Removal Period Archaeology:
The Historical Archaeology of Native American Strategies
Pokagon's cabin, 2000:
Leopold Pokagon, from whom the Pokagon Band
takes its name.
By a combination of surveying, metal detector surveys, and shovel probing
(digging systematically placed shovel holes and mapping artifact distributions)
were were able to locate the cabin and a large midden area (a area with buried
trash) that lay in front of the cabin. This is what the midden area
looked like during the excavations.
We are very grateful to the landowners for permitting us to work at the site and for the hospitality they gave us. We had many helpers during our excavations, including the children of the landowners.In the photo on the left, you can barely see Kyle helping with the excavations while Kayle and Tyler keep a close watch on the action.
We were also assisted for one day by the Pokagon Youth Group, who joined in with screening and shovel probing.
The midden area had previously been dug into by an artifact collector, but it still produced abundant artifacts that can tell us much about life at the Pokagon Village during the Removal period.
In this picture, you can see the
dark midden soil, cracked rocks from fires, and small fragments of animal bone
(small white patches).
The midden produced abundant historic artifacts that consisted of discarded
trash. These provide excellent information about life at Pokagon's cabin.
Blue-edged and hand painted floral pottery was imported from England. Its
presence confirms that the midden dates to the late 1700s or early 1800s, which
is exactly what we would expect for this site. 
Metal items included hand-forged nails that were probably made by a
blacksmith that worked at the site. One early type of machine cut square
nail made before about 1820 shows that the villagers could also buy finished
nails. The brass tack may have decorated a trunk, while the lead wire could
have been made in to bullets. The buckle fragment may have come from a
belt or horse tack.
Other interesting historic artifacts (on the left) include white clay smoking pipes, a home-made sandstone pipe, tubular glass beads, and gunflints imported from France.
Bone preservation was excellent in the midden and animal bones were
abundant. Even a few eggshell fragments were preserved. The faunal
remains include deer, squirrel, and many pigs. Turtles were also
taken. This interesting mix of wild and domesticated resources will be
studied in more detail by an expert in faunal analysis.
Conclusions:
The artifacts from the 2000 excavations suggest a slightly earlier date than those we found in 1999. This provides an excellent opportunity to learn how material culture changed over a relatively short period of time as the Pokagons adapted to the conditions of the Removal Period. Future studies will examine each type of artifact in detail. In general, the faunal remains seem to suggest increasing use of domesticated animals over time.
In 2001, we will return to Pokagon's cabin to take additional samples of artifacts from the midden. We will also use flotation separation to collect plant remains so that we can learn more about the role of domesticated plants at the Village.
Read
about prehistoric archaeology and the Goodall Tradition
project.
