Archaeology of Minnesota

Histories of Minnesota typically begin with seventeenth-century French fur traders exploring the western shores of Lake Superior. And yet, archaeology reveals that Native Americans lived in the region at least 13,000 years before such European incursions. Archaeology of Minnesota tells their story—or as much as the region’s wealth of artifacts, evidence of human activity, and animal and plant remains can convey.

From archaeological materials, Guy Gibbon reconstructs the social, economic, and political systems—the lifeways—of those who inhabited what we now call Minnesota for thousands of years before the first contact between native peoples and Europeans. From the boreal coniferous forests to the north, to the tall grass prairie to the west and southwest, to the deciduous forest to the east and southeast, the richly diverse land of the upper Mississippi River region, crossed and bordered by all manner of waterways, was a virtual melting pot of prehistoric cultures.

Demonstrating how native cultures adapted and evolved over time, Gibbon provides an explanation that is firmly rooted in the nature of local environments. In doing so, he shows how the study of Minnesota archaeology is relevant to a broader understanding of long-term patterns of change in human development throughout the world.

Guy Gibbon is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Minnesota. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Sioux: The Dakota and Lakota Nations and Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia.

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Tools of the Trade

1. Environments of Minnesota

Paleoindian and Archaic Period, ca. 11,200 to 500 BC

2 First People: Paleoindian and Early Archaic Adaptations

3 Prairie Everywhere: Middle and Late Archaic Adaptations

Initial Woodland Period, ca. 1000–500 BC to AD 500–700

4 Southern Deer Hunters, Gardeners, and Bison Hunters: Initial Woodland Adaptations in Southern Minnesota

5 Northern Hunters, Fishers, and Wild Rice Harvesters: Initial Woodland Adaptations in Central and Northern Minnesota

Terminal Woodland and Mississippian Period, ca. AD 500–700 to 1650

6 Terminal Woodland Effigy Mound Builders and Bison Hunters: Terminal Woodland Adaptations in Southern Minnesota

7 First Tribes in Southern Minnesota: Mississippian and Plains Village Adaptation

8. First Tribes in Central and Northern Minnesota: Terminal Woodland Adaptations

Conclusion: Long-Term Pattern in the Past

Notes

Bibliography

Index