U. OF F. LIBRARIES
Vo-t ^ C.2,
i
urn RIVER FOCUS
BY W. C. McREM
;' MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
9
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LIBRARIES
MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM
PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
NUMBER 9
The Clam River Focus
by W. C. McKERN
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, U. S. A.
1963
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Printed by
THE NORTH AMERICAN PRESS
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Upper— Personnel at work, Clam River Mound
Lower— Field personnel, Spencer Lake AAound MPhA Negs. 414561, 416637
Dr. W. C. AAcKern, Director Emeritus, was associated with the Milwaukee Public Museum from 1925 until his retirement in 1958. He came to the Museum as Assistant Curator in Anthropology, became head of the Department in 1930, and in 1943 assumed the Directorship of the Museum.
He did field work in California, Colorado, and the Island of Tonga, and at the Museum his interests in field work took the form of archeological investigations in Wisconsin.
Among professional archeologists he is perhaps best known for the classification system of archeological materials which be- came known as the McKern Taxonomic System.
Besides numerous yearbook articles, he was the author of A Wisconsin Variant of the Hopewe// Culture, Preliminary Report On Upper Mississippi Phase in Wisconsin, Neale and McClaughry Mound Groups, and Kletzien and Nitschke Mound Groups.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/clamriverfocusOOmcke
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 1
Ecology 3
Historical Background 8
The Sites and Techniques Employed 9
The Clam Lake Mound 11
Burial Types 19
Associations and Features 25
Associated with Stratum I 25
Associated with Stratum II 29
Associated with Stratum III 35
The Spencer Lake Mound 39
Burial Types 42
Associations and Features 50
Mound Floor Features 50
Associated with Stratum I 52
Associated with Stratum II 52
Associated with Stratum III 53
Descriptions of Artifacts from the Mounds 54
Chipped-stone Artifacts 54
Pipes 56
Pottery 56
Pottery Type 60
Cultural Classification 61
Cultural Reconstruction 64
Ethnic Identity 69
Bibliography 73
vii
ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE PAGE
1 . Clam Lake Mound 10
2. Spencer Lake Mound 11
3. Partial central profile. Clam Lake Mound, showing strata 12
4. Vertical profiles, Clam Lake Mound, showing strata 14
5. Roots and low stump rising from Stratum III, Clam Lake Mound ... 15
6. Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum I, Clam Lake Mound 16
7. Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum II, Clam Lake Mound 16
8. Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum III, Clam Lake Mound 17
9. Vertical profile, showing red-ochre feature on central floor,
Clam Lake Mound 18
10. Burial 41, Clam Lake Mound 19
1 1 . Burial 1 1 , Clam Lake Mound 20
12. Burial 2, Clam Lake Mound 20
13. Burial 37, Clam Lake Mound 21
14. Burial 28, Clam Lake Mound 22
15. Burial 31, Clam Lake Mound 22
16. Burial 23, Clam Lake Mound 22
1 7. Burial 30, Clam Lake Mound 23
18. Burial 40, Clam Lake Mound, showing birch bark cover in place . 24
19. Burial 40, Clam Lake Mound, showing birch bark cover removed . 24
20. Burial 44, Clam Lake Mound, showing pottery pipes in situ 26
21. Pottery pipes from Burial 44, Clam Lake Mound 27
22. Stone fireplace in situ, Clam Lake Mound 27
23. Pile of charred pine knots in situ, Clam Lake Mound 28
24. Burial 32, Clam Lake Mound, showing bones resting in the remains
of a birch bark container 30
25. Remains of birch bark container after removal of Burial 32,
Clam Lake Mound 30
26. Sherds of pottery vessel (Feature 16) in situ. Clam Lake Mound . . 31
27. Restoration of pottery vessel (Feature 16), Clam Lake Mound ... 32
28. Sherds of pottery vessel (Feature 17) in situ, Clam Lake Mound . . 32
IX
FIGURE PAGE
29. Restoration of pottery vessel (Feature 17), Clam Lake Mound ... 33
30. Birch bark container found independent of burials, in situ
(Feature 22), Clam Lake Mound 34
31. Small inverted elm bark container (Feature 8) in situ, found
independent of burials. Clam Lake Mound 34
32. Portion of birch bark container, in situ, showing holes for sewing . 34
33. Sherds of atypical pot in situ (Feature 18), Clam Lake Mound ... 36
34. Restoration of Feature 18 pottery vessel. Clam Lake Mound 36
35. Sherds of pottery vessel with Burial 20, in situ. Clam Lake Mound 37
36. Restoration of pottery vessel with Burial 20, Clam Lake Mound . . 37
37. Central vertical profile, showing strata, Spencer Lake Mound .... 38
38. Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum I, Spencer Lake Mound .... 40
39. Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum II, Spencer Lake Mound ... 41
40. Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum III, Spencer Lake Mound ... 41
41. Burial 40, Spencer Lake Mound . 42
42. Burial 21, Spencer Lake Mound 43
43. Burial 9, Spencer Lake Mound 44
44. Burial 37, Spencer Lake Mound 44
45. Burial 35, Spencer Lake Mound 45
46. Burial 1 1 , Spencer Lake Mound 46
47. Burial 8, Spencer Lake Mound 47
48. Burial 27, Spencer Lake Mound 47
49. Burial 23, Spencer Lake Mound 48
50. Burial 13, Spencer Lake Mound 49
51. Burial 38, Spencer Lake Mound 49
52. Burial 56, Spencer Lake Mound 51
53. Burial 34, Spencer Lake Mound, showing small pot in situ 51
54. Small pottery vessel from Burial 34, Spencer Lake Mound 58
55. Small pottery vessel from Clam Lake Mound 59
56. Long bones from Clam River Mounds, showing artificial perfora-
tions near ends 64
57. Painting showing a Siouan platform burial 68
INTRODUCTION
This report records the results of certain excavations conducted in north- ern Wisconsin during the summer seasons of 1935 and 1936. The work of both seasons was sponsored jointly by the University of Wisconsin, Division of An- thropology, and the Milwaukee Public Museum, Division of Anthropology; financed by the former through the agency of Dr. Ralph Linton, and conducted by the latter under the field direction of the author. This arrangement provided field experience in archaeological methods to students in anthropology en- rolled at the University, and permitted the Museum to continue its archaeo- logical research program in Wisconsin during depression years when its reduced budget did not include funds for field research.
However, during the 1935 season, in addition to the four University of Wisconsin students and two anthropological assistants from the Milwaukee Public Museum, qualified students from other colleges and universities were selected from a list of applicants to complete the complement of field workers. These, with the addition of a full-time commercial photographer, a cook, a cook's helper, and the field director made a total of sixteen. During the 1936 season, the field party consisted of five University of Wisconsin students, six students from other schools, a photographer, a cook, a cook's assistant and the field director, making a total of fifteen. Ralph Linton participated in the work during occasional visits to both sites. George Woite, of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, served as official photographer during both seasons (Frontispiece).
The complete program for the two seasons included surface surveys of the site locales, some excavations of both mounds and habitation sites in the vicin- ities, and the excavation of several mounds in Barron County. However, since this report is directed to provide data regarding a single cultural manifestation rather than seasonal activities, a manifestation not reported previously (1960) for Wisconsin, and since this cultural variety was definitely identified only in two large mounds in the course of seasonal activities, the data collected from these tumuli comprise exclusively the subject matter presented in this report.
The two mounds in question were the Clam Lake Mound (Bt-1), situated on the western shore of Upper Clam Lake, and the Spencer Lake Mound (Bt-2), situated on the northern shore of Spencer Lake, both located in Burnett County, northwestern Wisconsin. These rounded earthen structures were alike in shape and general appearance, representing a variety of relatively high mounds occurring singly or in pairs along stream and lake shores in several counties in northwestern Wisconsin, but primarily in Burnett County. Elsewhere we observed them in Washburn County, and similar mounds have been reported in Douglas and Sawyer counties. In Burnett County they were seen in Meenon, La Follette, Trade, Siren, Union, Web Lake, Scott, and Rush townships. I describe them as occurring singly or in pairs, although in instances, as in the case of the Clam Lake Mound, they may appear to be a part of a group of smaller semispherical and elongated mounds. However, we determined by means of excavations that these smaller mounds, although physically associated with the larger mounds, were culturally divergent and probably of a considerably greater age.
I
Our primary problem was, through collecting available data regarding the authors of these larger mounds, to determine in so far as possible their origin, purpose, and relative place in the categorical fields of culture and history. The data secured identified a manifestation not previously reported for Wisconsin, and support a conclusion that Indians built burial mounds in the early his- toric or protohistoric period in northwestern Wisconsin.
I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Ralph Linton and the Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, for financially sponsoring and coopera- tively supporting the two-season project during a period of economic depres- sion that otherwise would have prohibited any program of field research, and Dr. S. A. Barrett, then Director of the Milwaukee Public Museum, for authoriz- ing and otherwise aiding the field project.
I thankfully acknowledge the neighborly, understanding cordiality of the citizens of Burnett County who made field life, both during and after working hours, more pleasant and convenient.
I wish to register my sincere appreciation of the working crews in consid- eration of their good discipline and earnest application on the job, even when the work was strenuous and dirty, and during sweltering days under a relent- less sun. I remember these students as helpful co-laborers, and hove valued their friendship during years subsequent to the field association. They include: in 1935, Mrs. Leiand R. Cooper, Miss Audrey Ransom, and Messrs. Robert L. Abbey, John Adair, Allie R. Allen, Fred Carder, Leiand R. Cooper, Robert A. Elder, Gordon F. Ekholm, Henry Elkin, George M. Foster, Chester Hart, Earl L. Loyster, David B. Stout, and Erwin Wood; and in 1936, in addition to Messrs. Adair and Stout, William R. Bascom, Joffre Coe, Harry Geiger, Thomas James, George Lidberg, George i. Quimby, Albert Spaulding, and George Topping.
I also wish to acknowledge the valuable services rendered by Dr. Robert E. Ritzentholer, Curator of Anthropology, Milwaukee Public Museum, who assisted in the preparation of matter for this report; Dr. R. A. Stirton, Department of Paleontology, University of California, who examined and reported on the Equus cabollus specimen; Albert M. Fuller, Curator of Botany, Kenneth Mac- Arthur, Curator of Entomology, and John L. Diedrich, Taxidermist, Milwaukee Public Museum, who provided botanical, fish, and bird data, respectively, on the ecology of the subject area.
ECOLOGY
This is but the first chapter of reports on research in this area and specific subject field. Continued investigations are actually now under way or con- templated in the near future. Consequently, it is thought advisable to consider in somewhat more detail the ecological background than the limited data pre- sented in this report would in themselves seem to justify.
The region including and directly surrounding Burnett County is a rolling, glaciated terrain dotted intermittently with small lakes and traversed by streams draining to some extent north into Lake Superior, but primarily south- west into the Mississippi River by way of the St. Croix River, which separates this part of Wisconsin from Minnesota. Both Clam Lake and Spencer Lake are drained by the Clam River, a small tributary of the St. Croix that rises in Roosevelt Township, Burnett County, and flows northeast through LaFollette, Siren, and Meenon townships to its confluence with the St. Croix.
In its primeval state Burnett County was predominantly a pine savanna, a type of plant community characterized by a low density of trees, largely pines, that allow grasses and other herbaceous vegetation to become the actual dominants. For the most part this community occurs in the bed of hypothetical glacial Barrens Lake, which continues northeast from Burnett into Washburn, Douglas, and Bayfield counties. This area is known as the pine barrens of northwestern Wisconsin (Curtis, 1959).
The plants characterizing the pine savanna were grasses, non-grassy herba- ceous plants, shrubs, and scattered stands of trees. The outstanding feature of the ground layer of plant life was the profuse development of shrubs of which the most important were: redroot (Ceanofhus ovatus), huckleberry (Ga//ussac/o baccafa), blueberry QVaccinium angustifolium^, and sweet fern QComptonia peregrina'). The usual trees were jack pine (P;nus banks/ana) and red pine (P. resinosa^, the former more characteristic. Commonly present was Hill's oak (Quercus e///pso;da//s), occurring as a shrub. White pine (P. sfrobus'), pin cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica^, and white oak (Q. alba') were occasionally present.
Along the southern margin of Burnett County, particularly in the south- western corner and extending into Polk and Washburn counties and again in the northern tip of Burnett County, extending into Douglas County and the State of Minnesota, the pine savanna was replaced by conifer-hardwood for- ests characterized by such trees as jack pine, red pine, white pine, red maple (^Acer rubrum), sugar maple (A. saccharum), red oak (Q. borea/;s). Hill's oak, white oak, trembling aspen (Popu/us tremu/o/des), large-toothed aspen (P. grandidentafa), white birch (Befu/a papyrifera'), and black cherry (P. serotina). Important elements of the ground layer of plants were hazelnut (Cor//us amer/cana), bush honeysuckle (D;erv/7/a /on/cera), pipsissewa QChim- aphila umbellata var. cisaflantica), trailing arbutus (Ep;gaea repens), win- tergreen (Gau/fher/o procumbens), bracken (Pfer;d/um aquilinum var. latiuscu- lum'), large-leaved aster (^Aster macrophyllus), blueberry, Canada mayflower (^Maianthemum canadense), and sedge QCarex pennsylvanica').
In one southwestern township of Burnett County and extending south into Polk County, the plant community was of the southern hardwood forest type.
dominated by sugar maple, basswood CTilia americana'), slippery elm (U/mus rubra'), butternut (^Juglans c/nerea), yellowbud hickory (^Carya cordiformis'), and American elm (U. americana). Important species of the plant ground- layer were sweet cicely (Osmorh/za c/a/fon;), wild leek (A///um tricoccum), cranesbill (Geron/um maculatum), false Solomon's seal QSmilacina racemosa'), Indian turnip (^Arisaema triphyllum), large-flowered trillium (^Trillium grandi- florum), and cleavers QGalium aparine).
Although definite knowledge of the prehistoric fish population in the lakes and streams of Burnett County is not available, the following varieties were probably present at the time of the earliest European explorations: large red- horse QMoxostoma rubreques), golden mullet (A/l. erythrurum), silver mullet (M. an/surum), northern redhorse (M. auroe/um), hornyhead QNocomis bigut- tatus), channel catfish (/cfo/urus punctatus), yellow bullhead (Ame/urus natalis), northern pike (Esox /uc/us), yellow perch (^Perca flavescens), sauger (Sf/zosfed/on canadense), smallmouth bass (A/l/cropferus do/om/eu/), large- mouth boss QMicropterus salmoides), bluegill (Lepom/s macrochirus), pump- kinseed (Lepom/s g/bbosus), rock bass (^Ambloplifes rupestris), black crappie QPomoxis nigromaculafus), burbot (Lofo Iota), boufin QAmia calva), brook trout (Sa/ve//nus fonfinalis), white sucker (Cofosfomus commerson), and northern hog sucker (^Hypenfelium nigricaris). Smaller fish such as the chubs and shiners were probably represented by such varieties as creek chub (Somo- t/7us atromaculafus), pugnose shiner (Nofrop/s anogenus Forbes), mimic shiner (N. volucellus), blacknose shiner (N. heterolepis), northern sand shiner (N. stramineus), bigmouth shiner (N. dorsalis), northwestern spottoil shiner (N. hudsonius selene), northern steelcolored shiner (N. whipplei spilopferus), northern shiner (N. cornufus frontalis), and western golden shiner (Notem/- gonus crysoleucus auratus).
The following turtles were probably all present in the Burnett County area at the dawn of recorded history; the snapping turtle (Che/ydro serpentina serpentina), western painted turtle QChrysemys picta bellii), wood turtle (^Clemmys insculpta), Blanding's turtle QEmys blondingii), map turtle (^Grap- temys geographica), and the spiny softshell turtle QAmyda fenox). Snakes present in the area probably included the eastern ringneck, hognose, smooth green, fox, bull, brown water, red-bellied, and varieties of the garter.
The woods and water-ways must have abounded with game birds in season, and other birds might have been valuable for their plumage or for other culturally significant reasons. Both the whistling swan (O/or columbi- anus) and trumpeter swan (O. buccinator) were common transients. Geese were probably represented by the Canada goose (^Branta c. canadensis), white-fronted goose QAnser albifrons frontalis), snow goose (Chen hyper- borea), and blue goose (C. caerulescens). A great variety of ducks included the mallard (Anas p. platyrhynchos), black duck (A. rubripes), gadwall (A. strepera), pintail (A. acufa), green-winged teal (A. carolinensis), blue-winged teal (A. d. discors), American widgeon (A/lereca americana), shoveller C^pa- tula clypeata), wood duck (A/x sponso), redhead (A/fhyo americana), canvas- back (A. valisineria), ring-necked duck (A. collaris), greater scaup (A. ma- r/7a), lesser scaup (A. affinis), common goldeneye (Bucepha/a c. clangula), bufflehead (B. albeola), oldsquaw (C/angu/a hyemalis), king eider (Soma-
teria spectabilis^, ruddy duck (Ox/ura jamaicensis^, hooded merganser (Lophod/fes cucullatus^, common merganser (Mergus merganser americanus^, and red-breasted merganser (A/1. S. serrafor).
Other waterfowl and waders, a number of which were plentiful, included the common loon (^Gavia immer^, horned grebe QPodiceps auritus'), eared grebe (P. caspicus,'), western grebe QAechmophorus occidentalism, pied-billed grebe (Pod/7/mbus pod/ceps), white pelican (Pe/ecanus erythrorhynchos'), brown pelican (P. occidentalis') as an accidental visitor, double-crested cor- morant QPhalacrocorax auritus^, great blue heron (^Ardea herod/as), green heron (^Butorides v. virescens^, common egret (Casmerod/us a/bus egrefta), snowy egret (Leucopho/x t. thula'), black-crowned night heron (N/cf;corax n. hoact/;), yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanossa v. v/o/aceo), least bittern (^Ixobrychus e. ex/7/s), and American bittern (Bofourus /ent/g/nosus).
The predators and scavengers were represented by the turkey vulture QCarthartes a. aura^, swallow-tailed kite QElanoides f. forficatus^, goshawk (^Accipiter gentilis atricapillus'), sharp-shinned hawk (A. striatus ve/ox), Coop- er's hawk (A. cooper//), red-tailed hawk (Bufeo jamaicensis boreo//s), red- shouldered hawk (6. /. //neafus), broad-winged hawk (6. p. platypterus^, rough-legged hawk (6. lagopus s. johannis'), bald eagle QHaliaeetus I. leuco- cephalus^, golden eagle (Aqu//a clirysaetos^, marsh hawk (^Circus cyaneus hudsonius^, osprey QPandion haliaetus carolinensis'), barn owl (Tyfo alba pratincola^, screech owl (Ofus asio naev/us), great horned owl (Bubo v. v/r- ginianus^, snowy owl (N/cfea scandiaca^, hawk owl QSurnia u. u/u/a), and some of the smaller hawks, falcons, and owls.
Among the game birds of forest and field were the spruce grouse (Cana- chites canadensis canace), ruffed grouse (Bonasa u. umbe//us), greater prairie chicken QTympanuchus cupido pinnatus'), sharp-toiled grouse (^Pedioecetes phasianellus campestris^, bobwhite (quail) (Co//nus v. virginianus^. Both the whooping crane (Grus americana^ and sandhill crane (G. canadensis fob/do) were probably represented. Other medium-sized land birds included the king rail QRallus e. elegans^, Virginia roil (R. /. //m/co/a), soro rail QPorzana Caro- lina'), common gallinule QGallinula chloropus cachinnans), American coot (Fu//ca a. americana), American golden plover (P/uv/a//s dom/n/ca), black- bellied plover QSquatarola squatarola), American woodcock (Ph//ohe/a minor'), common snipe (Cape//a g. gallinago), and upland plover (^Bartramia longi- cauda).
Other birds of size included the herring gull (^Larus argentatus smithson- ianus), ring-billed gull (L. delawarensis), Bonaparte's gull (L. philadelpliia), Caspian tern (^l-lydroprogne caspia), passenger pigeon (^Ectopisfes migrafor- ius), pileated woodpecker (Dr/ocopus pileatus abieficola), common raven (Corvus corax principalis), and common crow (C. b. brachyrhynchos).
A consideration of mammals finds Burnett County again divided into north- ern and southern provinces. Nearly the northern two-thirds of the county lie in the Canadian life zone, whereas about the southern third is in the Transition zone, which separates the Canadian from the Upper Austral zone to the south (Jackson, 1961). As nearly as can be determined for the earliest historic
period, the following animals of probable importance to the Indians were present.
The squirrels were represented by the red squirrel (Tam/a-sc/urus hudson- icus minnesofa'), northern flying squirrel (G/aucom/s sobrinus macrof/s), two chipmunks (Tam/as striatus griseus') and (Eufam/as minimus /aclcson/), and probably the gray squirrel QSciurus carolinensis hypophaeus^, and ground squirrel (C/fe//us t. fr/decem/;neatus). Rabbits included the snowshoe hare (Lepus americonus phaeonofus) and possibly a cottontail (S//v;7agus flor/- danus mearns/;). Muskrats (^Ondatra z. zibethicus') and beavers (Casfor can- adensis michiganensis') inhabited the streams and lakes. Porcupines QErethi- zon d. dorsafum) were certainly present. The canines were represented by the timber wolf (Can/s lupus //caon), possibly the coyote (C. latrans thamnos'), and probably the red fox. (Vu/pes f. fu/va). The largest meat-eating animal was the black bear QEuarctos a. americanus^. Three felines were present: the panther QFelis concolor schorgeri'), lynx QLynx c. canadensis^, and bobcat (L. rufus superiorensis^. Smaller carnivors included the raccoon QProcyon lotor h/rfus), marten (A/larfes a. amer/cana), fisher (A/1, p. pennanf;), short-tailed weasel (Musfe/a erminea bangsi'), mink (A/1, vison lefifera^, badger QTaxidea taxus jacksoni^, striped skunk (^Mephitis mephitis hudsonica'), otter (Lufra c. canadensis^, and probably the wolverine (Gu/o /. /uscus).
The deer were well represented by the American elk (Cervus c. canadensis'), moose (^Alces alces anderson/), woodland caribou QRangifer caribou sylvestris'), and white-tailed deer (Odoco/7eus virginianus borea/;s), although the latter may not have been abundant. The ruminants were further represented by B;son b. bison.
Thus fishing, hunting, and the gathering of vegetal products afforded the means of supplying cultural needs of many sorts in quantity and considerable variety. In addition to sources previously listed, several undetermined varieties of fresh-water mussels are indigenous to the rivers and lakes of the region.
With the possible exception of bees, the entomological life of northwestern Wisconsin appears to have made no important contribution, as food or other- wise, to the cultural practices of the Indians, affecting their lives only in in- stances as a nuisance factor. Other sources of food and material were abund- antly present and more easily made available.
At the present time the trees with lumber value have been almost wholly eradicated through lumbering activities, and have been largely replaced by small sandy farms, with here and there a surviving stand of jackpines and an occasional second-growth white pine or hardwood. Fish in variety and turtles are plentiful in both lakes and streams; deer, bear, and smaller game still abound; ducks and geese are present in great numbers during migration periods; wild rice, once dominating the shallower lakes, is still harvested to a limited extent; and wild berries, particularly blueberries, are still abundant. The Indians who occupied this area and enjoyed its bountiful resources at the time of first contact with the European invaders are now represented only by visitors from nearby reservations eastward in Wisconsin or westward in Min- nesota.
Two mineral resources that were of importance to the Indians were noticed: fine blue and whitish clays appropriate for pottery production and an almost unlimited supply of soft hematite that could be used as on effective paint with- out grinding or other special treatment. We observed at one place in Burnett County, near the St. Croix River, the ruins of what local people describe as a former "point mine" from which great quantities of hematite were taken for commercial purposes during the late nineteenth century. Sources of chert, quortzite or other rocks from which implements could be shaped by a flaking process were not seen, but such materials are natively present in nearby coun- ties in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. The soil is sandy and not ideally suited for most crops.
The present climate, although probably somewhat drier, is much as it was when first encountered by European explorers. The winters ore long and cold, with frequent heavy snows and temperatures ranging well below zero. Un- comfortably cold weather persists through the spring months, and drifts of snow collected in shady, protected spots may endure well into June. The sum- mers ore hot, but the nights ore usually comfortably cool even after hot days. The first two months of autumn usually comprise the most temperate time of the year. Violent storms ore not too uncommon, but tornadoes do not occur as frequently as they do farther south and east in Wisconsin.
Waterways afforded easy travel by canoe or shoreline trails; down the Nomekagon west to the St. Croix; south on the St. Croix to the Mississippi, or up the Kettle River into northeastern Minnesota; up the Nomekagon east into the Chippewa Lake area; or up the north-flowing Brule River to Lake Superior. Natural routes into eastern and southeastern Wisconsin were less common since most of the streams in this area flow west or southwest into the St. Croix.
To summarize, at the time of the first European contact this was a green land of open glades, forests, and navigable rivers and lakes, plentifully sup- plied with gome, fish, and vegetal foods, and with forest-land materials from which housing, boots, tools, and other equipment could readily be fashioned. Long, cold winters were followed by short, hot summers and temperate autumn months of irregular duration. For people adequately equipped it was then and still is a productive and pleasant abode.
The cultural environment, as reported by the earliest explorers, was limited to Algonkion tribes to the north and east and Siouan tribes to the west, except for occasional visits by more distant groups bent on trade or adventure. The Algonkians of nearest and primary influence were the Ojibwo, represented most importantly by the Saulteur and Nippising. Farther north were the Cree, and to the east, beyond the Ojibwa were the Souk and Fox newly arrived from farther east. The Sioux were represented by various divisions of the Sontee Dakota and, farther to the northwest, their relatives the Assiniboin. One Siouan group, the Winnebago, dwelling at that time for to the east, made occasional trading trips into this area, as did the Huron, on Iroquoian tribe, pushing west before the pressure of their confederated linguistic relatives. There may hove been incursions of other ethnic groups from the south, where the dominant peoples at that time were the Iowa, Illinois, and the newly arrived
Mascutin. All groups neighboring to the area practiced a semi-sedentary sylvan type of culture.
As explained elsewhere herein, the natural and cultural environments pre- vailing in an earlier, truly prehistoric era are not directly pertinent to the prob- lems involved in this report.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
As indicated by the limited consideration given to temporal scope in the preceding ecological statement, the time era involved in this research, as clearly and abundantly manifested by the collected data, fluctuates narrowly between the protohistoric and historic periods. Consequently, in order to fully evaluate and correctly interpret certain data, it becomes important to outline that which is known of the earliest history of the region of the investigations.
The northwestern corner of Wisconsin, including Burnett County, was occu- pied at the dawn of local history, and probably for an appreciable period of time preceding, by the Dakota Sioux. Swanton (281) places the Sisseton division of the Dakota, at its earliest historical contact, in southern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and northern Iowa, in on area extending northward from the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers to the St. Croix River and Mille Lac. According to Thomas (B.A.E., Bull. 30), the Yankton division occupied an area north of Mille Lac, directly north of the Sisseton and other Woodland Sioux, previous to their migration to the east bank of the Missouri River by 1708. The Wahpeton division seem to have occupied much the same territory as the Sisseton, and it remains uncertain as to whether both, or pre- cisely which of these two divisions of the Dakota were the Sioux of northwestern Wisconsin. Swanton (282) places two "minor bands" of the Dakota, the Nehogatawonos and the Psinoumonitons, whom he does not identify further, near the St. Croix River in Minnesota or Wisconsin, and probably in Wisconsin. The Dakota of Wisconsin were contacted by the Jesuits by 1640, and were seen as visitors at Green Bay in 1658 (B.A.E., Bull. 30).
At the time of first contact by Europeans none of the Woodland Sioux possessed horses. According to Carver (188) there were no horses among the Dakota of the upper Mississippi region in 1768. By 1773 Peter Pond saw Spanish horses among the Sauk on the Wisconsin River. Two years later the Yankton Dakota possessed many horses, and it is logical to assume that the Sisseton, located immediately south of them, had horses at that time.
The cultural pattern of all the Woodland Sioux was that of a semisedentory hunting economy, with some gardening. The Jesuits mentioned their gardens and described their bark-ond-mat wigwams (B.A.E., Bull. 30). At death the body of the deceased was wrapped in skins and placed upon a raised scaffold. A cemetery of scaffold burials near the mouth of the St. Croix River was ob- served by Major Long's party (Bushnell, 1927: 18-19). This was the burial procedure both in winter and summer. The remains of the bodies, after disin- tegration of the softer parts, were buried in the ground. This final interment might take place during the summer following the platform disposal, or years later (Bushnell, 1927: 19). Bushnell (1927: 18) quotes Father Hennepin,
8
who was held prisoner by the Sioux at AAille Lac in 1680, regarding a man who cleaned and carried with him the bones of a relative token from a scaffold, adding: "It is reasonable to suppose that the bones of their relatives, so care- fully preserved and cared for, would later be buried." Bushnell (1927: 18) mentions a large group of artificial mounds on the northeastern shore of Mille Lac, Minnesota, some of them ten feet in height and sixty feet in diameter, and states that these were the burial places of the Sioux. One of these mounds was excavated and found to contain four secondary burials, each apparently holding the bundled bones of one individual.
Friendly trade relations between the Dakota and the Saulteur probably began in about 1660. The latter, fleeing from the Iroquois, hod left the region about Soult Ste. Marie and settled in Wisconsin at on interior lake, probably Court Oreilles, and good relations with the Dakota became for them an im- portant objective (Hickerson: 92). In 1670 the Ottawa and Huron, having had trouble with the Dakota, were forced to abandon Chequamegon. At the some time the Cree were being won to trade in the north with the Hudson Bay Com- pany. The Saulteur, however, remained friendly with the Sioux and, by 1679, established a firm alliance with them which lasted until 1736 (Hickerson: 92-4, 98). However, by 1739 the Sioux and the Chippewa were at war, en- gaged in a lasting conflict that resulted in the Sioux being driven westward out of Wisconsin (Douglass: 27). By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Dakota had departed for to the west of their former homes in Wisconsin and Minnesota. At a trade conference in 1825, the Chippewa claimed all of north- ern Wisconsin west of the Menomini Indians (B.A.E., Bull. 30).
THE SITES AND TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED
The Clam Lake Mound (Bt-1) is located centrally in a small publicly owned square called Mound Beach Park, situated on the west shore of Upper Clam Lake in the SW Va of the NE Va of Section 34, Meenon Twp., R 16 W, T 38 N, Burnett County. It is slightly conoidal rather than hemispherical in its vertical contours, and has a maximum height above sod-line of 14 feet, and a maximum width of 90 feet. It was covered with low brush and young poplar trees which hod to be cleared away before excavation was undertaken. The mound stands on a very gentle slope between the lake shore and the rood which runs parallel to it, with the eastern edge of the tumulus but a few feet from the lake's high- water margin (Fig. 1).
The Spencer Lake Mound (Bt-2), before removal at the owner's dictation, was situated near the north shore of Spencer Lake, on the S V2 (near the line dividing the SE Va from the SW Va^ of Section 26, La Follette Twp., R 15 W, T 38 N, Burnett County. The site is about one and one-half miles north of the Polk County boundary line. The mound stood on the north margin of a corn field that separated it from the lake shore, and the Clam River passed a short distance northeast of the site. This mound, too, was slightly conoidal rather than hemispherical in shape. It had a maximum height above sod-line of 13.5 feet and a maximum width of 70 feet. It was covered with grass, weeds, and some low brush that offered no clearing problem (Fig. 2).
The same procedure of excavation was employed at both mounds. A
square horizontal grid at base level, true to major compass directions deter- mined by surveying instruments, was laid out to divide the mound area into ten-foot squares, and stakes were placed at all grid intersections. Elevations were taken at all staked points on the grid. Excavation was conducted in vertical north-south tiers determined by the stakes, starting simultaneously at the east and west margins of the grid, which extended clearly beyond the apparent slope-borders of the mound, and progressing toward the center. The mound materials were sufficiently soft to permit removal by shovel without the aid of picks or mattocks. The direction of digging in each tier was from top to bottom, the shovel being directed first vertically to remove thin, shallow loads, and secondly to clear a horizontal surface after each layer of shovel loads had been removed. This method of removal permitted close and careful observance of soil content and structural peculiarities continuously as the work proceeded. When the edge of a tool touched a harder substance, or unusual sub- stances or colorations were observed, the shovel was replaced by a trowel or other hand tools, which were then used until the nature of the occurrence was defined and completely explored. As each tier was reduced, the vertical sur- face of the remaining mound, was smoothed, and a final smoothing and charting of each of these profiles was undertaken after the removal of the tier was completed. In charting and recording the phenomena on each such profile, elevations and appropriate measurements were taken of all points of interest. If a feature, such as a burial, appeared to extend from one tier into the remaining section of the mound, excavation of the succeeding tier was started to permit the feature to be exposed entirely; however, in such instances a record of the profile above the feature was made before its removal.
All significant features, whether burials, artifacts, structural features, or other noteworthy peculiarities, were exposed and cleaned in situ, given an identification number, measured, located vertically and laterally, charted, de- scribed, and also photographed when practical. Care and technical aids were
Fig. 1— Clam Lake Mound (Bt-l ) MPM Neg. 414367
employed in the removal and preservation of specimens wherever possible. Notes were taken through the use of a series of fill-in forms, including one each for: general survey, mound elevations, profiles, burials, physical data, and other features. In addition, these records were augmented by special notes. All forms, charts, and notes were assembled in loose-leaf notebooks.
The Clam Lake Mound was completely restored after excavation. The Spencer Lake Mound, as required by the property owner, was permanently removed.
Student members of the field parties were assigned to perform in turn the various types of work involved in the total operation, in order that each stu- dent should acquire some experience with the various equipments and in the various techniques employed.
THE CLAM LAKE MOUND (Bt-1)
The mass of the mound material was a sandy loam, such as characterizes the top soil of the entire surrounding area. Special, exceptional materials em- ployed in the mound construction will be described as they were encountered. The material was so sandy that, in spite of its compact nature, the attempt to preserve total profiles near the center of the mound was abandoned after destructive cave-ins followed a heavy shower. As a result, centrally located profiles of the upper half and lower half of the mound, successively, were pre- pared and charted separately, and later associated on paper to show total profiles.
As mound reduction proceeded, it became apparent that burials occurred at various levels throughout the mound, situated from the level of the mound floor to within two feet of the mound's top surface. In all, fifty-one separate interments were found. These without exception were secondary burials, for the most part compound, representing from one to at least twelve individuals
Fig. 2— Spencer Lake Mound CBt-2) MP/VI Neg. 4] 6592
k
each. As nearly as could be determined from the incomplete and often highly decomposed skeletal remains, there were seventeen burials with bones repre- senting a single individual, fifteen in which at least two individuals were indi- cated, five with three individuals, two with four individuals, five with five individuals, and one each with six, eight, eleven, and twelve individuals, re- spectively. In addition, there were three burials disturbed by a previous central-pit excavation (of undetermined origin), each representing a minimum of one individual. Thus, the minimum number of individuals buried in this mound totaled 135.
The aggregations of bones varied considerably in character. There were examples of loosely clustered elements representing practically all of the human skeleton; compact bundles of leg and arm bones exclusively, or nearly so, of any other skeletal ports; combinations of both; and one unique pile consisting of twelve crania clustered about miscellaneous other bones. In in- stances, many of the burial's long bones, particularly femora and ulnas, were roughly perforated, as if by a blow from a blunt instrument, at points below and usually adjacent to their proximal ends. Where several individuals were represented in a single deposit, the bones usually were mixed and tangled, with long bones assuming all angles from horizontal to vertical, suggesting that the means of deposit was that of dumping from some container without further arrangement. Although it was ascertained that the skeletal remains represented adults and children of both sexes, adequate physical studies were postponed until laboratory facilities could be made available. These studies were never mode, and any report thereon must await such studies.
Fig. 3— Partial central profile. Clam Lake Mound showing strata MP/VI Neg. 414576
'iwa«Ma>a>«waMa(nB^
As profiles began to assume proportions that permitted a revelation of structural details, curving strata became apparent, arching from the mound floor and generally following the dome-like contours of the mound. These strata were apparent because of their lighter, yellowish color in contrast to the darker, brownish color of the adjoining mound materials. There were three of these strata, placed in succession one above the other. On the central pro- files they appeared as concentric arches, rising in maximum 4 feet, 7 feet 5 inches, and 1 1 feet 2 inches, respectively, above the mound floor (Fig. 3). Actually, these arcs were the cross-section evidence of concentric domes, each marking the surface of one of three successive stages of mound construction. These successive mounds may be designated as a primary, secondary, and ter- tiary mound, built successively one on top of the other, and finally covered with a quarternary mound. For purposes of reference they will be designated herein as Mound I, Mound II, Mound III, and Mound IV, respectively divided by Stratum I, Stratum II, and Stratum III (Fig. 4). At base levels these suc- cessive structures were approximately 34, 53, 70, and 90 feet in maximum diameter.
The light-colored strata were roughly irregular in outline and of fluctuating thickness, no doubt having been deposited spottedly and altered somewhat from their original character by such agencies as infiltrating water, growing roots, and burrowing animals. However, their trend and artificial nature was convincingly clear. The nature of the material, both in color and texture, was identical to nearby lake-shore beach deposits of clear, water-washed sand.
There was evidence that each of these strata had marked the surface of the mound at a time interval between stages of erection. First, there was apparent at various exposures of the several strata the type of cross-bedded striations indicative of exposure to water flow, such as might be effected on the surface of a mound during rainfall. These water-deposited striations were invariably present at the base of a light-colored stratum rather than in or above the stratum itself; that is to say, on the surface of a mound preceding the deposit of the layer of yellow sand. Second, at several places, particularly below Stratum III, there were present the decayed roots of good-sized trees extending down into the mound below the base of the stratum (Fig. 5). In one instance, the decayed stump of a conifer actually remained above the roots and passed upward through the stratum. Based upon diameter alone, this tree was probably in the neighborhood of twenty years old when cut, according to the estimate of a visiting forester. This would appear to be posi- tive evidence that there was a time interval of a considerable number of years between the completion of Mound III and the erection of Mound IV.
As these strata and other features in the mound were located and studied, it became apparent that the burials were associated with the strata, each occurring in or so closely associated with the yellow material as to comprise a part of one of the strata. Characteristically the light-colored sand imme- diately underlay the bones, but in instances the association was less clear due to the discoloration of the stratum material, possibly from staining caused by the deterioration of substances deposited with the bones. Six burials were located in Stratum I, fifteen in Stratum II, and twenty-seven in Stratum III. The
13
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/ /I
= ae o
Fig. 5— Roofs and low stump rising from Stratum III, Clam Lake Mound AIPM Neg. 414563
remaining three of the total of fifty-one burials were so disturbed from the previous central-pit excavation that their locations could not be determined. Laterally each of these three layers of burials was distributed rather unevenly over the surface of the mound that had existed at the time of disposal (Figs. 6, 7, 8).
These data define a burial and mound erection procedure. A small rounded mound was erected, about 4 feet high and 34 feet in maximum diameter. The purpose of this mound is not clear, other than that it covered a feature to be de- scribed hereafter. It may have covered a burial of which little remained to warrant the attention of the excavators. It was not determined that the com- pletion of this primary mound was followed by any appreciable period of time before the next phase of activities, but there was an interval of time. Then the major portion of the mound was covered with an uneven layer of clean beach sand, following any clearing of the surface that may have seemed nec- essary. The skeletal remains of dead, previously disposed where exposure
15
Fig. 6— Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum I, Clam Lake Mound a— floor perimeter of Mound I b— floor perimeter of superimposed Mound II
Fig. 7— Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum II, Clam Lake Mound a— floor perimeter of Mound II b— floor perimeter of superimposed Mound III
FIG.7
16
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ro cvj
X
<ex
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= §
00
6
,t^ -n t
-S§
•;; "= <5= 2 I I
17
would have reduced the remains largely to bones, were grouped, according to categories not apparent from our data, into six separate clusters or entities and placed more or less centrally over the prepared surface of the mound. The entire primary mound was then covered with a thick blanket of earth, roughly approximating three feet in thickness, to create a surmounting sec- ondary mound. After an undetermined time period, the surface of this second mound was cleared, cleaned, and covered with clean beach sand. Fifteen separate packages of human bones were then placed on the prepared surface of the mound, distributed rather evenly over the top and upper slopes of the structure. Over these, earth was piled to a depth of between three and four feet to produce a surmounting tertiary mound. The evidence of a tree stump with roots penetrating into the tertiary mound, and of other roots similarly present below the surface of this stage of the mound, representing a minimum of fourteen trees, indicates that this third mound stood for an estimated twenty years before the final stage of mound construction. Finally, the surface of the mound was cleared of the brush and trees that had accumulated through the years elapsing since its erection. Fire may have been used to help in the clearing, as the roots of one tree were charred. Again, the surface of the cleared mound was covered with a layer of clean beach sand. Then twenty-seven de- posits of bones were placed over the prepared surface, and dirt was piled over them to produce the fourth and final mound, adding approximately three feet to the previous height of the tumulus.
Fig. 9— Vertical profile, showing red ochre feature on central floor. Clam Lake Mound A1PM Neg. 414588
mOm
Fig. 10— Burial 41, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 173770
Mound I included a structural feature of a striking nature. The central floor of the mound, consisting of an area 30 feet in diameter, was covered to a central depth of two feet with a material that was primarily pure red ochre. Running spottedly through this amazing pile of "point," with which the semi-nude excavators painted their faces and bodies most effectively, were thin striae and occasional solid lens-shaped loads of a rich block muck. The colorful effect of these mixed elements as seen in vertical profile, a view which the builders of course never had, was most striking (Fig. 9). No burials, cul- tural objects, or other features of any kind were found in this great mass of ochre, which comprised the major portion of Mound I.
Profile lensing, apparent here as nowhere else in the mound due to sharply contrasting colors of involved materials, provided the only evidence that mound construction, in any of its phases, was effected by the accumulative deposit of small loads of materials such as might be carried in baskets or bags.
Burial Types
As previously stated, burials ranged in character from a few bones repre- sentative of a single individual to a moss of skeletal parts representing many individuals, and from neatly compact bundles of bones to masses presenting a disorganized tangle with bones protruding in all directions. The following nine burials have been selected for description and illustration as representa- tive of this variety.
Burial 41, a Stratum II interment, consisted of on occipital fragment and three segments of long bones, all in a poor state of preservation, representing the simplest form of disposal in which the fragmentary remains of one indi- vidual are represented (Fig. 10).
19
Fig. 1 1— Burial 1 1, Clam Lake Mound MP/M Neg. 414462
Fig. 12— Burial 2, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414488
Burial 11, a Stratum III interment, is selected as a somewhat more typical disposal of the bones of from one to two individuals. The two crania in this instance are placed together and other bones, for the most part arm and leg parts, are placed beside them in a fairly parallel order (Fig. 11). This type would seem to be a single, compact, orderly bundle.
Burial 2, a Stratum III interment, presents a compact bundle including bones from a single individual, but in addition there are elongate and cranial bones protruding at an angle from below the top unit, and a scattering of decayed bone fragments at the northern margin of the top unit. This may represent two or three originally compact bundles, each with bones representative of a single individual, dumped rather carelessly together, or disturbed in the course of covering them with soil (Fig. 12).
Burial 37, from Stratum II, is selected to illustrate a compact bundle, pri- marily of long bones although a few cranial fragments ore present, repre- senting at least three individuals (Fig. 13).
Fig. 13— Burial 37, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416625
V
Fig. 14— Burial 28, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414562
Fig. ]5 — Bunoi 31, Ciam Loke Mound MPM Neg. 144568
Fig. 16— Burial 23, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414538
In instances no cranial parts are present in this type, but a vertebra or two, several rib fragments, or sacral parts may be present. In other instances only long bones are present.
Burial 28, situated in Stratum III, is a compact bundle of bones including a variety of skeletal parts, representing a minimum of five adult individuals (Fig. 14). This was the most common type of bundle found in the mound.
Burial 31, a Stratum II interment, presents a combination of four separate, compact bundles, representing a total of at least five individuals. The small bundle contained a jumbled mixture of fragmentary juvenile bones, of which a few were calcined or charred (Fig. 15).
Burial 23, a Stratum III interment, illustrates a type of burial in which the bones, probably representing not more than two individuals in this instance, are in complete disorder, angled and crisscrossed, with some bones even pro- truding upward (Fig. 16). This effect could have been the result of dumping the loose bones from a container on their final resting place.
Burial 30, situated in Stratum III, is like Burial 23 in type except that it contains more bones, although representing only two identifiable individuals, and exhibits even greater disorder (Fig. 17).
Fig. 17— Burial 30, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414569
Fig. 18— Burial 40, Clam Lake Mound, showing birch bark cover in place l\APl^ Neg. 414610
Burial 40, a Stratum I interment, is in most respects unique. It is definitely bundled; in fact, the birch bark wrapping completely enclosing the bones, was intact and in fairly good state of preservation (Fig. 18). The arrangement was that of a bulky bundle of elongate and other bones standing on end and completely enclosed by an outer layer consisting of twelve crania, each of which had been broken into in the occipital region (Fig. 19).
The remaining 39 burials corresponded in type to one or another of those described above as typical examples.
Fig. 19— Burial 40 after birch bark cover was removed. Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414638
ASSOCIATIONS AND FEATURES
Materials and other data of cultural import, which could logically be ascribed to the authors of the mound rather than accidentally present in the mound filler, were located as follows.
Associated with Stratum 1
Above and somewhat to the north of Burial 48, and immediately west of Burial 45, were the fragmentary remains of a folded piece of birch bark. The poor state of preservation prevented the collecting of information on either shape or size. Birch bark was also present with each of the five other burials in Stratum I. Burial 40, a large compound burial previously described, was entirely wrapped in well preserved birch bark (Fig. 18). The bones of Burial 44, a disorderly pile of skeletal ports representing a minimum of two indi- viduals, had been disposed on a bark floor, of which only a portion was pre- served, and hod been covered with bark at least on the south side. A small, flat, irregular layer of bark was also found northwest of the actual bone re- mains, at the some level. Burial 46, apparently including the bones of two individuals in a very poor state of preservation, was placed in a large, shallow, bowl-shaped container of birch bark, 2.6 by 3.3 feet in cross dimensions and .8 foot in depth. Immediately south of the burial, at burial-floor level, was a small piece of bark painted red and covered with another layer of bark. On the painted surface was the barely identifiable remains of a small fragment of thin, fragile textile of close checker weave. The entire floor of Burial 47, con- taining the poorly preserved remains of a minimum of two individuals, was covered with bark over on area 2.3 by 2.8 feet in cross dimensions. The state of preservation of the bark varied between exceedingly poor and very good. Selected pieces were dried out and preserved without the use of chemical aids. With Burial 47, associated with the bones of one of the two adults was found a textile fragment, almost reduced to a negative impression in the soil, and strands of human hair. The textile weave was not clearly discernible. On the bark floor covering of the burial was the remains of a beaver skin con- sisting of practically all the fur and four sets of clows. Remains of the skin itself were not apparent. The skin hod been deposited beside rather than under the skeletal parts.
South of and slightly above the level of Burial 47, but definitely in asso- ciation therewith, were the remains of a small pottery vessel, originally placed on its side or assuming that position as the mound material settled. The orifice was directed to the east. Apparently intact when placed there, it had cracked and had to be removed in several pieces (Fig. 53).
Associated with Burial 45 was a small, shallowly side-notched, triangular propectile point and a freshwater mussel valve encased in black lake-bottom muck.
Immediately above the bones of Burial 44, on the bark covering, were clustered a flat stone, two pottery elbow pipes with short stems directed to the northeast, several fragments of pottery, and a brown substance that was
25
' 'i*
Fig. 20— Burial 44, Clam Lake Mound, showing pottery pipes in sh\^ NiPtA Neg. 414635
certainly vegetal and could have been the remains of tobacco. The pipes were characterized by flaring bowls and short, conical stems (Figs. 20, 21).
The twelve crania in Burial 40, all appearing to be of females, had crushed-in occiputs, as though struck with a club or similarly blunt instrument. The broken fragments were still in place in the crushed areas.
Several features occurring in Mound I or Stratum I independent of burials are worthy of attention. Of these the most striking was the central deposit of varicolored earth materials, primarily pure red ochre, and amounting to more than 200 cubic yards, as previously mentioned (p. 19, Fig. 9). Di- rectly below the center of this feature, on the original cleaned mound floor, was a stone fireplace consisting of on irregular plot of igneous stones, one stone in thickness, exhibiting a paucity of charcoal and ash but abundant evi- dence of firing (Fig. 22). The plot was 2.3 by 1.8 feet in lateral dimensions.
26
Fig. 21 — Pottery pipes from Burial 44, Clam Lake Mound Cat. Nos. 43269, 43270. MPM Negs. 204615-6
Fig. 22— Stone fireplace in situ, Clam Lake Mound (feature 15) MPM Neg. 414540
Fig. 23— Pile of charred pine knots (feature 14) in situ, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414522
Between the stones was found a small middle section of a human humerus and, at one end of this bone, a small piece of red ochre.
The remains of at least eight pine knots were found clustered over a lat- eral area 4.8 by 2.2 feet, immediately above the red ochre deposit and near the surface of Mound I. These bore evidence of fire, suggesting use as torches (Fig. 23).
A large rimsherd of typical Clam River pottery was found near the floor of the mound, apparently not associated with any specific mound feature. This sherd could hove been accidentally present in the mound material.
28
Associated with Stratum II
Of the fifteen burials in Stratum II, marking the prepared top of Mound II, five had related bark features. With Burial 29, containing the poorly preserved bone fragments of at least one adult individual, was the fragmentary remains of a bark floor, 2.5 feet east and west and 2.8 feet in north-south dimensions. Below the north end of the burial the bark was covered thinly with red ochre. Burial 32, representing partially three adults and two children, was situated partly in and partly over the southwest edge of a bowl-shaped bark container, resembling, in the process of excavation, a bark-lined pit. The birch bark was poorly preserved and only intact in detached fragments (Figs. 24, 25). The apparent dimensions of the original container were 4.1 by 3.1 feet laterally and 1 foot in central depth. There was also a fragment of bark lying imme- diately north of the burial at the same level. Burial 33, a mass of bones repre- senting at least eleven individuals, as indicated by the presence of nineteen adult femurs and several infant bones, was completely covered with birch bark, one piece of which was wrapped around the east side of the deposit to extend narrowly under the burial floor. Heavy layers of bark had been placed both under and over Burial 35, which contained the remains of a minimum of four individuals. The bark was best preserved on the north side. Burial 36a, the remains of three adults placed directly above and but thinly separated from Burial 36b, was deposited in a bowl-shaped bark container 4.0 by 2.7 feet in lateral dimensions and 1.2 feet in central depth. This bark bowl was all that separated the bones of the "a" and "b" divisions of the burial. Thin de- posits of red ochre were present sporadically on the surface of the bark. Also present were fragments of a bark covering over the bones. Small fragments of bark, thinly colored with red ochre, were also identified under Burial 36b.
The possible remains of food were found associated with several burials. A cluster of nodules suggestive in appearance of dried fruit, mixed with pure, bright red ochre, was present on the bark floor of Burial 29. Darkly colored fibrous material was found in the bark container at the east end of Burial 32. A few small fragments of calcined (cooked?) animal bones were clustered in Burial 33. Both valves of a mussel shell were placed at the south edge of the bark under-wrapping of Burial 35.
The only artifacts present with burials in Stratum II were: a section of human parietal bone cut to resemble a shallow bowl, too soft and friable to permit preservation, found with Burial 35; a fragment of worked mussel shell with Burial 36b; and three unnotched end-scrapers, several chert flakes, and small bits of pottery scattered through the disturbed remains of Burial 39.
At the eastern end of Burial 33, placed on the underlying bark, was a series of wooden elements resembling roots or pieces of grapevine. These were placed in a criss-cross disarray that did not appear to be so arranged for any purpose. There was no evidence of f re. Several short wooden sticks also were present with the bones of Burial 36b.
There was a small deposit of charred human bone at the northwestern edge and above the bones of Burial 36b. Of questionable significance in this respect was the presence of two firestones located at the northern edge of the burial below the bark container.
29
Fig. 24— Burial 32, Ciam Lake Mound, showing the bones resting in the remains of a birch bark container
/VIPM Neg. 414577
Fig. 25— Remains of birch bark container after removal of Burial 32, Clam Lake Mound
MPM Neg. 4)4573
Two important features found in Stratum II but not directly associated with burials were the clustered remains of two broken pottery vessels. The absence of some ports of these vessels would indicate that either ports were broken away and missing when the vessels were placed in the mound, or that they were broken before placement in the mound and some parts, through negli- gence or intent, were not included in the pile of sherds carried to their final place of deposit. One of these. Feature 16 (Fig. 26), had as a single cultural association a medium-sized fire-stone. Although many important ports were missing, it was possible to restore this vessel (Fig. 27). The other pot, Feature 17 (Fig. 28), hod only a few sherds missing and was also restored (Fig. 29). In the course of its removal, after it hod been classified and charted as an independent feature, the fragile remains of a small child's maxilla was found associated. It remains questionable, however, if this can be described as o burial, and it is not included with burial data in this report. Also present with the pottery were two fire-stones and two quartz scrapers. Both specimens of pottery were of the Clam River, Wropped-Stomp, Globoid type (pp. 56, 60).
Feature 22 was o fairly well preserved bowl-shaped birch bark container, 2.9 by 3.2 feet in cross dimensions and approximately 1.0 foot in central depth (Fig. 30). This feature was independent of any recognizable remains of a burial, although it lay intermediate between several burials as though it hod been thrown to one side following its use, possibly that of carrying skeletal remains or funeral goods to the site of interment.
Fig. 26— Sherds of pottery vessel (feature 16) in situ, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414537
fw
A
Fig. 27— Restoration of pottery vessel (feature 16), Clam Lake Mound Cat. No. 43234 /WPM Neg. 204608
Fig. 28— Sherds of pottery vessel (feature 17) in situ, Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414539
A second bark container apparently independent from a burial was desig- nated as Feature 8. This was a rather poorly preserved bowl-shaped artifact, probably made of elm bark, averaging about 2.5 feet in diameter and so crushed as to defeat any reliable estimate of its depth. It lay bottom-side up, as if carelessly thrown to one side when its use was no longer required (Fig. 31).
The well preserved specimens of bark containers, whether present in Stratum I or Stratum II, exhibited interesting details of their construction. They were made of three sheets of bark so shaped that when they were sewed together, by a technique apparently similar to birch bark canoe sewing, the result was a broad, shallow, bowl-like basin (Fig. 32).
Fig. 29— Restoration of pottery vessel (feature 17), Clam Lake Mound Cat. No. 43236 MPM Neg. 71952
33
Fig. 30— Birch bark container found independent of burials, in situ (feature 22), Clam Lake Mound
MPM Neg. 414639
Fig. 31— Small inverted elm bark container (feature 8) in s/fu, found independent of burials. Clam Lake Mound
MPM Neg. 414477
Fig. 32— Portion of birch bark container, in situ, showing holes for sewing MPM Neg. 414612
{:^r>MM^ ^ '-• \ ■MJGi..€ , > .■ ':^ ■ V
Associated with Stratum III
Perhaps the most significant thing about the burials in Stratum III, the top and therefore final layer of burials, was that with the 27 interments there was found not so much as a scrap of birch or any other kind of bark. Apparently the use of bark as an element employed in burial procedure, a common prac- tice at the time of burials located both in Stratum I and Stratum II, had been discarded before the placement of burials in Stratum III. Moreover, red ochre was found associated with burials or other features in this stratum in only two instances: a small amount in Burial 10, and another area 2.0^ by 2.5 feet in cross dimensions exhibiting a mixture of red ochre and black muck independent of any other feature.
The outstanding feature of this stratum was the presence of tree roots ex- tending down from the yellowish sand, marking the former presence of trees, some of them rather good-sized, growing on Mound III previous to their re- moval in the course of preparing the mound surface for the third stratum of burials. Clearcut examples of these clusters of roots were designated as features 19, 20, and 23, the last two representing pine trees with low portions of the stumps remaining (Fig. 5). Features 3 and 9 represented less pronounced examples, although the presence of roots in both features was beyond dispute. Burial 5 was placed immediately beside the roots and low stump of a good- sized tree, in fact so close that at first it was thought to be under the roots. A closer examination, however, determined that there were no roots immediately above any part of the burial, and no roots extending upward from the pre- pared surface of Mound III into the capping material of Mound IV. The presence of these remains of trees that had grown upon the surface of Mound III previ- ous to its preparation and use as a place of burial represents a period of con- siderable time, certainly a span of not a few years, between the erection of Mound III and the use of its surface as a place for the final deposit of the dead. The possible age of these trees does not, however, limit the time period between Stratum II and Stratum III burial deposits, since the mound may have stood for a considerable period of time previous to the growth of trees on its surface, particularly if it stood for a time in a natural clearing or artificially cleared area.
An odd pottery vessel, quite foreign in character to known Clam River ware, was found independent of burials in Stratum III and recorded as Feature 18. It had been crushed from above so that the sherds covered an area 1.8 by 2.0 feet in dimensions (Figs. 33, 34). There was present on the inner bottom surface a dork encrustation representing contents during some period of its utility. The relatively thin, hard wore was characterized by a vertically elongated sub- conoidal shape, and an outer surface bearing criss-cross carved-poddle imprints, and a simple undecorated rim. It is given a descriptive name herein: Burnett stamped conoidal.
Feature 6 was a fragmentary and scattered lot of potsherds encountered 1.5 feet south of Burial 1. The sherds do not seem to represent a single vessel. The wore is characteristic of the Clam River type. Two sherds of the same va- riety of ware were found associated with Burial 5. With Burial 20, a bundle made up primarily of long bones and representing a minimum of three indi- viduals, was found a large pottery vessel of the Clam River type. The pot.
35
Fig. 33— Sherds of a typical pot in situ (feature 18), Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414544
crushed flat presumably from the weight of materials in the mound above it, was immediately south of and adjoining the burial. Apparently it had been placed on its side with the mouth directed to north, or it hod been inadvertently turned over in the course of constructing the covering mound (Figs. 35, 36). There was no evidence of contents.
Laid parallel to some of the long bones of Burial 9, the poorly preserved remains of one adult individual, was a short decayed stick of wood; and to the east of this, parallel to each other but at right angles to the bones, were three similar pieces of wood placed about one-half foot apart. These unexplain- able additions to the burial bones ranged in length from .9 to 2.5 feet. They showed no evidence of firing.
Fig. 34— Restoration of feature 18 pottery vessel. Clam River Mound Cat. No. 43263 MPM Neg. 204926
36
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Fig. 35— Sherds of pottery vessel with Burial 20, in situ. Clam Lake Mound MPM Neg. 414536
Similar deposits of sticks were present elsewhere in the stratum independent of burials. Feature 7 was a cluster of several sections of rotten wood, ranging from 1 to 3 inches in diameter and from 1 to 4 feet in length. They were situ- ated a short distance east of Burial 1 and were scattered down the slope of the Mound III surface. Feature 10 was a compact cluster of small logs and sticks, lying closely parallel or, in a few instances, transversely across the others. Beneath this pile were the remains of a quantity of reeds and twigs. All showed evidence of having been fired but not consumed. This probable fireplace was located about equidistant between Burials 2 and 1 1. Feature 21 consisted of pieces of crisscrossed charred wood occupying an area 1.8 by 1.6 feet in cross dimensions. There was nothing to indicate that they were fired where found.
Fig. 36— Restoration of pottery vessel with Burial 20, Clam Lake Mound Cat. No. 43235 MPM Neg. 71951
37
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o
38
THE SPENCER LAKE MOUND (Bt-2)
The mound material was a sandy soil, light yellowish brown in color, with a thin humus element present. In all respects it was identical in appearance to the surface soil in the adjoining corn field. The floor of the mound had been cleaned of surface humus preceding mound erection, as evidenced by the absence of a humus line in profile at the mound base. The mound soil was less compact than that of the Clam Lake Mound, probably because of the rela- tive deficiency in humus content.
Previous unidentified diggers had entered the mound by means of a deep central pit and two side trenches, accounting for the disturbance of three burials but otherwise effecting slight damage.
The excavation procedure followed was identical to that previously de- scribed for the Clam Lake Mound, but here we were fortunate in completing intact vertical profiles without the cave-ins experienced at the former site. These profiles exhibited in cross section the same order of light-colored strata en- countered in the Clam Lake Mound, although they were not as distinctly appar- ent due to the generally lighter color of the Spencer Lake Mound material (Fig. 37). Here again three strata of clean yellowish sand marked the surfaces of three successive intervals in the mound construction and the presence of three related layers of burials, each covered by a succeeding stage of soil deposition.
The mound stood in an exceedingly shallow basin, detectable only to a careful, exploratory eye. Measurements with instruments showed a drop of 2.1 feet from the surrounding surface over a distance of 100 feet extending south from the fioor edge of the mound, a drop of 2.2 feet over the same dis- tance west of the mound edge, and 2.0 feet over the some distance east of the mound edge. A wooded, non-leveJ area north of the mound prevented a com- parable measurement there, but a similar upward slope to the north was de- termined. The soil within this gentle basin, in which the mound stood centrally located, contained a much lighter, thinner humus element than characterized the soil extending outward from the basin. This was not only apparent to the eye but was very noticeable in the plant growth within and without the basin area. A corn field approached to the very foot of the mound, and the corn outside the basin was higher than the corn inside, fully twice as high as that nearest the mound.
A plausible explanation of this phenomenon is that the builders of the mound collected at least a good portion of the soil material, possibly all of the final quaternary addition to it, from the area immediately around the mound site, so robbing it of its surface humus. Accepting such a hypothesis, it is inter- esting to note that insuflRcient time had elapsed since this last structural effort occurred to permit a substantial natural replacement of the humus.
In a limited area on the north side of the mound there was some confusion apparent in the burials associated with Stratum III, and also in the stratum itself which seemed to divide into two closely intervoled layers. To contribute to the confusion, several of the burials appeared to lie between, rather than definitely associated with these divided areas. At first a distinction was made
39
between burials in Stratum Ilia and Stratum lllb, the latter being designated in the field as Stratum X. However, the in-between burials are not accounted for in this too-specific terminology, and it seems more accurate to consider strata Ilia and lllb as an unaccountably thick portion of Stratum III. No expla- nation of this stratal division presents itself, occurring as it does only on a limited portion of the north side of the mound. If one is permitted to guess, without the support of confirming data, some of the participants in the burial rites arrived on the scene late, re-prepared a section of the surface of Mound III of adequate size to serve their purposes, and there deposited their dead.
In all, 58 separate burials were found, all of secondary type, ranging from the partial remains of a single individual to compound skeletal masses repre- senting at least sixteen individuals. Four interments had been placed on, or in pits below the mound floor, including the remains of a minimum of twelve individuals, and covered by the low primary structure. Mound I. The layer of clean yellow sand characterizing all other burial layers was not noticeable in the cose of these initial interments. Associated with Stratum I on top of Mound I were 12 burials, representing a total of 29 individuals (Fig. 38). In Stratum II, atop Mound II, were 19 burials, representing a minimum of 55 individuals (Fig. 39). In Stratum III (including Ilia and lllb) there were 23 interments, representing a minimum of 86 individuals (Fig. 40). Thus, a minimum total of 182 individuals were represented in 58 separate deposits of bones encountered in the mound. Twenty-six burials contained skeletal parts respectively repre- sentative of at least one individual; nine burials represented two individuals; eight, three individuals; two, four individuals; four, five individuals; one, six individuals; two, seven individuals; two, eight individuals; and one each, ten, eleven, thirteen and sixteen individuals.
Fig. 38— Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum 1, Spencer Lake Mound a— floor perimeter of Mound I b— floor perimeter of superimposed Mound II
X STRATUM BURIAL
A FLOOR
BURIAL
0 SUB_FLOOR PIT BURIAL
FIG. 38
40
FIG. 39
Fig. 39 — Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum II, Spencer Lake Mound a— floor perimeter of Mound II b— floor perimeter of superimposed Mound 111
Fig. 40— Lateral disposal of burials in Stratum 111, Spencer Lake Mound a— floor perimeter of Mound 111 b— floor perimeter of superimposed Mound IV
8 X X ,1 4
^X27X X •' Xx5
^5 I3X
2IX 7X x29 XI3
23X ^36 ^X 39X X44
4r X12
FIG. 40
41
Burial Types
The variation in the nature of the separate aggregations of bones was similar to that encountered in the Clam Lake Mound, including both compact orderly bundles and unorganized tangles with bones protruding in all direc- tions. In the Spencer Lake Mound, however, there were a preponderance of the latter, irregular arrangements over the orderly bundle type. The following descriptions of thirteen Spencer Lake burials are selected to illustrate this variety in burial deposition.
Burial 40 (Fig. 41), a Stratum II interment, consisted solely of a compact cluster of long bones, placed in parallel arrangement and closely spaced, dis- posed in a position corresponding to the slope of Mound II on which it was placed. The state of preservation was poor. There were no associated features.
Fig. 41 — Burial 40, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416649
Fig. 42— Burial 21, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 4T6610
Burial 21 (Fig. 42), a Stratum III interment, consisted solely of the poorly preserved remains of a cranium and articulated lower maxilla, disposed on the right side. There was no indication of additional bones and no associated features.
43
Fig. 43— Burial 9, Spencer Lake Mound
MP/W Neg. 416582
Burial 9 (Fig. 43), situated near the outer edge of Stratum I, consisted of a fairly well preserved cranium and some indication of a few associated bones in the last stages of disintegration. There were no associated features.
Burial 37 (Fig. 44), situated near the eastern edge of Stratum I, illustrates a much better representation of the bones of one individual, including a tight cluster of long bones in addition to the cranium with articulated lower maxilla.
Fig. 44— Burial 37, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416658
44
This burial is typical of the compact bundle containing the principal remains of one individual. There were thin striae of black muck below and around the bones, occurring in the yellow sand of Stratum I.
Burial 35 (Fig. 45), situated in Stratum I, presents an example of a complex of individual bundles such as that illustrated in Burial 37, in this case including four such bundles. One of these individual bundles, however, judging from the near-vertical position of the long bones, appears to have been dumped in without any attention being given to final arrangement. Red ochre in small quantities was found with the bones. Some of the vertebrae and foot bones, respectively, were articulated, suggesting the presence of more perishable parts at the time of interment.
The next series of burials described represents complex masses of bones exhibiting no tendency to segregate the individuals, and offering the appear- ance of piles of loose bones dumped without arrangement of any kind at the place of deposit.
Fig. 45— Burial 35, Spencer Lake Mound /WP/W Neg. 616664
45
Burial 11 (Fig. 46), a Stratum III interment, contains the partial remains of at least five individuals, most of the bones in a relatively poor state of pres- ervation. Many of the elongate bones stood in a nearly vertical position.
Burial 8 (Fig. 47), also a Stratum III interment, presented a similar tangle of skeletal parts from a minimum of five individuals, the long bones extending in all directions.
Burial 27 (Fig. 48), another Stratum III feature, contained the remains of a minimum of seven individuals grouped without apparent arrangement into one solid moss. Some red ochre was present with the bones, and a freshwater mussel shell was in association.
The following series of burials represents deposits of bones showing a less compact disposal, suggesting that loose bones, dumped on the sloping side of a mound, had a tendency to scatter down the hill side.
Fig. 46— Burial II, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416623
fZ: ;.' b ?.'.IJ w-*j>' .■;'*? .'? »J
46
Fig. 47— Burial 8, Spencer Lai<e Mound MPM Neg. 416605
Fig. 48— Burial 27, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416689
Burial 23 (Fig. 49), deposited in Stratum III, displayed the partial remains of at least ten individuals, disposed on a plane parallel to the slope of the mound. There were three clusters of bones, of which the uppermost and lower- most on the slope represented single individuals.
Burial 13 (Fig. 50), a Stratum III interment, presented another example of this phenomenon, in this instance representing a minimum of eight individuals, the bones clustered in a single mass that sloped down the side of the mound. The remains included three sets of articulated vertebrae. Associated was a small quantity of red ochre.
Burial 38 (Fig. 51), situated in Stratum I and presenting a much poorer state of preservation than the Stratum III burials described above, included
Fig. 49— Burial 23, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 4)6673
29
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Fig. 50— Burial 13, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416611
Fig. 51— Burial 38, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416653
the partial remains of at least seven individuals disposed so as to follow the slope of Mound I. There were thin layers of black muck around and below this burial, and the rotten remains of birch bark appeared to represent an original covering. Similar remains of bark were also found below the uppermost part of the sloping deposit. There were many examples of articulated bones, in- cluding: scapula and humerus; ulna and radius; vertebrae; ilium and femur; tibia and fibula; and tibia, fibula and foot bones.
Burial 56 (Fig. 52), was one of two burials deposited in pits below the mound floor. The pit, oval in lateral shape and a flat-bottomed bowl in vertical shape, was 4.9 by 4.5 feet in cross diameters and 1 .6 feet in depth. It contained a series of compact bundles representing five adult individuals. Red ochre was present in small quantities, and fragments of decayed bark were found below the bones. The lower leg and foot bones of one individual were articulated.
Burial 34 (Fig. 53), was deposited in a pit of irregular, rather angular shape in lateral cross section, with a gently iricurvate bottom, 3.8 by 3.5 feet in cross dimensions and 1.3 feet in depth. Both this and the pit of Burial 56 penetrated into undisturbed red sand. The scattered skeletal contents, consisting of cranial parts and fragmentary long bones, represented a minimum of five individuals, all in a poor state of preservation. Near the southern-most edge of the pit, situated between cranial fragments and parts of a tibia and fibula, lying on its side with the orifice facing east, was a small, intact pottery vessel of charac- teristic Clam River wore (Fig. 54).
ASSOCIATIONS AND FEATURES
Certain cultural materials and features were found associated with burials, or found independent of burials but so situated as to indicate, in all probability, that they are representative of the culture of the mound authors. These are listed according to location as follows:
On the Mound Floor
The features and associations in Burial 34 have been described in the above section; also included was a small pottery vessel, some red ochre, scraps of rotten bark, and certain articulated skeletal parts. The bark was too de- composed to permit a determination of definite locations or extent of use. As recorded above, red ochre, rotten bark, and articulated skeletal parts were also encountered in Burial 56 (p. 50). The outstanding characteristic of these two burials was their location in sub-mound pits. The pit of Burial 56 appar- ently had been equipped with some perishable covering supported by poles laid across the pit opening. Fire seems then to have been applied previous to the application of the covering soil. The charred remains of these poles, broken and lying partly in and partly out of the pit, included elements ranging from .1 to .4 foot in diameter and as much as 5.0 feet in length. These originally had crossed the mouth of the pit in on E NE-W SW direction. This was the only evidence of a structurally covered grove found in either the Spencer Lake or Clam Lake mounds.
50
Fig. 52— Burial 56, Spencer Lake Mound MPM Neg. 416712
Fig. 53— Burial 34, Spencer Lake Mound, showing small pot in situ. MPM Neg. 416699
Associated with Stratum I
Bark, in instances identifiable as birch bark, was not uncommonly associ- ated with burials in this stratum. In Burial 38 (p. 48) the remains of a bowl- shaped birch bark container held an up hill portion of the bones, and there were the rotten remains of bark over the burial. Fragments of bark lay under the cluster of poorly preserved long bones of the single individual comprising Burial 53. Birch bark covered the southwestern quarter of the floor of Burial 54, a mixed cluster of decomposed skeletal parts representing one individual. Burial 51, a disorganized cluster of bones representing at least one individual, in a relatively poor state of preservation, produced elongate bones individually wrapped in a fibrous material resembling bark.
Other associations with Burial 51 included two fragments of centrally grooved shaft polishers of coarse sandstone, one of them wrapped in bark; the shattered remains of a pottery elbow pipe; two broken triangular projectile points; and fragments of beaver incisors. Red ochre covered the wrapped bones and shaft polisher. Red ochre. was also present in Burial 35 (p. 45).
Thin layers of black muck or peat were found in the floor areas of Burials 37 and 38 (pp. 44, 48). The presence of large quantities of this material in features of the Clam Lake Mound may lend some significance to its presence here.
In addition to articulated complexes previously noted (pp. 44, 48, 50), articulated vertebrae were found in Burials 32 and 50, and in two instances in Burial 52. Such instances clearly indicate that all perishable parts were not completely decomposed at the time that the bones were collected from places of primary disposal for purposes of final burial.
Associated with Stratum II
Red ochre was the most common association with the burials of this stratum: It was present in the soil about the bones of Burial 22, a cluster of fairly well preserved long bones representing one individual; of Burial 40 (p. 42); and of Burial 42, a jumble of poorly preserved bones indicative of two individuals. It was present at the southern margin of Burial 17, a compound of the bones of eight individuals arranged in three closely grouped bundles. An area of red ochre, triangular in outline and covering an area 1.4 by 1.0 feet in lateral dimensions, occupied the central floor of Burial 32, a great mass of mixed bones in various states of preservation representing a minimum of sixteen individuals. Three feet north-northwest of Burial 52, which was a poorly pre- served cluster of mixed bones from at least two individuals, was a compact mass of red ochre 1.5 feet in diameter and .4 foot thick, apparently contained or enclosed in birch bark. This was suggestive of a folded piece of birch bark employed as a container for the red mineral.
Bits of rotten bark were present between the disintegrated bones of Burial 48, a cluster of elongate bones and lesser parts representing one individual. A scrap of birch bark also was identifiable over the group of parallel long bones and lesser skeletal parts from one individual comprising Burial 49.
52
Other associations included one valve of a mussel shell, apparently not worked, resting on a cluster of long bones in Burial 17; two potsherds placed with the bones of Burial 45, which were a hodgepodge of skeletal parts repre- senting at least two individuals; and a triangular stone projectile point im- bedded in one pelvis in Burial 28, a fairly well preserved mass of crania, long bones, and pelvic parts from three individuals.
Articulated complexes included vertebrae from Burials 32 (p. 52) and 50, the latter a complex of the crania and incomplete other bones of three individu- als, from a fair to poor state of preservation, and two instances of vertebrae in Burial 52 (p. 52).
Burial 58, consisting of fragmentary teeth and exceedingly rotten parts of a single cranium, rested upon a thin layer of cross-bedded, water-deposited sand; apparently a portion of the unaltered surface of Mound II exhibiting evidence of exposure to the elements preceding the deposition of Stratum II.
Associated with Stratum III
The presence of more artifacts and other associations in burials of this stratum, few though they were in actual number, could be attributed to the greater number of burials present, and of individuals represented, the latter amounting to 86 in contrast to 55 in Stratum II, and 29 in Stratum I. Actually, the proportion of such associations comes out about the same for all three burial strata.
Chipped-stone artifacts were found in five graves. A triangular projectile point lay at the northern margin of Burial 4, the poorly preserved cranium and fragments of other bones from a single individual. Burial 13 (p. 48) produced three triangular points scattered among the bones. In Burial 18, a mixed-up mass of the bones of at least eleven individuals, were found one intact and one broken triangular point, and one truncated ovate blade. Burial 24, con- taining the crania and other poorly preserved partial remains of three indi- viduals, produced one trianguloid quartzite scraper. In the latter grave was also found a highly carbonated fragment of copper, too deteriorated to permit preservation. Three triangular points, fashioned of jasper and covered with red ochre, were present in Burial 47, a group of poorly preserved long bones probably from a single individual.
Possible evidence of food deposits with the dead occurred in four graves. In Burial 8 (p. 46) was a deposit consisting of bits of calcined and charred bone, the particles too minute to permit identification. A similar cluster of cal- cined and carbonated bone fragments was present in Burial 18 above; and o third deposit, identical in type to the other two, was associated with Burial 16, a composit of bones representing a minimum of eight individuals. More- over, in this same grave, resting directly upon the human bones, were six vertebrae and a fragment of a rib of a canine, possibly a dog. A few bone fragments of an unidentified small animal were clustered with human bones in Burial 24 above.
53
Red ochre was present in five graves. A patch of ochre marked the floor of Burial 13 (p. 48); it also was found discoloring a vertebra, a rib, and a fennur. In Burial 18, beside the food-like cluster of animal bones (p. 53), was a deposit of red ochre placed near the southern border of the grave. There was a similar deposit of red ochre at the southern margin of Burial 16 (p. 53). The material occurred at several places with the bones of Burial 27 (p. 46). Finally, a con- centrated deposit of red ochre underlay the bones of Burial 47 (p. 53).
Potsherds of characteristic Clam River ware were found associated with three interments. Burial 7 contained representative bones of an old female and a young child, and one small body sherd. A potsherd was found closely associ- ated with the quartzite scraper in Burial 24 (p. 53), both resting directly on the bones. Burial 29, containing the poorly preserved cranium and partial long bones of one individual, produced one small potsherd.
Cremation previous to mound interment was represented by a cluster of charred cranial and other bones in Burial 13, the charred portions of a cranium in Burial 16, and carbonized human teeth near the center of Burial 18.
Articulated bones in the graves were noted in a number of instances. In Burial 13 (p. 48) one entire vertebra in two sections, one section with sacrum and ribs; an additional vertebra with sacrum; an ulna and radius; and two foot bones were articulated. Three instances of articulated vertebrae were found in Burial 16 (p. 53). Burial 27 (p. 46) consisted of a cranium and articulated lower maxilla. Associated with the latter burial was the unaltered valve of a fresh-water mussel shell.
Features found in the Spencer Lake Mound unossocioted with burials in- clude: a fireplace, a plat of rather small stones covered with charcoal, 2.5 feet long and 1.0 foot wide, situated centrally on the floor of Mound I; the charred remains of a wooden element, 9.9 feet long and 1.4 feet in maximum width, crushed flat, and directed northeast-southwest, situated on the floor of Mound I near its northern edge; another charred wooden element, lying on the mound floor, 5 feet long in an east-west direction, tapering from 1.1 feet to .9 foot wide at the smaller end, from .1 to .2 foot in thickness, with the long-cutting stroke of a steel axe marking the broader end; a charred wooden element extending southwest from the edge of Burial 34 (p. 50), 8.0 feet in length, of which 2.6 feet extended under the burial, 1. foot in width at the outer end; a cluster of Clam River potsherds in Stratum II; a cluster of small, odd-sized peb- bles and two potsherds in Stratum III; and the mandible of a bear (^Ursus omericanus') and two small fragments of human bone, apparently accidentally present in the mound material.
DESCRIPTIONS OF ARTIFACTS FROM Bt-1 AND Bt-2 Chipped-stone artifacts
Twenty-two unnotched triangular projectile points were found at the two sites, ten from Bt-1 and twelve from Bt-2. Regardless of the site, they are as alike as such utilitarian, simply flaked modifications of thin spauls shaped by a
54
variety of hands, could be expected to be, even when limited to a traditional shape pattern. Of the ten Bt-1 points, six are of a whitish, translucent quartz, and four are of a light brown chert. Of the twelve points from the Bt-2 site, six are of whitish, translucent quartz, one of white chert, two of light brown chert, and three of orange-brown jasper. The Bt-1 specimens vary from 17mm. to 29mm. in length, from 12mm. to 22mm. in width, and from 2mm. to 4mm. in thickness. Their average length is 20.2mm.; width, 17.6mm.; and thickness, 3.3mm. The Bt-2 specimens vary from 18mm. to 28mm. in length, from 12mm. to 21mm. in width, and from 2mm. to 4mm. in thickness. They average in length, 22.5mm.; in width, 18.0mm.; and in thickness, 3.4mm.
Two side-notched triangular points were found, one from each site. The Bt-1 point, neatly chipped from whitish chert, is 37mm. in length, 16mm. in width, and 5mm. in thickness. The Bt-2 specimen, unlike the former point, re- sembles one of the unnotched points in size and proportions, with small notches located close to the basal angles. It is of a grayish-white chert, and is 16mm. in length, 15mm. in width, and 3mm. in thickness.
The three scrapers from the Bt-1 site are actually ellipsoidal in outline with all edges chipped to a good scraping but poor cutting sharpness. In one in- stance the ends tend toward pointedness. They ore made of dissimilar varieties of brownish chert. They are 42mm., 47mm., and 51mm. in length, respectively, two-thirds as wide as long, and approximately one-third as thick as wide. No similar artifact was found at the Bt-2 site.
Three unnotched plano-convex end scrapers, shaped from spauls of brown- ish chert, are from the Bt-1 site. They are 26mm., 32mm., and 44mm. in length, respectively. In shape they show no peculiar characteristics that would serve to distinguish them from the end scrapers commonly found associated with Wisconsin Upper Mississippi manifestations, such as the Orr Focus. No artifact of this type was found at the Bt-2 site.
A scraper-knife of pinkish quartzite comes from the Bt-2 site. It is triangular with no two sides of even approximate uniform length, and with the longest side flaked to an edge that could have served for cutting as well as fine scrap- ing purposes. The length is 45mm., the maximum width 30mm., and the thick- ness 7mm. The shape is unique in type at Bt-2 and not represented in materials from Bt-1.
Another exceptional piece from the Bt-2 site, not duplicated there or else- where, is a drill or projectile point with a rectonguloid spatulote base from which the sides taper gradually to a sharp point. The material is a brownish chert. The length is 53mm., of which one-half is the base, and the width of the base is 18mm. The centrally located maximum thickness is 10mm.
The few remaining chipped-stone objects found at the two sites are either too fragmentary to permit profitable descriptions or so shaped as not to be suggestive of finished pieces possessed of cultural style.
In summation, it is noteworthy that only two chipped-stone types were found to occur at both sites; the unnotched and the lightly side-notched trian-
55
gular points, the latter represented by only one specimen at each site. A nna- jority of the projectile points are made of hard, crystalline quartz, which to some extent accounts for their crudeness of shape and workmanship.
Pipes
Of the three pottery pipes found with burials, the one from Bt-2 was frag- mentary and could not be restored or accurately described. Enough was pres- ent, however, to determine for it a typological resemblance to the Bt-1 pipes. All three specimens are characterized by a wide-mouthed bowl with walls taper- ing sharply to a line of juncture with the stem. The lip is horizontally flat. The conical stem is short, tapering rather abruptly to an almost pointed end. The stem joins the bowl at an obtuse angle considerably wider than a right angle. All surfaces are smooth and without decoration. Specimen No. 43269 is 110mm. high with a stem 48mm. in length. Specimen No. 43270 is smaller: 72mm. high with a stem 30mm. in length (Fig. 21 ).
Pottery
Six restorable or intact vessels were found at the two sites, four large and one small vessel at the Bt-1 site and one small vessel at Bt-2.
Specimen No. 43235 (Bt-1 site) is a round-bottomed vessel with globose body, pronouncedly constricted orifice and rather high, excurvate rim (Fig. 36). The exterior dimensions are: height, 325mm.; maximum lateral diameter, 370mm.; diameter at orifice, 230mm. The walls vary in thickness from a maximum of 11mm. in the vertically central rim to a minimum of 8mm. in the vertically central body. The paste is tempered with a medium-texture grit com- prising not more than 30 per cent of the exceptionally smooth, dense paste. The hardness is 3.5. The color is a dull reddish-brown. The crisscross imprints of a cord-wrapped paddle covering the entire outer body suggests a final shaping with paddle and anvil following primary coiling.
The areas of decoration are the outer rim and inner lip. A cord-like imprint winds spirally about the outer rim nine times, producing a laterally disposed series of parallel lines extending from somewhat below the outer edge of the lip to the approximate juncture of the rim with the outward swell of the body walls. Short, filament-wrapped elements, serving as stamps to create cord-like imprints, were employed to produce an intact row of double chevrons, points down, below the bottom line of the lateral series, and a series of similar im- prints form a continuous succession of short, parallel, diagonal lines between the top line of the lateral series and the narrow, smooth lip of the rim. An identical series of short diagonal imprints extends downward from the lip about the inner rim.
Specimen No. 43236 (Bt-1 site) is a round-bottomed vessel with basically globose body, although showing a slight tendency toward shoulders, a pro- nouncedly constricted orifice, and a gently excurvate rim (Fig. 29). The ex- terior dimensions are: height, 350mm.; maximum lateral diameter, 393mm.; diameter at orifice, 255mm. The walls vary in thickness from 12mm. in central and upper portions of the body wall to 8mm. near the base. The grit temper
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is medium in texture and comprises somewhat less than 30 per cent of the paste. The hardness is 3.3. The outer surface of the body is entirely covered with complexly crisscross imprints of a corded paddle, suggesting a final paddle-and-anvil treatment of previously coiled walls.
The neck of the vessel, from the line marking the start of the rim's outer flare to its juncture with the globose body walls, is decorated with the imprint of a cord wrapped spirally about the neck seven times to produce a series of closely, equally intervaled horizontal lines. The end of a filament-wrapped ele- ment has been sharply impressed into the pre-fired clay to effect a series of very short, closely intervaled, vertically directed dashes bordering the lowest line of the horizontal series, and a similar tool has been used to produce a row of closely intervaled vertical lines extending upward from the top line of the horizontal series to the outer edge of the lip. Similarly produced lines, placed at close intervals, cross the lip somewhat diagonally. There is no deco- ration on the inner rim.
Specimen No. 43234 (Bt-1 site) is a round-bottomed vessel with globose body— also displaying a slight tendency toward shoulders, pronouncedly con- stricted orifice, and rather high, gently excurvate rim terminating in a slightly rolled lip (Fig. 27). The exterior dimensions are: height, 320mm.; maximum diameter, slightly above the vertical center of the vessel, 365mm.; diameter at orifice, 235mm. The walls vary in thickness from a maximum of 11mm. at the juncture of body and rim walls to a minimum of 9mm. near the base. The grit temper is medium in texture and approximates 30 per cent of the paste. The hardness is 3.7. The outer surface is entirely covered with crisscross im- prints of a cord-wrapped paddle, as in the specimens previously described.
The only decoration, located on the inner rim adjoining the lip, consists of short-stroke horizontal lines disposed in short vertical columns extending down- ward from the lip to form a narrow belt around the inner rim. The indentations were produced by imprinting with a f lament-wrapped stick or similar rigid element.
Specimen No. 43263 (Bt-1 site) would seem to represent a type of pottery entirely foreign to the culture productive of the mounds, if the other fairly well represented ware is to be accepted as representative. An origin is sug- gested other than the ethnic group responsible for the Clam River mounds, possibly involving trade or production by a captive woman of foreign origin. It has a sub-conoidal shape with high shoulders from which there is a gradual incurvate slope to a rather constricted orifice without the least flare to the rim. The lip is smooth, slightly beaded, and equipped at the outer edges with a slight, sharp, outwardly prCjecting perimeter (Fig. 34). The paste is rather lightly tempered with sand or other fine grit. The exterior dimensions are: height, 292mm.; shoulder width, 286mm.; diameter at orifice, 178mm. The walls are unusually thin, ranging from 6mm. in the central body to a maximum of 9mm.. near the orifice. The hardness is 3.7. The complexly crisscross imprints of a paddle equipped with carved narrow, parallel ridges covers the entire outer wall of the vessel, but the imprints have been smoothed over about the outer rim to efFect their near invisibility. There is no decoration. ;
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'•.Mi;:
Fig. 54— SmaH pottery vessel from Burial 34, Spencer Lake Mound Cat. No. 43746 MPM Neg. 416397
Specimen No. 43746 (Bt-2), although much smaller, is in all respects a miniature of the larger Clam River vessels. It is round-bottomed and has a basically globose body, although the curvature of the body walls, particularly on one side, creates a false impression of low shoulders. This effect is probably more due to carelessness in shaping than to intent. Very small vessels produced by various culture groups in the northern Mississippi Valley often display a tendency toward shape imperfection. However, this vessel can be classified in shape with the larger pots without hesitation. The paste resembles that of the larger specimens in all respects, with a hardness of 3.8. The exterior dimen- sions are: height, 92mm.; maximum width, 85mm.; diameter at orifice, 68mm. The outer surface is entirely covered with the crisscross imprints of a cord- wrapped paddle (Fig. 54).
The only decoration is on the inner rim, where imprints of a filament- wrapped tool creates a series of closely intervaled, vertical lines extending
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Fig. 55— Small pottery vessel from Clam Lake Mound Cat. No. 43741 /WPM Neg. 414780
downward from the lip to the curve of the juncture of rim and body; and on the flat lip which is crossed at close intervals by similar imprints.
Specimen No. 43741 (Bt-1 site) is even smaller than the vessel described immediately above, and in its greater crudity resembles less the large Clam River vessels. However, it displays a sufficient number of the characteristic traits of this ware to share its type classification. It is round-bottomed, but the otherwise globose shape of the body is modified by the atypical wide orifice and the resulting diminishing of incurvature in the upper body walls. The paste is a shade lighter in color, more lightly tempered, and a little softer than in the other vessels, with a hardness of 3. The exterior dimensions are: height, 69mm.; maximum width, 64mm.; diameter at orifice, 51mm. The upper walls of the outer surface are covered with vertically directed imprints of a corded tool, but the rounded base of the little pot has a rough surface apparently free from any artificial surface roughening (Fig. 55^.
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All decoration is effected with a filament-wrapped tool employed as a stamp to produce a single lateral line about the vessel at the juncture of body walls and flaring rim; a widely intervaled series of opposing diagonals form- ing V-like figures extending downward from the lateral line decoration; and a closely intervaled series of somewhat diagonal indentations notching the rim.
Pottery Type
A single pottery type covers the ware found as inclusive features in the two Clam River mounds. Although no widely recognized standard of procedure for naming and describing pottery types seems to exist, and I should prefer to employ methods and terminology that have such recognition, I shall venture to provide at least a tentative name for, and description of this pottery type. I prefer to use a three-part name, indicating (1) geography or location, (2) decorative technique employed, and (3) basic body shape, since I submit that these ore the pertinent factors that give pottery culture-identification value. Since the specimens used as basis for this type description include practically whole vessels, from two widely separate sites, and are peculiarly representa- tive of pottery present in the form of sherds found present at occupation sites scattered throughout the entire Clam River area, I propose that they comprise adequate material for the determination of a culturally significant pottery type.
Description of Type Name: Clam River, wropped-stamp, globoid
Paste:
Method of manufacture — probably coiled and finally shaped with paddle
and anvil. Tempering — medium fine grit, approximately 30 per cent of paste. Texture — medium coarse but compact. Hardness - 3. to 4. (3. to 3.8). Color — dull reddish-brown surfaces, brighter reddish-brown paste core.
Surface Finish:
Modifications — interior smoothly modeled, exterior thorough roughening with crisscross imprints of cord-wrapped paddle.
Decoration:
Technique — (a) lateral imprints of filament-wrapped stick-like element;
(b) lateral imprints of single cords. Design — (a) lateral bands of vertical or diagonal lines, vertical columns
of horizontal parallel lines, or combinations of such bands to form
simple geometric patterns; (b) closely intervaled horizontal lines
formed by spiral wrap about vessel. Distribution — inner rim, lip,. outer rim, upper body, or combinations of all.
Form:
Body — rounded from juncture with excurvate rim downward to effect a globose shape, as distinct from the sub-conoidal body characteristic of a preponderance of regional Woodland pottery.
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Base — rounded in character with the globose body form. Rim — rather high and out-curving. Orifice — circular and medium constricted.
Lip — square to slightly beaded previous to decorative treatment: pressure of imprinting tool.
General Range:
Determined only for Burnett County (Bt-1 and Bt-2), Wisconsin.
Chronological Position:
Determined only for protohistoric to early historic, as determined by: state of preservation of birch bark and beaver fur; presence of charred wood showing long stroke of steel axe; absence of European trade items with burials or otherwise present in mounds.
CULTURAL CLASSIFICATION
Clam River Focus is proposed as a term to designate the cultural manifes- tation represented in the two investigated mounds, and probably in other as yet uninvestigated mounds of similar exterior properties existing within the immediate or closely adjoining areas in northwestern Wisconsin. The Clam River Focus is characterized by a series of presently apparent traits that relate it culturally to northwestern manifestations of the Woodland Pattern.
A tendency to confuse true culture traits with the material evidence repre- senting these traits suggests the advisability of a separate listing of traits and material evidence, respectively opposed in the list columns to indicate relation- ship. For example, a beautifully decorated pipe, such as produced by the Hopewellians, is not in itself a culture trait. Rather, it is the material evidence of a number of traits, such as: (1) smoking; (2) stone-working technique; (3) artistic concepts; and possibly, (4) religious or cosmic concepts. Conse- quently, the following lists are arranged to show, in parallel sequence, the traits now evident as determinants, collectively, for the Clam River Focus, and the material evidence submitted in their support. These traits were in evidence at both the Bt-1 and Bt-2 sites, thus establishing a recurring complex of traits in justification of the proposed focal status.
Trait Complex for the Clam River Focus
Traits Evidence
Preparation and use of bows and arrows, the Presence of such projectile points associated
latter equipped with small, thin, triangular with burials, exclusive of any other type,
points, utilitarian in type, commonly un- notched, occasionally with small side notches.
Prevailing use of crystalline quartz in arrow Majority of arrow points at each site made of
point manufacture. this material.
Manufacture of bowl-shaped birch bark con- Occurrence of such containers or their remains
tainers, by process of sewing three pieces with or near burials.
together with root or vine withes.
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Traits
Use of such bark containers to transport remains of the dead or burial associations to final resting place.
Manufacture of pottery pipes with flaring bowls and short conical stenns, undecoroted.
Pipe smoking, presumably with tobacco.
Manufacture and use of pottery vessels charac- terized by globose body, round bottom, constricted orifice, excurvate rim, and cord- imprinted body exterior.
Decorative concepts as expressed in pottery ornamentation consisting of simple com- plexes of straight vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines, restricted to outer and inner rim and lip.
Decorative technique of ornamenting pottery including imprinting with single cord in instances, but more characteristically im- printing with a filament-wrapped stick-like element.
Cultural infusion (by trade, capture, theft?) from other ethnic groups.
Evidence Presence of burial remains in such containers,
or in other instances covered by them. Historic accounts of such a practice in area.
Presence of such pipes with burials.
Presence of such pottery vessels with or near burials.
Exclusive presence of such designs on pottery present at both sites.
Evidence of such techniques on pottery.
Probable foreign pot, and charred wood show- ing typical long stroke of steel axe.
Primary disposal of dead on surface or scaffolds. Secondary nature of all burials in mounds.
Final disposal of skeletal remains or selected parts in artificial mounds.
Interment by placing remains: CO in pits below mound floor, (2) on mound floor, (3) on surface of previously erected mound and covering with a surmounting mound.
Preparation of earlier mound surface to receive burials by covering with clean, water- washed sand.
Compound mounds, one erected to cover an- other, repeatedly.
Single to compound burials, containing bones representative of from one to many indi- viduals.
Periodical burial rites for the final disposal of the dead, with from several to many de- posits of skeletal remains interred at one time, suggesting a feast-of-the-dead type of funerary ceremony.
Grouping the bones of individuals in compact bundles, whether in single or compound graves.
Depositing the bones of a burial, whether single or compound, in an orderless, often tangled mass, as if dumped from a container.
Disposal of burials on, covered with, or wrapped in sheets of birch bark.
Presence of burials as undisturbed features in mounds.
Occurrence of burials in such locations.
Sand strata in mounds underlying burial strata.
Vertically superposed mounds, up to four in number.
Occurrence of such burials.
Occurrence of burial strata covering one mound and covered by a superimposed mound.
Common occurrence of burials of this type.
Common occurrence of burials of this type.
Remains of birch bark so placed with burials.
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Traits Evidence
Grave accessories placed with bones at least Occurrence of such items, or their probable re-
occasionally, including pottery vessels, pot- mains with or near burials,
tery pipes, stone implements, furs, red ochre, and food.
Probable breaking of pots before carrying pieces Failure to find total complement of sherds for
to final place of disposal. any large pot on location.
Placement of red ochre, in instances in large Common occurrence of red ochre in or near
quantity, in or near graves, and to a lesser graves; occasional occurrence of other ma-
extent, of black or other colored soils. terials similarly placed.
Use of pine-knot torches during burial procedure. Occurrence in burial strata of charred remains
and deposit of their charred remains near of pine knots,
burials.
Use of simple stone fireplaces, or altars, at burial Presence in mounds of stone clusters covered
site. with ash and charcoal.
Rare instances of cremation preceding disposal Presence in instances of charred remains of
of burnt remains with other remains in human bones associated with other un-
mound. burned skeletal parts in a burial, with no
local evidence of firing.
Occasional puncturing of human long bones near Presence of bones so treated in some graves. a proximal, rarely a distal end, previous to final interment.
Occasional wrapping of individual bones or as- Occasional occurrence of bones and cultural
sociated objects in bark previous to interment. items so wrapped.
Several of the traits that are of special, focus-indicative significance in the above list are rare or absent with other Wisconsin Woodland manifestations, but commonly characteristic of local Mississippi manifestations. These include the use of small, unnotched triangular arrow points and the production of pottery vessels with round-bottomed globose bodies. Moreover, the unnotched end scrapers found at Bt-1, and the sandstone shaft-polisher found at the Bt-2 site, occurring in Clam River mounds, although not found together at either site, are also local Mississippi rather than local Woodland in character. Such phenomena could be interpreted in at least two different ways: they could represent survivals from a previous, largely outmoded cultural pattern dissi- pated as a result of exclusive direct contacts with a quantitatively engulfing foreign social environment; or they could represent the relatively weak influ- ence of a foreign social environment to produce minimum cultural changes through the channels of diffusion. Single instances of occurrence, as in the case of the sandstone shaft-polisher, could also be accounted for by individual trade or theft. However, the occurrence of the other traits, commonly present at both sites, suggests that we have here a small but not to be ignored com- plex of cultural characters more characteristic of neighboring Mississippi than neighboring Woodland culture. If so, the phenomenon would seem to repre- sent an admixture of Mississippi and Woodland cultural elements effected in the course of the history of the ethnic group responsible for the mounds. Whether this history is one of the slight altering of a basically Woodland type of culture due to neighboring Mississippi influences, or the almost complete renovation of on original Mississippi type of culture as the result of an over- whelming Woodland type of cultural environment can only be guessed at on a basis of the existing meager data. In the protohistoric period, however, the cultural environment was unquestionably dominated by Woodland types.
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CULTURAL RECONSTRUCTION
Failure to locate habitation sites productive of cultural materials in inn- portant quantity and definitely identifiable with the culture responsible for either of the excavated mounds, and the paucity of culture-indicative data secured from the burial tumuli themselves render any reconstruction of the culture responsible for the mounds exceedingly sketchy and subject to error. Nothing supported by the archaeological data can be contributed on the sub- ject of houses, dress or village life. The absence of any surface indications of houses or house sites, or our failure to locate any such remains, is both a negative factor and one damaged by the contingency of a possible inadequacy of research methods or effort.
Implements were flaked from stone, as attested to by a very few speci- mens representing only two forms: small projectile points and several "scrap- ers." Small wooden shafts, presumably for arrows, may have been dressed by means of sandstone abraders, as represented by a single specimen. Birch bark, and possibly other smooth barks, were materials used for making basket-like containers, involving the sewing of pieces together with pre- pared vine, pine root, or other root withes. Small, short-stemmed elbow pipes were fashioned of pottery, and testify to the custom of smoking tobacco or
Fig. 56— Long bones from Clam River mounds showing artificial perforations near ends
MP/M Neg. 72061
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some substitute for tobocco. A good quality of o Woodland type of pottery was made and used in various unknown container capacities. Simple textiles, woven from unknown materials, were either fabricated or obtained through trade. As more certain evidence of trade, steel tools were not unknown, as in- dicated by a long axe stroke on the charred remains of a piece of wood.
Such a limited category of culture-indicative objects, and each in such limited quantity, creates more questions than it supplies answers. Who can say with any degree of assurance that, for example, the several arrowheads found at either site are indeed wholly characteristic for the culture producing them? The assurance provided by quantity for any given type is lacking. Certain factors are present, but what factors, that would be apparent with a larger inventory, ore not at present represented? Even the pottery must be treated as, quite possibly, inadequately representative of the producing culture. Of six restorable vessels, one is wholly at odds with the others. Is it culturally at home, or a foreign product? And the handful of sherds comprising the remaining pottery finds do not in all probability adequately represent the total pottery facet of the culture. Certain traits ore established, and with these we must be content for the moment.
Burial of the dead seems to be the only aspect of this culture of which we can speak with some confidence, but even here our data begins in the middle of the total program of burial procedures.
The story told in these mounds begins with the secondary, final disposal of the dead, following on initial, temporary disposal, the nature of which we can only assume on logical grounds in the light of comparable ethnological evidence.
Our knowledge of attitudes and related activities associated with death and burial among other Indian groups, including those historically residing in the immediate area, justifies the conviction that a hundred or more individuals, or their partial remains, were not permanently laid away without considerable ritual and ceremony. The whole concept of such a mound, a hill of the dead and as such a monument to the dead, enshrining the deceased of several generations, is one that demands correspondingly large and important cere- mony. We can not avoid the picture of the gathering of peoples, each family or similar social group bringing with it the remains of those who had died over a period of years to a common place of traditional or agreed assembly. There would be speeches, dances, feasts, mourning, and probably sessions of political import, as well as the labor of preparing the burial site, depositing the bones, and covering them with a heavy layer of soil to create or enlarge an existing mound. And ceremonial repetition as the same procedure was followed at cer- tain intervals would have created traditions of ritual both meaningful and impressive. Some such enduring underlying incentive was required to inspire the relayed erection of monuments such as these.
Occasionally the femora, tibiae, and fibulae found in the burials of both mounds had been perforated near one end, usually the larger end (Fig. 56).
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In instances where the bone exhibited a considerable amount of deterioration, these holes appeared to be smooth, rounded penetrations into the marrow cavity. However, in several instances offering better bone preservation, the openings appeared to hove been produced by a blow from some small blunt instrument, and the crushed bone produced by this blow was still present in the cup-like depression. This phenomenon was of rather rare occurrence in consideration of the large number of leg bones examined, and certainly could not be described as a characteristic treatment of such elements.
To venture any explanation of such a practice would be to engage in rational guessing. Similarly treated bones were found by Wilford (1941 :240) in Laurel Mound 4, a Minnesota site with a cultural manifestation that he ascribes to the Rainy River Aspect. Of these bones he says: ". . . the long bones had been opened near one or both ends of the shaft as though to extract marrow, and the occiputs had been removed from the skull C^ic^, probably for brain extraction." Skulls with the occiputs removed or crushed in were also encountered in the Clam River mounds, particularly in one burial of the Clam Lake Mound (p. 24). It seems rather improbable, however, that relatives of the dead would remove the marrow and brains from the remains of their own kinfolk. If so, the removal was for magical or ritualistic purposes rather than one reflecting any concept of desecration of the dead. It would be difficult to remove marrow from a leg bone through the small openings in question. One would expect a bone to be split for such purposes. In any case, the presence of the remains of crushed bone in the cavities, observed in the case of the Clam River bones, rather conclusively eliminates any marrow- securing purpose in so far as the Wisconsin specimens are concerned. There is no evidence that this practice and that of breaking in or removing occiputs are connected in purpose. Both practices, which seem to have been employed only occasionally by the Clam River people, remain obscure as to intent. Burial practices changed so rapidly and so drastically upon close cultural con- tacts with the invading Europeans that it is not surprising to find no ethno- logical reports that would suggest the answers to these questions. In either cose, as Wilford states (1941 :240), the extraction of marrow would have to take place almost immediately after death, involving the manual stripping of flesh from the bones, rather than waiting for natural agencies of decay to do the job.
There was evidence in the excavation profiles of the mounds, where color or texture provided visible separation lines, that at least some of the mound material was transported to the mound site in loads such as might be carried in basket-size containers, possibly including the birch bark containers found in the mounds. Or these particular containers might have been employed exclusively for transporting the remains of the dead to their final resting place. Their broad, shallow shapes would appear to be poorly suited for carrying soil.
In instances the bones of a burial were in orderly compact bundles suggest- ing that they had been wrapped in some confining material previous to deposit. In other instances the disorderly mass of bones, with long bones frequently protruding from the mass in all directions, suggested that they hod been car- ried loose in a container and dumped onto the burial place with no thought of
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orderly disposal. The former type of secondary burial is the prevailing type encountered in Wisconsin Woodland graves. The latter type is not commonly encountered. It is the unusual "dumped" type that seems to prevail in the Clam River mounds.
Both the Clam Lake and Spencer Lake mounds had three layers of burials above the mound fioor, involving the erection of four successive units in each tumulus. It is assumed that this in all probability is a purely accidental simi- larity; that elsewhere in the cultural area there must be mounds exhibiting initial, secondary, or other phases of mound construction, since each phase must hove represented a separate effort, with periods of years separating efforts. It would be fantastic to suppose, providing our interpretation is the correct one, that each mound was limited to four periods of construction, and that every mound so started hod reached completion before the practice was abandoned with the culturally destructive impact of European innovations.
There is also the matter of successive numbers of graves, and of individuals represented in graves, progressing from the bottom to the top stratum in each mound. In each instance, the first interments are few in number, and in each successive burial stratum there is a considerable increase in numbers over those in the immediately preceding stratum. The logical inference would seem to be that each mound is the burial place of a village, or other tradition-related group, that selected the burial site at a time when the group was relatively small; and that as the group increased in numbers, with corresponding in- creases in deaths, the site was used repeatedly, and in each instance after a considerable period of time had elapsed. The trouble with this tempting expla- nation is that it is too "pat," especially when one encounters the same phe- nomenon in two widely separate mounds. Moreover, certain historical data come in to complicate the picture, as discussed elsewhere in this report (p. 70).
Such is the cultural panorama, limited to those occasional elements that may be deduced from surviving fragments of their material manifestations, and these manifestations ore few in number and inadequate in depth. Even the material culture (if one can justifiably separate from culture such an arbitrary, artificial subdivision) is represented by only a meagre handful of isolated traits. When one considers the total of procedures, tools, and products, and adds social and political behavior, practices growing from concepts of life and death, and the awe-inspiring presence of powerful and mysterious nat- ural phenomena, attitudes controlling emotional responses to joy and con- viviality or fear and hatred, reactions to artistic and other creative stimuli, all that goes into an expression of the emotional attitudes and intellectual living of a people, archaeological effort apparently has produced but little. And yet that little may supply data relating to culture growth and change in time depth that studies of living, active cultures could never provide. If the authors of these mounds can be identified, even within certain restricted ethnic boun- daries, archaeology will have contributed important information bearing on cultural status within that ethnic group at a time before there could be ethno- logical studies, and cultural changes in time that might help to explain, or at least clarify, historic cultural phenomena.
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Fig. 57— Painting by J. H. Shar, showing a Siouan platform burial Courtesy, U. S. National Museum
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ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION
It is proposed as a logical hypothesis that the Indians responsible for the Clam River Focus were a branch of the Sontee division of the Woodland Dakota Sioux, probably either the Sisseton or Wahpiton. This proposal of iden- tification is based upon a comparison of data gathered in the field with pub- lished data of ethnological or historical origin.
The Santee, or undetermined branches thereof, were the only known occu- pants of the area in which the investigated mounds and similar tumuli occurred during a time interval extending from a period shortly preceding the possibility of even indirect contacts with Europeans, and enduring until they were driven westward, out of Wisconsin, by the Chippewa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (Swanton: 263; B.A.E., Bull 30). The Chippewa, who replaced the Sioux in this area, have never been reported to have been mound builders. To the contrary, they have stated that traditionally the mounds were there when they arrived on the scene (AAcKern et al, personally acquired). The mounds themselves hove supplied data in support of their relatively late origin, after contact, whether direct or indirect, with Europeans, as attested to by the presence of a fragment of charred wood exhibiting the unmistakable long chopping stroke of a steel axe on the floor level of Bt-1. It is extremely doubtful if steel tools could have become available to Indians in this area before 1650. Other features, such as the remarkable preservation of birch bark and the intact fur of a beaver skin in Bt-1, argue for a relatively recent disposal. The greatly varying state of preservation of the skeletal remains in the burials, ranging from excellent to very poor, neither supports nor opposes such a recent date.
The absence of trade materials in the graves, such as glass beads, metal ornaments, brass or iron implements, and the like, argues against a date for these mounds following the introduction into this area of important fur trade with the Europeans, which indicates a maximum dote for the final stages of the mounds of approximately 1800. Thus, reasonably limited in time between 1650 and 1800, the logical conclusion is that the tumuli were erected, or at least completed, by the only Indians known to hove resided in this area during this interval, the Santee Dakota. It will be important in future investigations to determine new data bearing upon the time factor and cultural identity of the builders contained in culturally related mounds and occupation sites of the area remaining to be investigated.
This ethnic identification is supported by other available information. The Woodland branch of the Dakota initially disposed of their dead on scaffolds arranged for the most part in cemeteries (Yarrow: 108-9; Bushnell, 1927: 18-19, 21; Carver: 70; Seymour: 93. Fig. 57^. After exposure for a varying period of time, ranging from the months intervening between a winter plat- form disposal and the thawing of the soil in the following summer, to on in- definite number of years, the skeletal remains, or selected parts thereof, were gathered and interred (Bushnell, 1927: 18-21). Bushnell (1927: 18) ascribes to the Dakota (A/ldewa/conton) as final resting places for their dead a large group of mounds on the northeastern shore of Mille Lacs, Minnesota. Some of
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these mounds are described as ten feet in height and sixty feet in dianneter, although most of them were smaller. One of the small mounds, when ex- cavated, produced four secondary burials, each consisting of a bundle of the major bones of one individual.
Permitting platform burials to accumulate over a period of time while the flesh decayed before final interment, and the presence of numerous graves in one mound, are accounted for by periodical burial rites when the inhabitants of from several to numerous villages would gather the remains of their dead and bring them to a traditional place of ceremony and burial to be interred. Jonathan Carver (59, 70) cites such a compound burial rite for the "eastern" (Woodland) Sioux, and AAcLeod (418) tells of bones carried by the Indians for distances of as much as one hundred miles for burial at a traditional place located on a lake near the Mississippi River. According to Yarrow (108-9) the Sisseton were known to carry the bones of relatives with them for two or three years previous to their burial at a traditional place.
In a recent article: The Feast of the Dead Among the Seventeenth Century Algonkians of the Great Lakes, Hickerson has assembled references to show that the Saulteur, while resident at Lac Court d'Oreilles in northwestern Wis- consin, introduced to the Dakota their form of the feast of the dead, which entailed the bringing of surface-burial remains to a central place for final interment, accompanied by a feast and political council. Some of the Great Lakes Algonkians had acquired this practice from the Huron, who held such a feast once every ten to twelve years (Hickerson: 88). By 1680 this periodical ceremony was practiced by only a few of the Algonkian proselytes, some seven or eight tribes, who held the feast alternately once each year. The Nipissing and Saulteur were among the leaders in this practice (Hickerson: 89-90).
As conducted by the Nipissing at Georgian Bay in 1641, the ceremony, recounted by Radisson, attracted guests from as much as 120 leagues distant. The guests presented fine gifts to the host nation. There followed dancing and contests for prizes. In order came the election of chiefs by the host tribe, and the ''resurrection," through name transference, of those who had died since the last feast. The remains of the dead were then prepared for burial. Their bones were placed in birch bark containers, and covered with new robes of beaver skins (Hickerson: 90-91). In 1660, the guests of such a reburial cere- mony included some Dakota (Hickerson: 90).
Retreating from the Iroquois, the Saulteur had left the Sault Ste. Marie region by 1660 and settled about an interior Wisconsin lake, probably Court d'Oreilles (Scull: 174-194). Here they employed the feast of the dead as an instrument to initiate alliances; their main goal that of establishing trade rela- tions with the Dakota and Cree. At a council held in 1660 the Dakola were the recipients of gifts and were invited to participate in the ''dance of union" at the death feast. The rites, wjth the Dakota present as guests, were held at Court d'Oreilles (Scull: 209-218; Hickerson: 90-93).
"In 1679, nine years after the Ottawa and Huron had been forced to abandon Chequamegon after antagonizing the Dakota, and during the period when the Cree were being diverted by the Hudson Bay trade, the Saulteur and
70
Dakota succeeded in establishing a firm alliance which lasted until 1736. . . It is most probable that the Feast of the Dead of 1660 established the first basis for a rapproachement which, after many interruptions, finally material- ized in the Dakota-Saulteur alliance of 1679" (Hickerson: 94). In the 1680's the Saulteur, permanently established in villages at Chequomegon and Ke- weenaw, carried on trade with the Dakota and hunted on their land in Minnesota and Wisconsin (Hickerson: 98). According to a quotation from Radisson, the Saulteur feast of the dead was held twice in northern Wisconsin, in succeeding years (Hickerson: 103, note 16).
Although nothing is said by Radisson or his quoters about mound burial, there is too much similarity between the burial practices described for these rituals and those manifest in the Clam River mounds to be disregarded or ascribed to accidental similarity: the periodic moss burials of bones from initial surface disposals; the transportation of the bones in birch bark containers; the occurrence of both the rites and the mound burials in the proto-historic period, and their location in northwestern Wisconsin. The Sioux and Saulteur continued their friendly association until 1736, and the practice of the feast of the dead may have continued among the Dakota, possibly adjusted to their own cul- tural concepts and practices, after the Saulteur had been removed from the picture, following a period when there was no Radisson present to observe and report.
It is possible that the Clam Lake Mound (Bt-1) was erected considerably earlier than the Spencer Lake Mound (Bt-2). In this connection, only one birch bark container was present in the Bt-2 tumulus, and that was in the first, or earliest stratum. Moreover, the mound contained fewer evidences of cere- monial elaboration than appeared in Bt-1, such as massive red ochre deposits and pine-knot torches. The Bt-2 manifestation could represent a later, some- what degenerate survival of the burial practice; or this could be true only of the second and third stages of the mound's construction. Evidence of the use of a steel tool was found only at the Bt-2 site.
The presence of similar mass secondary burials in Minnesota (Wilford: 1940, 1941, 1945), encountered in large, compound mounds and associated with pottery and other cultural elements comparable to the Clam River com- plex, suggests that such customs were not limited to the Dakota residing in Wisconsin. Wilford's Mille Lacs Aspect is characterized by types of pottery that include as the most prevalent variety a cord-imprinted ware decorated about the outer rim with "cord-wrapped stick" indentations. The prevailing secondary burials were in good-sized mounds. Small projectile points, found primarily at habitation sites culturally identifiable by the associated pottery, included both small triangular and stemmed varieties, but '\ . . An increase of triangular points toward the end of the prehistoric period is indicated" (1941: 238). The Headwaters Lakes Aspect is characterized by mixed burial practices, of which secondary disposal in compound mounds is relatively rare, but occurs. The pottery is more distinctively uniform in type, and is practically identical to the Clam River ware in all respects. Projectile points are triangular, with or without small side notches (1941: 238-9). The Rainy River Aspect is charac- terized by large mounds, found singly or in groups. These are the largest
71
mounds in Minnesota. Each contains many burials, 112 and 96 in two in- stances. In one mound ". . . the long bones had been opened at one or both ends of the shaft as though to extract the marrow, and the occiputs had been removed from the skulls, probably for brain abstraction" (1941: 240). The pottery includes the Clam River type of ware, but this is not the prevailing type. At AAcKinstry Mound No. 2, burial stratification similar to that found in the Clam River mounds was encountered, but the burials are described as primary, or "disturbed primary," rather than secondary. In this regard, the flesh must have been removed from the bones in order to permit the peculiar mutilation of long bones and crania as described. The pottery is quite different from the Clam River ware (1941: 240-41).
Thus a comparison of the known cultural practices of the Mille Lacs, Head- waters Lakes, and Rainy River aspects in Minnesota with those determined for the Clam River Focus discloses a strong similarity suggesting a close cultural relationship, but this similarity is not between Clam River and any particular one of the Minnesota aspects. The Clam River burial practices are more like those of the Mille Lacs people, whereas the pottery is almost identical to that of the Headwaters Lakes variant. Clam River, therefore, would seem to repre- sent a subdivision of some larger culture entity of which the Minnesota aspects represent other subdivisions. Wilford proposes a Dakota identification for the Mille Lacs Aspect, and offers a logical argument in support of identifying the Headwaters Lakes people as Assiniboine (1945: 328-29), a tribe that, accord- ing to Bushnell (1927: 42-43), was previously a subdivision of the Yanktonai.
To summarize, some subdivision of the Santee Dakota occupied the area in northwestern Wisconsin, including Burnett County, during a late prehistoric period and until finally driven out by the Chippewa between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They practiced primary burial on scaffolds, and subse- quent secondary interment. They were observed in the 18th century by Euro- pean explorers to practice at intervals compound reburial rituals involving a secondary disposal of the remains of the dead brought together from consider- able distances for final interment at a selected site. There is at least one reputable reference to a final Siouan burial in mounds. These ritualistic burial practices may have been introduced to the Dakota by the Saulteur at the time of their residence near Court d'Oreilles, Wisconsin, as early as 1660. The evidence of use of a steel tool found in the Bt-2 mound suggests a date for that tumulus not much earlier than 1650. The absence of an abundance of Euro- pean trade objects would indicate erection for either mound not later than circa 1800. The burial practices and artifacts characteristic for the Clam River Focus closely resemble similar culture-indicative evidence from numerous sites in northeastern Minnesota thought to represent the prehistoric and protohistoric cultures of the Dakota Sioux known to have resided there in that era. Thus it is submitted that the authors of the Clam River tumuli in all probability were some division of the Santee Dakota.
72
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blair, E. H. (ed. and trans.)
1911 The Indian Tribes of flie Upper Mississippi Valley and Region of the Great Lakes, as Described by Nicholas Perrot, French Comman- dant in the Northwest. 2 vols. Cleveland, Arthur H. Clark Co.
Bureau of American Ethnology
1907 Handbook of American Indians. (Bulletin 30.) Washington, Gov- ernment Printing Office. "Chippewa," pp. 277—281; "Dakota," pp. 376-380.
Bushnell, David I., Jr.
1923 Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi. (Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 77.^ Washington, Government Printing Office.
1927 Burials of the Algonquian, Siouan and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi. (Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 83.) Wash- ington, Government Printing Office.
Carver, Jonathan
1781 Three Years Travel through the Interior Parts of North America . . . London; reprint. New York, 1838.
Curtis, John T.
1959 The Vegetation of Wisconsin. Madison, Wis., University of Wiscon- sin Press.
Douglass, John M.
1954 The Indians in Wisconsin History. (Milwaukee Public Museum. Popular Science Handbook Series, No. 6.) Milwaukee.
Ewers, John C.
1955 The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture, with Comparative Material from Other Western Tribes. (Bureau of American Ethnology, Bul- letin 159.) Washington, Government Printing Office.
Hickerson, Harold
1960 "The Feast of the Dead among the Seventeenth Century Algon- kians of the Upper Great Lakes." American Anthropologist, n.s., 62:1, pp. 81-107.
Jackson, Hartley H. T.
1961 Mammals of Wisconsin. Madison, Wis., University of Wisconsin Press.
73
Keating, William H.
1824 Narrative of an Expedition to tlie Source of the St. Peter's River, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of the Woods, etc., under the Command of Stephen H. Long. ... 2 vols. Philadelphia.
McLeod, Martin
1922 "Diary of Martin McLeod." Minnesota History Bulletin, 4:7-8, pp. 351-439.
Margry, P.
1876- Decouvertes et ^tablissements des Frangais dan I'Ouest et dans 86 le Sud de I'Amerique Septentrionale, 1 614— 1754. 6 vols. Paris.
Scull, G. D. (ed.)
1 943 Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson, an Account of His Travels and Experiences among the North American Indians, from 1652—1684. New York, Peter Smith.
Seymour, E. S.
1850 Sketches of Minnesota. New York.
Shea, John Gilmary
1880 A Description of Louisiana, by Father Louis Hennepin. New York.
Stirton, R. A.
1937 Personal letter, March 12.
Swanton, John R.
1952 The Indian Tribes of North America. (Bureau of American Ethnol- ogy, Bulletin 145.) Washington, Government Printing Office.
Wilford, Lloyd A.
1940 "The Prehistoric Indians of Minnesota; the Mille Lacs Aspect." Minnesota History, 25:4, pp. 329-341.
1941 "A Tentative Classification of the Prehistoric Cultures of Min- nesota." American Antiquity, 6:3, pp. 231-249.
.- . 1945 "The Prehistoric Indians of Minnesota; the Headwaters Lakes As- ... 1 pect." Minnesota History, 26:4, pp. 312-329.
Yarrow, H. C.
1881 A Further Contribution to the Study of the Mortuary Customs of the North American Indians. (Bureau of American Ethnology, 1st Annual Report.) Washington, Government Printing Office.
74
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS OF THE MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM
The following publications of the Museum are sent in exchange for the publications of the museums and other scientific institutions with which such exchanges have been established, or may be purchased at the prices listed.
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I 1 Catalogue of the Odonata of North America, R. J. Muttkowski, 1910 Out of Print
2 Lolo Objects in the Public Museum, Milwaukee, Frederick Starr, 12 pp., 8 pi.,
191 1 $ .25
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3 Notes on Mahikan Ethnology, Alanson Skinner, 30 pp., 5 pi., 1925 Out of Print
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IX Rudolph J. Nunnemacher Collection of Projectile Arms, Pts. 1 & 2, John
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3 Dental Pathology of the Prehistoric Indians of Wisconsin, A. K. Fisher, H. W. Kuhm, and Geo. C. Adami, 46 pp., 10 pi., 3 fig., 1931 1.00
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XI 1 The Devonian of Wisconsin: Lameilibranchiata, E. R. Pohl, 100 pp., 14 pi.,
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2 Part 2, Trilobita: Saukiinae, E. O. Ulrich and C. E. Resser, 184 pp., 22 pi.,
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3 Part 3, Graptolitoidea, Rudolph Ruedemann, 42 pp., 10 pi., 4 fig., 1933 ... .75
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XIV 1 Studies on the Flora of Wisconsin, Pt. 1, The Orchids: Orchidaceae, A. M.
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XV Pomo Myths, S. A. Barrett (Complete in one part) 608 pp., 1933 5.00
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2 The Red Cedar River Variant of Wisconsin Hopewell Culture, L. R. Cooper,
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XVill Ballard Rifles in Henry J. Nunnemacher Collection, E. G. WolfF, 17 pp., 27
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XX Material Aspects of Pomo Culture, S. A. Barrett, 508 pp., 62 pi., 8 fig., 1952. Complete in two parts 7.00
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