Near Huff in Morton County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Huff Indian Village Dates to AD 1443-1465

Huff Indian Village State Historic Site

Photographed by Connor Olson, September 27, 2019

1. Huff Indian Village Dates to AD 1443-1465 Marker

Inscription. Only recently have we been able to accurately determine the age of Huff Village. Archeological deposits and the settlement layout suggests that the village was probably inhabited for only 20 years or so. Fourteen radiocarbon dates and several tree-ring dates failed to give consistent age results narrower than a century or two in duration. Six new radiocarbon assays were run in 2000, using new methods applied to individual fragments of charred corn and corncob. These dates are internally consistent and give a probable calendar age range from AD 1443 to AD 1465.

Archeologists, being human, often see what they expect to see in an archeological site. Houses at Huff Village are nearly all rectangular in form, and consequently are marked by an oblong or non-circular depression of the ground surface. Nonetheless, several maps of the site made between 1908 and 1919 depicted only circular house depressions at Huff Village. This was because all standing earthlodges known from eyewitness historic accounts were circular in shape, and rectangular houses had not yet been discovered by excavation in North Dakota. Later maps gave more

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accurate depictions. Huff Village, unlike most other known villages, shows a strong pattern in the arrangement of houses into tightly packed rows. Only the two most recent maps give an accurate depiction of this settlement plan.

Archeologists assign Huff Village to the Plains Village pattern, meaning peoples who resided primarily in large communities along the Missouri River and practiced a combination of farming and intensive bison hunting. Huff Village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Picture captions:
Lower left: Early maps of Huff Village
Upper middle: Huff Village aerial showing planned arrangement of houses inside the fortification ditch
Lower middle: Speculative reconstruction of an early Plains Village rectangular lodge
Upper right: 3-D image of Huff Village in its setting on a Missouri River terrace
Lower right: Map of Huff Village showing the 1938-1939,1959, and 1960 excavations

Erected by State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology •

Earth-lodge depression image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Connor Olson, September 27, 2019

2. Earth-lodge depression

Indigenous Peoples and Communities.

Location. 46° 37.121′ N, 100° 38.657′ W. Marker is near Huff, North Dakota, in Morton County. It can be reached from North Dakota Route 1806. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mandan ND 58554, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Missouri Plateau

and in Greater Bismarck Area.

It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

and on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Huff Indian Village State Historic Site (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Huff Indian Village State Historic Site (here, next to this marker); Village Fortifications and Human Conflict (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Village Fortifications and Human Conflict (within shouting

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distance of this marker); Remote Sensing (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Cache Pit and Village Subsistence (about 500 feet away); Animal Remains Found in Cache Pits (about 500 feet away); Plaza and Ceremonial Lodge (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huff.

Also see . . . Huff Village State Historic Site. (Submitted on August 7, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 8, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 7, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 406 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 7, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker and its surroundings. • Can you help?