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Bell site (47 Wn-09) | |
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| Location | south side of Big Lake Butte des Morts, Winnebago County, Wisconsin |
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| Coordinates | 44°4′23″N88°38′31″W / 44.07306°N 88.64194°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 92000818 |
| Added to NRHP | 1992 |
The Bell site (also known as 47 Wn-09) is located on the south side of Big Lake Butte des Morts in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, about 52 miles southeast of Green Bay. The site is classified as an early (c. 1600-1750 AD) Historic village of the Meskwaki (Fox) people. [1]
The Bell site was first discovered in 1911 when gravel mining operations uncovered the burial of an Indian chief and his horse. [2] In the 1950s the site came to the attention of professional archaeologists. Mixed historic and prehistoric materials were being found by collectors, and the pottery was unlike any previously found at archaeological sites in Wisconsin. It was hypothesized that this site could be a village of a Central Angonkian tribe (native to Michigan or Ontario) which had been displaced in the 1600s during the Iroquois wars. [1] Further research in the Wisconsin Historical Collections revealed that early French explorers had recorded a village of the Meskwaki people at the location of the site. [3]
In 1959 evacuations took place with the joint efforts of the State Historical Society, the Wisconsin Archaeological Survey and the Oshkosh Public Museum, under the direction of Warren L. Wittry of the Cranbrook Institute of Science. [1]
Features identified at the site include: [1]
A wide variety of artifacts were recovered, including bone and antler artifacts, brass artifacts, pottery, stone tools, glass artifacts, ground and polished stone artifacts, iron artifacts, lead artifacts, shell artifacts and smoking pipes. [1]
Four pottery types were noted at the site:
Archaeologists have found great difficulty in identifying the material culture of the Great Lakes Indian tribes and tracing it back to prehistoric times. At the time of European contact, tribes were moving around and becoming displaced due to conflicts such as the Iroquois wars, as well as the changing economic patterns brought about by the fur trade. As a result, it's difficult for archaeologists to place tribes accurately in their prehistoric homeland. Furthermore, after contact with Europeans, the tribes traded for items such as brass kettles and steel knives which replaced the native pottery and stone tools. Thus, the material culture vanished and in many cases created a disconnect in the archaeological record between the prehistoric and historic periods. [7] [6]
With the discovery of the Bell site, for the first time Meskwaki material culture could be observed in an intact early historic context. The Bell site type 1 pottery style can be attributed to the Meskwaki tribe with confidence since it is the predominant pottery type present at the site. [1] Subsequently, excavations at a known Potawatomi site (Rock Island) yielded Bell site type II pottery, which indicates that pottery type was manufactured by the Potawatomi. [6] In both cases, this was the first time that specific pottery styles could be attributed with confidence to either tribe.
The Grand Village of the Illinois, also called Old Kaskaskia Village, is a site significant for being the best documented historic Native American village in the Illinois River valley. It was a large agricultural and trading village of Native Americans of the Illinois confederacy, located on the north bank of the Illinois River near the present town of Utica, Illinois. French explorers Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette came across it in 1673. The Kaskaskia, a tribe of the Illiniwek people lived in the village. It grew rapidly after a French mission and fur trading post were established there in 1675, to a population of about 6,000 people in about 460 houses. Around 1691 the Kaskaskia and other Illiniwek moved further south, abandoning the site due to pressure from an Iroquois invasion from the northeast.
The Plum Island Eagle Sanctuary is a 52-acre island in the Illinois River owned by the Illinois Audubon Society. It was purchased March 24, 2004, to act as a wildlife sanctuary and to protect foraging habitat for wintering bald eagles. It is close to Matthiessen State Park and adjacent to Starved Rock State Park.
The Younge site is an archeological site located in Goodland Township, Lapeer County, Michigan. It is classified as a prehistoric Late Woodland site and was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site on October 29, 1971. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1976.
The Summer Island site, designated 20DE4, is an archaeological site located on the northwest side of Summer Island, in Delta County, Michigan. It is classified as a stratified, multi-component site with Middle Woodland, Upper Mississippian and Early Historic/Protohistoric occupations. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
The Juntunen site, also known as 20MK1, is a stratified prehistoric Late Woodland fishing village located on the western tip of Bois Blanc Island. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Dumaw Creek Site is an archaeological site designated 20OA5, located along Dumaw Creek northeast of Pentwater, Michigan, that was the location of a 17th-century village and cemetery. It is one of the youngest pre-historic sites in Michigan, dating to the terminal Late Woodland Period just prior to European contact. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Moccasin Bluff site is an archaeological site located along the Red Bud Trail and the St. Joseph River north of Buchanan, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and has been classified as a multi-component prehistoric site with the major component dating to the Late Woodland/Upper Mississippian period.
The Rock Island II Site is an archaeological site located on the south side of Rock Island, in Door County, Wisconsin, United States, at the mouth of Green Bay, within the boundaries of Rock Island State Park. It is classified as an Early Historic site with occupations by the Potawatomi, Huron, Petun, Ottawa and Wyandot tribes. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2023. It is one of the best-preserved sites documenting early Native-European contacts in the Great Lakes region.
The Schwerdt site (20AE127) is located on the Kalamazoo River in Allegan County, Michigan. It is classified as a single-component Berrien phase site dating to the late prehistoric period. The Berrien phase is associated with the late Woodland but also has some Upper Mississippian influences.
The Griesmer site (La-3) is located on the Kankakee River in Lake County, Indiana, about a mile southeast of Schneider, in Northwestern Indiana. It is classified as a Prehistoric, multi-component site with Middle Woodland, Late Woodland and Upper Mississippian occupations. The deposits were not stratified, but observation of the types of artifacts present, together with radiocarbon dates, helped to define the sequence of occupations at the site.
The Huber Site (11Ck-1) is located on Tinley Creek 2 miles west of Blue Island in Cook County, Illinois, near the city of Chicago. It is classified as a late prehistoric site with Upper Mississippian affiliation.
The Hoxie Farm site (11Ck-4) is located on Thorn Creek in Thornton, Illinois Cook County Forest Preserve in Cook County, Illinois, near the city of Chicago. It is classified as a late prehistoric to Protohistoric/Early Historic site with Upper Mississippian Huber affiliation.
The Knoll Spring site (11Ck-19), aka Au Sagaunashke village, is located in the Sag Valley, Palos Hills, in Cook County, Illinois, near the city of Chicago. It is classified as a late prehistoric site with Upper Mississippian Huber affiliation.
The Oak Forest Site (11Ck-53) is located in Oak Forest, Cook County, Illinois, near the city of Chicago. It is classified as a late prehistoric to Protohistoric/Early Historic site with Upper Mississippian Huber affiliation.
The Anker Site (11Ck-21) is located on the Little Calumet River near Chicago, Illinois. It is classified as a late prehistoric site with Upper Mississippian Huber affiliation.
The Hotel Plaza site (Ls-36) is located near Starved Rock, on the Illinois River across from the Zimmerman site (aka Grand Village of the Illinois. It is a multi-component site representing prehistoric, protohistoric and early historic periods, with the main occupation being an early Historic component associated with the French Fort St. Louis.
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