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Archaeology in Trempealeau, Wisconsin
The information on this web page pertains to archaeological research
conducted (from 1928 to present) at Perrot State Park, Trempealeau,
Wisconsin. Recent archaeological research and interpretive displays
installed at the park were the result of cooperative efforts between
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at the University of Wisconsin -
La Crosse and Perrot State Park. Funding was provided through a grant
from the federal government in the form of a two year ISTEA (Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) grant administered by the State
of Wisconsin Department of Transportation with additional support from
the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Images from the 1920's
excavations have been provided by the Milwaukee Public Museum. Learn
more about archaeology done at the park, pre-European cultures and the
early French occupation by visiting Perrot State Park's Nature Center or
by looking at the specific topics shown above.
Archaeological Investigations in
Trempealeau, Wisconsin
Early Archaeological Investigations at
Trempealeau
The earliest record of archaeological remains at the Trempealeau
Bluffs are from early settlers such as James Reed, Lafayette Bunnell and
August Grignon. Their recollections in later life provide few details,
but make brief mention of earthen mounds in the area. Judge George Gale
produced some of the earliest maps of mounds between Trempealeau and
Galesville, and described a few specific mounds in Trempealeau in his
1867 book "Upper Mississippi".
The decade of the 1880's brought a flurry of archaeological activity
at Trempealeau. This was initiated by Theodore H. Lewis a surveyor
funded by philanthropist Alfred Hill of St. Paul. Together Hill and
Lewis formed the Northwest Archaeological Survey, and during the 1880's
Lewis traveled throughout the Midwest mapping thousands of mounds. He
visited Trempealeau in 1885 and again in 1888 making detailed records of
a bird mound on Trempealeau Mountain and two deer across the bay near
what is now the nature shelter of Perrot State Park. He also mapped
rectangular flat-topped mounds overlooking the village of Trempealeau,
and other animal shaped mounds towards Galesville. Lewis also recorded
rock carvings on the sandstone ledges at the foot of the Trempealeau
Bluffs, making rubbings of these and publishing an article in 1889. Most
of the mounds and rock art sites recorded by Lewis have since been
destroyed, and his records are the only information we have for many of
these sites.
The 1880's also saw the fortuitous discovery of a French trading post
at the foot of the Trempealeau Bluffs. This discovery brought scholars
from Trempealeau, Winona and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Local participants included Judge Benjamin Houston, Antoine Grignon, and
avocational archaeologist George Squier. The find also brought T.H.
Lewis back in 1889, and he published another article on his diggings
here which included a detailed map of the layout of the post.
At the beginning of the 20th century, local avocational archaeologist
George Squier became acquainted with State Archaeologist Charles E.
Brown, resulting in a 15 year series of letters and articles that
described in detail Squier's surveying for archaeological sites in the
Trempealeau area. Among Squier's major contributions were maps of the
mound complexes in what became Perrot State Park, descriptions of the
French post investigations (including another excavation in 1912), and a
detailed description of the platform mounds in the village along with
distinctive pottery found in an adjacent camp site (which happened to be
on Squire's property). Squier's accounts reveal that his archaeological
insight was well ahead of his time.
Will C. McKern
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In 1927, a mound was leveled on the Shrake farm in what is now the
campground of Perrot State Park. Finds of interesting artifacts brought
local artifact collector Ernest Bright to the site, where he recovered
eleven chipped knives made of a clear brown flint, copper beads and
earspools, bear canine teeth that had been drilled through to suspend as
ornaments, and fragmented pottery vessels. These finds were brought to
the attention of Will C. McKern at the Milwaukee Public Museum who
brought a team to western Wisconsin the following three summers to
conduct the first professional archaeological research in this region.
Milwaukee Public Museum at Trempealeau: The
1928 Season
In 1928, McKern and his crew from the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM)
set up camp on the shore of Trempealeau Bay immediately below what is
now the park's nature shelter. From here they completed the excavation
of the mound that Bright had opened the previous year, and began mapping
other mounds in the immediate area. Using a surveyors transit the MPM
team mapped 90 mounds in three clusters around Trempealeau Bay All but a
linear and two animal-shaped "effigy" mounds were round or
conical in form. Archaeologists at the time were trying to determine the
age of the mounds and if the different shapes were constructed and used
for similar purposes. During the summer of 1928, McKern's crew excavated
17 of the mounds in these three groups, including both effigy mounds
which were described as deer-like. The round mounds tended to contain
several burials, some of which had elaborate artifacts with them. In
contrast, the effigy mounds had few burials and few, if any, special
artifacts.
Milwaukee Public Museum at Trempealeau: The
1930 Season
McKern returned to Trempealeau in 1930, focusing on a large group of
mounds to the east of the village on the Schwert and Nicholls farms.
Again, they began by mapping the twenty six mounds in this sprawling
group. All were round cone-shaped, but one on the Nicholls farm
dominated in size, standing nearly 12 feet high. Excavations were made
in thirteen of the mounds on the Schwert Farm and in the large Nicholls
Mound that summer. These investigations revealed a complex burial
pattern in the conical mounds. Some mounds contained more than 10
burials while others had only a few. Most burials were placed in
rectangular pits dug into the original ground surface and covered with a
small bark structure. Later the burial structure was mounded over with
soil scraped up from the surrounding area. With some individuals were
special items including large chipped stone knives, copper axes, pipes,
and ornaments. Most of these were made of materials that originated far
away such as black volcanic glass called obsidian and other flints from
the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills, copper from Lake Superior, and
pipestone from western Minnesota. These indicated that the people buried
in the Trempealeau conical mounds were involved in a broad trade
network, and McKern recognized this as being a northern extension of the
Hopewell Culture of Ohio and Illinois.
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at
Trempealeau
By the 1990's, archaeologists had learned a great deal about the age
of past cultures through Carbon 14 dating. For example, we know that the
Hopewell Culture dates from about A.D. 100-400 and that the Effigy Mound
Culture dates from about A.D. 700-1100. Since about the 1940's,
archaeologists have shifted emphasis from mounds to camp sites, though
very little work was done in the Trempealeau area with the exception of
excavations by the State Historical Society in the mid 1960's. What's
more, there had been no work done at the French trading post site since
1912, though it was marked as a historical site within Perrot State
Park. In the meantime, a number of research questions had arisen. For
example, did the people who built the mounds live adjacent to them. If
so, did they live there all year, or only during the summer. Did they
craft the special burial artifacts or where they traded in as finished
artifacts from other Hopewell centers? As regards the French post, it
was not clear if the post dated to Nicholas Perrot's stay in the winter
of 1685-86 or the arrival of Rene Linctot in 1731, or both. What's more,
it was not known if anything remained at all of the post. It was also
obvious that many of the original mounds had been plowed down or
otherwise obliterated during the intervening decades.
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at
Trempealeau: The 1995 Season
In order to answer the modern research questions, MVAC archaeologists
designed a strategy that began with a thorough review of historical
records. These included tracking down the original letters, notes, and
photographs of T.H. Lewis, George Squier and Will McKern. This helped
avoid mound areas and identify portions of the French post that might
remain intact. In addition, three non-invasive technologies were used to
identify subsurface anomalies that might indicate intact remains. These
were soil resistivity and conductivity surveys conducted by Keith
Sverdrup, Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin -
Milwaukee, and ground penetrating radar survey by the Ho-Chunk Historic
Preservation Office.
Finally, field work was initiated through systematic shovel testing
which verified that artifacts existed in the areas selected for
excavation. Using all of these background data, specific locations were
chosen to conduct formal excavation squares or units, within which soils
is carefully skimmed with flat shovels or trowels, and all of the soil
screened. Excavations begin at the surface and proceed downward in
levels so that the artifact locations are recorded both horizontally and
vertically. That allows reconstruction of the site in the laboratory.
Projectile points
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Pottery
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In 1995 MVAC excavated a camp site on a peninsula south of the Shrake
I mound group. Here they found scattered artifacts representing
continuous camping from about 4,000 to 1,000 years ago. These included
flakes from chipping stone tools, some spear tips, hide scrapers, and
knives, broken pottery, burned limestone from fire hearths and charred
hickory nut shells. All of the stone material found is available within
10 miles of Trempealeau, suggesting that burial artifacts made from
non-local flints were not made here. On the other hand several lumps of
copper were also found that may be related to making the copper axes or
ornaments found in the mounds. The nut shell indicates a late
summer-fall presence. Unfortunately, this site had been plowed for many
years, and therefore, the artifacts in the top foot have been moved
about many times. Below this level, several pits were found reflecting
root cellar-like holes for storing materials and disposing of refuse. In
one of these nearly half of a crushed pot was found along with charcoal
that was dated by Carbon 14 giving a date of A.D. 860.
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at
Trempealeau: The 1996 Season
In 1996 MVAC returned to Perrot State Park, excavating two Native
American camp sites and the site of the French post. One camp site is
located near the sandstone ledge overlook. T.H. Lewis had recorded
carvings of large hands and other images along this ledge back in 1889,
but those were quarried away around 1900. MVAC began investigating this
area through shovel testing the grassy slope behind the ledge. Artifacts
were found in many of these test holes, and in June, a series of
excavation units were opened. These excavations found that this area has
been forested for thousands of years, and never plowed. Recovered
artifacts included spear and arrow tips, pottery sherds, chipped drills
and hide scrapers, and lots of waste flakes. These again reflect
continual use from about 4,000 to 1,000 years ago.
Left to right: mano, arrow shaft straightener, and a
"plummet"
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Clockwise from top: copper bead, copper awl (?), and a
tube bead
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The second Native American camp excavated is on the point immediately
west of the Park nature shelter. Here shovel testing found a continuous
scatter of camp debris. Excavations found some disturbances from
historic camping, but much of the site was intact. The soils here
reflected a prairie environment. The artifacts represent use from about
4,000 to 500 years ago, including a series of pits that contained
pottery, a grinding stone, arrow shaft straightener, and other materials
of the Oneota Culture. The Oneota were the first intensive corn farmers
in the region. Although some Oneota mounds are known from other areas,
McKern's excavations of the Trempealeau mounds did not find Oneota
burials.
The 1996 investigations at the French post encountered a midden that
contained thousands of bone fragments. All of the bone was from mammals,
including buffalo, elk, deer, black bear, raccoon, and beaver. About
half of the bone was burned, which often reflects cooking to extract
marrow and other nutrients and suggests winter occupation. This agrees
with the French records for both Perrot and Linctot as having been at
Trempealeau during the winter season. In addition, mixed directly with
the bone were several artifacts from the French era. These deposits
demonstrate that the bone is from a French occupation although it is not
yet known if the post dates to the Perrot camp in 1685-86 or the Linctot
occupation in 1731-32.
Future Archaeology in Perrot State Park
Perrot State Park is not only a natural preserve but also contains
non-renewable archaeological sites. The remains include mounds and camps
from Native American Cultures dating back at least 4,000 years, and of
historic resources most notably the site of one of the earliest direct
contacts between Europeans and Native Americans along the Upper
Mississippi River. Many of the mounds in the Trempealeau area, including
those in Perrot State Park have been obliterated, though some remain. It
is essential that we keep these from also being destroyed, while also
working with local Native American tribes such as the Ho-Chunk to
consider ways of commemorating those that have been damaged. Much has
been learned about pre-European Native cultures from the 1995 and 1996
excavations, though these investigations lead to new questions. We have
relocated the actual site of the French post and have demonstrated that
portions remain intact. We can now assess how much remains; is their a
fortification wall that can be traced and perhaps marked? and finally,
can we determine the actual age of the post? These questions will
involve more archaeology so that we can better understand the long
heritage of Perrot State Park and the Trempealeau area.
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MVAC at Trempealeau: The 1999 Field Season
by: Roland Rodell, Research
Archaeologist, Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center
The purpose of the 1999 project was to address the ongoing need to
emphasize public education with regard to the preservation and value of
our cultural heritage, and to address issues regarding the management of
cultural resources in Perrot State Park near Trempealeau, Wisconsin. The
investigation of site 47Tr153 in Perrot Park provided an opportunity for
the public to learn how archaeology is conducted and the importance of
archaeological context for interpretation of a site.
Members of the "Friends of Perrot," a local nonprofit
citizens group that promotes the activities in the park and provides
volunteer services for various projects, were invited to join the
excavation. Participants would learn how archaeology is conducted, what
kinds of information can be derived from excavation, and the reasons for
the investigation. Seven people participated in the field school that
took place on the two consecutive weekends of July 31 - August 1, and
August 7-8, 1999. The site selected for investigation is located in one
of the more remote areas of the Perrot State Park , and is slowly
deteriorating from water erosion of the shoreline.
The purpose of our investigation was to determine how much of the
site area still exists. An excavation would provide insights on the
archaeological integrity of subsurface deposits and obtain information
about the culture history of the site.
Site Background
In 1988, Region 6 Archaeologist Robert Boszhardt examined an
artifact collection from a site in Perrot State Park. The collection had
an assortment of projectile points, including Paleo-Indian and Archaic
types. The owner of the collection indicated that all the artifacts were
found along the eroding shoreline and in the surrounding shallow
waters. The collector identified the area that had been collected
and described how artifacts were found by wading the shallow waters
several feet out from the shore. The information provided by the
collector suggested that a sizable portion of the site had already been
lost to erosion.
A substantial portion of the collection is mounted on a board
displaying 143 chipped stone tools and three ground stone tools. The
variety of chipped stone points includes a couple examples of
Paleo-Indian lanceolate points, along with several stemmed and notched
base points from the Archaic and Woodland periods. Identifiable point
types include a Hardin Barbed-like point, and Raddatz
Side-Notched/Osceola/Godar varieties; Durst Stemmed, Madison
Side-Notched, Waubesa Contracting Stem points and several small
side-notched Late Woodland points. There are also some ovate bifaces,
scrapers, and drills, some of which are modified projectile points. The
three ground stone tools are two hammerstones and a grooved axe.
Investigations
Shovel Probe Survey: The investigation of 47Tr153
included a shovel probe survey and the excavation of four test units.
The shovel probe survey dug 65 holes at five-meter intervals in order to
identify artifact concentrations. A total of 320 artifacts were
recovered from 50 (77%) of the 65 holes. Artifacts recovered include
lithics, pottery sherds and a metal artifact. There are also some faunal
remains. Among the lithics are a drill, a scraper, two biface fragments,
a platform core, and a utilized flake.
Test Unit Excavations: Given the pattern of artifact
distribution revealed by the survey, four 2 by 2 meter excavation units
were staked out on the site. A summary of artifacts recovered from each
unit is below.
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Unit |
# of Lithics |
# of Pottery |
# of Historics |
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1 |
364 |
28 |
1 |
|
2 |
681 |
117 |
0
|
|
3 |
1,238 |
320 |
1 |
|
4 |
305 |
48 |
1 |
Artifact Summary
The investigations of 47Tr153 have recovered a variety of artifact
types that are clear indications the site was periodically occupied over
several millennia. The site artifact assemblage, as represented in the
private collection and the remains recovered by MVAC, includes an
assortment of chipped stone tools that span the Paleo-Indian into the
Late Woodland and Oneota periods. The presence of Middle Woodland, Late
Middle Woodland, and Late Woodland pottery types, along with Oneota
pottery, is further indication that a succession of cultural traditions
utilized this location. There is also evidence of an early historic
occupation.
Lithics: There are six projectile points represented by three
types from the Late Archaic-Early Woodland period: Durst Stemmed, Fox
Valley Stemmed or Kramer-like, and Madison Side-Notched. The
remaining tools are more difficult to date. The manufacture and use of
chipped stone drills and scrapers extends deep into the Archaic period,
and probably earlier. One of the drills appears to have been made from a
projectile point, although the original point type cannot be determined.
Both drills came from upper layers of the site setting, suggesting that
they are late prehistoric. Scrapers do not become abundant in lithic
assemblages in northern Mississippi Valley until the Oneota period. The
47Tr153 scrapers are small—possibly from use and re-sharpening—and
given that they were recovered near the surface, in general
co-occurrence with shell tempered pottery, these tools may be from an
Oneota occupation. A caveat to this interpretation is that a Late
Archaic-Early Woodland point was also found near the surface in Level 1
of Unit 4.
The use of granitic rock to make ground stone tools spans the middle
Archaic through the Oneota period. The celt and a hammerstone were
recovered in Unit 3 at or below the levels with Late Archaic-Early
Woodland points. These associations suggest that the ground stone tools
are of the same period. The small hammerstone from Unit 1 was not in a
context associated with diagnostic artifacts, although it was found near
the surface suggesting the possibility of a late prehistoric age. A
similar argument could also be made for the sandstone fragment with
grooves.
Pottery: The 556 pottery fragments are divided between 535
(96.2%) grit tempered sherds and 21 (3.8%) shell tempered sherds.
Twenty-four of the cord-impressed body sherds have design attributes,
such as punctates, incised lines, or dentate stamping, and 16 of the
smoothed surfaced body sherds display either tool incised lines or
twisted cord impressions. These decorative elements are representative
of Middle Woodland or Late Woodland pottery; however, none of the
decorated sherds are large enough to confidently be identified with
specific pottery types. On the other hand, the 13 rim sherds can be
sorted into types or at least assigned to a general time period within
the Woodland tradition. The rims divide into Middle Woodland types, Late
Middle Woodland types, and Late Woodland types. All of the shell
tempered sherds are small, and as typical of this ware group all have
smooth surfaces. Six of the 21 sherds have one or two shallow incised
lines. Unfortunately, none of the sherds are large enough to be
identified with a particular Oneota pottery type.
Fauna: A variety of mammal, fish, turtle, and bird bones were
recovered during the shovel probe survey and from the four excavation
units. The sample is small and the excavations did not find any
appreciable concentrations of remains.
Summary
The MVAC investigation of 47Tr153 synthesized information derived
from a private collection, shovel probe survey, and controlled
excavation that identifies a multicomponent site with Paleo-Indian,
Archaic,
Woodland,
Oneota
and early historic occupations. Projectile
point typology indicates that use of this site began with Late
Paleo-Indian and continued through the Woodland period. Pottery typology
has identified the presence of Middle, Late Middle, and Late Woodland,
and Oneota occupants. And based on the presence of glass beads and the
evaluation of a clay pipe stem there was a small historic component that
appears to be pre-19th century.
Clay marble and pipe stem
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Site 47Tr153 is not unlike other multicomponent sites in the area.
MVAC excavations at other sites in Perrot State Park have found evidence
for multiple occupations representing Archaic, Woodland, Oneota and
historic occupations. How consistently site 47Tr153 was utilized over
the span of several thousands of years cannot be adequately determined.
There may have been prolonged gaps when no one visited this location.
Most likely the site was occupied on a seasonal basis by small groups
who hunted, fished, and gathered a variety of floodplain resources.
Also, as indicated by the amounts of lithic debris, the manufacturing
and re-sharpening of stone tools was clearly an activity that took place
at this site. Even though fragments of pottery vessels were recovered
from the site there is no evidence for pottery manufacturing.
Although the MVAC investigation found that a portion of 47Tr153 is
still intact, shoreline erosion is slowly destroying the site. During
the summer of 2000, the National Wildlife Refuge, which has control of
the floodplain, had artificially lowered the water level exposing a
bedrock shelf that borders the site. Although this temporarily
alleviates the impacts of water erosion, the shoreline remains unstable.
It is recommended that the National Wildlife Refuge and the Department
of Natural Resources work together to stabilize this shoreline.
Site 47Tr153 is one of more than two dozen known archaeological sites
in Perrot State Park. It illustrates that despite being located within
the boundaries of a State park there is no guarantee of preservation.
Prior to and during the duration of the grant period, MVAC personnel
have worked with the DNR in both field and educational settings. Efforts
to ensure preservation; however, should not be limited to the agency
employees who manage the parks. Public involvement is essential.
Providing hands on experiences like the MVAC field school is but one way
of reaching the public. Field schools, however, can only handle small
numbers of people. Larger audiences can be reached through public talks
and tours by archaeologists, historians, or otherwise qualified and
knowledgeable individuals who can address topics of the past and the
issues of preservation and the need for maintaining the social and
economic value of cultural resources.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the employees of Perrot State Park, the Friends of
Perrot and the field school participants for their help with this
project.
Field investigations and archival research were conducted with the
assistance of a grant-in-aid from the Office of Archaeology and Historic
Preservation, U.S. Department of the Interior, under the provisions of
the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The grant was
administrated by the Historic Preservation Division of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin.
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Hopewell Cultures
The Hopewell Culture existed in the Midwest from about A.D. 100-400.
Although Hopewell influence extended from the Rocky Mountains to the
Appalachians, core areas were located in restricted areas of Ohio and
central Illinois. At each of these two centers, large mound complexes
consisting of round "conical' mounds and square or circular
embankments existed representing enormous works of labor and social
cooperation. Excavation of some mounds in the 19th and early 20th
centuries found evidence of elaborate burial rituals. Often, Hopewell
mounds were constructed over wood and bark structures, many of which
were burned. Within rectangular pits, burials of several to many
individuals were placed prior to mound construction. These included
adult men and women as well as children.
Nicholls Excavations
The Nicholls Mound was excavated by the Milwaukee Public Museum in
the summer of 1928 under the direction of Will C. McKern. At that time,
it was known that Wisconsin had several types of mounds including round
conicals, animal shaped effigies and square platforms, but it was not
known what these differences meant. Where they made for different
purposes such as tombs, territorial markers, or platforms for the elite?
or did the different shapes reflect changes in time. During the 1920's
and 30's the Milwaukee Public Museum set out to answer these basic
questions by excavating different mound types across the state. While at
Trempealeau, the Milwaukee team excavated both conical and animal shaped
mounds. The Nicholls Mound was the largest of the conical mounds in the
area.
The excavation proceeded by establishing a site grid and mapping the
mound. The central portion of the mound was then excavated in steps to
reach the floor. In the mound fill the excavators could see pockets of
different colored soil, each representing a basket load of earth. At the
floor, the team encountered a layer of preserved bark, and carefully
cleaned this for photographing and mapping. Upon removing the bark
layer, a burial chamber was exposed. The chamber was a rectangular pit
that had been dug into the original land surface, lined with bark, and
covered with a bark roof. Within the pit, the excavators found several
burials. They painstakingly removed soil to uncover each skeleton with
associated artifacts and again photographed and mapped these. The
artifacts and records were taken back to the Milwaukee Public Museum and
were used to prepare McKern's 1931 classic report: "A Wisconsin
Variant of the Hopewell Culture".
Hopewell Trade Network
Copper ear spool
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Copper beads
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The people in Hopewell tombs were often buried with exotic artifacts
including large chipped stone knives, copper axes, sheets of mica cut
into detailed forms, stone pipes carved into a variety of forms
including intricately detailed animals, special pottery vessels, and
ornaments made from copper, shell and other materials. The materials
from which many of these artifacts were made were not available locally,
and some originate hundreds of miles away. For example, black volcanic
glass "obsidian" outcrops in the Yellowstone area of
northwestern Wyoming, yet chipped artifacts of this material was
included in Hopewell tombs. Copper comes from Lake Superior, mica from
the Appalachian Mountains, and marine shell from salt water oceans.
These materials reveal Hopewell involvement in an extensive trade
network. Along the way, other local Hopewell centers developed,
including one at Trempealeau. These secondary centers do not have the
complexity, quantity, and quality of the Ohio and Illinois centers, but
artifact styles clearly indicate sharing of Hopewell ideas.
Copper breast plate
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Back to Top
Frequently Asked Questions About Mounds
Do all mounds contain burials?
No. Most of the larger conical mounds appear to be from the Hopewell
Culture and do contain burials. Later animal-shaped or
"effigy" mounds sometimes contain burials, but some that were
excavated did not. The two effigy mounds excavated in Perrot State Park
did contain several burials. Platform mounds of the Mississippian
Culture appear to have been constructed primarily as foundations upon
which houses were built. A series of these overlooking the Village of
Trempealeau were never excavated.
How many mounds were in Wisconsin?
We do not know the exact amount of mounds that were built within
Wisconsin. Based on surveys from the 1800's archaeologists estimate the
number to be somewhere between 15 and 20,000. A recent assessment
estimates that over 80% or at least 12,000 were plowed down or destroyed
through town and city development in the last 150 years.
Are all mounds alike?
Mounds were constructed in a variety of forms, at different periods
of time, and for different reasons. The earliest mounds of the Hopewell
Culture are round or "conical" and were constructed primarily
as burial tombs. Later "Effigy" mounds were built in shapes
such as birds and other animals, only a few of which we recognize.
Others are more abstract, and some are geometric. While some of these do
contain burials, some do not, and their purpose remains a mystery.
Why did people build mounds?
Mounds were constructed by many different peoples, probably for many
different reasons. Many mounds were built as tombs. The mound served not
only to dispose of the dead but the communal effort of mound
construction also served to reinforce social bonds. The mound itself
stood as a marker not only of the dead but of the living culture,
clarifying to all that this is our land and that of our ancestors.
How long did it take to build a mound?
This depends on the size, and there have been only a few experiments
to replicate this effort. Those studies suggest that a group of about 20
people could construct a small mound with basket loads of earth in one
day. Larger, more elaborate mounds obviously took more people and time.
Back to Top
MVAC's Excavations at Perrot's Post
History of the Post
In the fall of 1685 Nicholas Perrot and a small party of Frenchmen
beached their canoes at Trempealeau, Wisconsin, where they built a
protective shelter in preparation for winter. Several weeks earlier
Perrot and his men had left Green Bay and crossed Wisconsin via the Fox
and Wisconsin Rivers to reach the Mississippi Valley. The purpose of
this expedition was to establish alliances with the Ioway and Dakota
Indians in order to expand French interests in the fur trade market.
Although Perrot's venture was not the first French excursion into the
upper Mississippi Valley, his was the first attempt to establish a
foothold in this region. In the spring of 1686 the Trempealeau site was
abandoned for a more advantageous location along Lake Pepin where Perrot
built Fort St. Antoine. Over the next thirty-five years French economic
fortunes in the upper Mississippi Valley waxed and waned. It was not
until 1731, and the end of the Fox Indian wars, that the French under
the command of Rene Godefroy sieur de Linctot returned to Trempealeau
and established another trading post.
Early Excavations at the Post
Neither Perrot nor Linctot recorded where at Trempealeau they located
their respective sites, although it is believed that Linctot's post was
constructed in the same location of Perrot's winter camp. The desire by
historians and archaeologists to discover the location(s) of these
French occupations peaked in 1887 when workmen grading a new road bed
for the Chicago, Burlington, and Northern Railroad uncovered two fire
places. By late 1888 a series of small scale excavations had taken place
uncovering more fire places, the earthen foundations of walls, and an
area identified as a blacksmith's forge. Among the artifacts were scraps
of iron, gun parts, and nails that were identified as being of 17th and
18th century French origin. Other remains included metal arrow points
(most likely made by the French to trade to the Native Americans), and
the bones of mammals. Unfortunately, by today’s standards, these
excavations were poorly organized and conducted by different parties.
Some to the artifacts were sent to the State Historical Society in
Madison; however, others went to a private museum in St. Paul and
undoubtedly some were kept by individuals who dug at the site. Recent
efforts to relocate these remains have so far been unsuccessful.
Maps of the Post
A result of these early investigations are three sketch maps of the
site setting. Unfortunately, two of these maps are rather vague, lacking
information about the layout of the site. A third map, however, has
proven to be very insightful. It was recorded in 1888 by Theodore Lewis,
an archaeologist who spent several years mapping archaeological sites in
the upper Mississippi Valley. Lewis's map accurately depicts the
locations of the excavated fire hearths and earthen berms (the remnants
of structures) in relationship to the railroad tracks and bank of the
Mississippi River floodplain.
Preserving the Post
In 1918 preservation of the site was insured with the establishment
of Perrot State Park. The first of two historical markers commemorating
the site was dedicated in 1926. A second interpretative marker,
recognizing the French occupations and the work of the early
investigators, was erected in 1964.
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at the
Post
The Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center investigation was prompted
by the dearth of information about the site known as "Perrot's
Post." This void is not simply an absence of artifacts, but more
importantly there exists among researchers and the public a poor
understanding of the culture history of the site. As an initial step to
rectify this situation a cooperative agreement was established between
MVAC and Perrot State Park. Our efforts through this arrangement secured
federal funding in the form of a two year Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) grant. The grant application and
award was administered by the State of Wisconsin Department of
Transportation. Their help and patience in guiding us through the
application procedures is gratefully acknowledged.
In July of 1995 and 1996 MVAC conducted two week field projects.
Teachers, high school students, and the lay public participated in these
archaeological investigation. They experienced both the rigors of
fieldwork and the thrill of discovery. Several square meters were
excavated and hundreds of artifacts were recovered. The majority of
these remains are artifacts of chipped stone and fragments of pottery
representing periodic Native American occupations of the site, spanning
several thousand years before the arrival of Europeans. Numerous other
remains, such as nails, spikes, glass, and wire, are from the past 150
years and represent railroad, farming, and park activities.
Gunflints, Jesuit ring and lead musket ball
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Glass beads
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In comparison to the Native American and recent historic remains,
evidence of the French occupation(s) is sparse, however, it is no less
important. The MVAC excavations recovered French artifacts that were not
encountered, missed, or simply not reported by the earlier digs. These
included French made gunflints, several glass trade beads, a Jesuit
ring, and other metal artifacts we believed are from the French
occupation, such as a knife blade and a musket ball. Our excavations
also uncovered where the French dumped their garbage. The location, on
the west side of a earthen berm, would have been outside of the
structure. This deposit of garbage is immediately below the modern
ground surface and only a few inches thick. From it we recovered the
bones of black bear, beaver, and raccoon, along with hundreds of small
bone fragments. Mixed among these remains were some of the gunflints and
glass beads.
Currently analyses of our discoveries are being completed. Our
investigations did not simply reaffirm the location of the French
occupation(s), but recovered remains heretofore not reported for this
site. In addition, the excavation identified more precise information
regarding the location of a structure from the French era. This
information correlates with some of the features mapped by Lewis over a
century ago. Our analysis will attempt to identify if we have uncovered
the Linctot or Perrot occupation, or both. Our preliminary view is that
most, if not all, of the French remains are from the Linctot occupation.
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Photographs: Then and Now
The photographs show how excavation techniques have changed over the
past seventy years. Technology has change how some things are done
but the goal of archaeology remains the same - to discover how people
lived in the past.
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