on the Gunderson property, which consisted of a large quantity of flakes and shatter and one bipolar core. The Métis archaeologist Kisha Supernaut argues that elders have oral history that indicates that they used lithics well into the historic period, sometimes because the tools they made were better suited to hide working than commercially available metal tools (Supernaut 2018). However, Metis families also used a traditional knowledge base to navigate through the landscape and probably reused older American Indian sites.
In summary the artifacts and surface features from this site indicate that there was a architectural feature in the area with a daubed structure that burned, most likely a fireplace, and that someone with metal-working skills modified metal items using basic blacksmithing methods. The date of the metal working activity could be realistically placed anytime between 1830 and 1930. The glass artifact cannot be dated, but may be the result of working glass. The faunal remains are also consistent with those recovered at other Metis wintering cabins: Métis overwintering sites often show evidence for the processing of bison meat, bone, and raw hide with bison bone present in most faunal assemblages. Many sites also have a wide diversity of smaller mammals present such as: beaver, muskrat, rabbit, and badger, some of which may have also been hunted for fur. The presence of fish bone, fish scales, and bird bone indicates that the diet was supplemented by a diversity of smaller species at overwintering sites, possibly indicating dietary stress during the winter months (Supernaut, 2018). The abundance of muskrat is further evidence that the site is related to the period in Minnesota fur trade when beaver was overhunted and traders turned to muskrat, which were hunted by spear in winter.