In Death, A Story of Life: The Gull Lake Burial Mounds

In Death, A Story of Life: The Gull Lake Burial Mounds. . , Grave Goods , Many cultures bury valued possessions, items of everyday life, or special burial items with a person. Archaeologists call these grave goods. At Gull Lake, archaeologists found a pottery cooking vessel, the bones and teeth of a moose, and the remains of domesticated dog associated with burials., Although many more artifacts were found during the excavation, they were found in the mound fill or earth used to construct the mounds. These artifacts were not intentionally buried in the mounds. They are the debris from earlier or contemporary people who lived at this location., Stone Tools and Chipping Debris , Stone tools such as projectile points, scrapers, and knives, as well as chipping debris from stone tool manufacture were found in the mound fill. None of the stone tools were intentionally buried with an individual., Projectile points or other formal tool types are characteristic of different time periods. They suggest that activity in this area began as early as the late-Paleo-Indian period starting about 7000 B.C. and extended well into the Woodland period to about A.D. 900. Most of the stone artifacts from the mounds date to the Woodland Period., Lithic Raw Material , The lithic raw material, or stone, from which stone tools are made can provide information about trading or territories for different groups of people. Quartz, a local material, was the most common stone used to make tools. However, other material types suggest connections with areas as far west as the Missouri River in North Dakota and as far east as Hixton, Wisconsin., Captions: , Example of archaeological pit feature. The dark soil is pit fill, defining a shallow pit that was dug in the surrounding lighter color subsoil. The portion of the pit in the foreground has been excavated. Approximately 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 feet in size. The stick in the excavated portion of the pit is the north arrow and scale., Side-Notched projectile points similar to the Prairie Side-Notched type from the northern plains dating to the late-Middle Woodland around A.D. 600 to A.D. 800., From Mound 1, made of locally available Swan River Chert, actual size is approximately 1 x 3/4 inches., From Mound 7, made of Knife River Flint, actual size is approximately 1 x 1 3/4 inches., Mid-section of late-Paleo-Indian projectile dating to around 7000 B.C., approximately 1 1/2 x 3 inches. Silicified Sandstone from prehistoric stone quarries at Hixton, Wisconsin., Informal flake tool made of Knife River Flint. Note sharpened edge on the tool's left side. Actual size is approximately 1 x 3/4 inches., Portion of broken knife blade made of high quality chert probably from limestone outcrops in southeastern Minnesota or southwestern Wisconsin. Actual size is approximately 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches., Indian spearing fish 3 miles below Fort Snelling, courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society