OHJ Archive

OHIO

Archaeological and Historical

PUBLICATIONS

PREHISTORIC EARTHWORKS IN WISCONSIN.

A. B. STOUT,

University of Wisconsin.

In presenting this subject it seems best to the writer to treat

somewhat in detail the various classes of earthworks and then

to give a summary for the state as a whole with a brief discus-

sion of the archaeological area to which it belongs. With this

plan in view the various artificial earthen structures in Wis-

consin of prehistoric origin (at least the greater number are

prehistoric) may be grouped into the following rather well

defined types: enclosures, conical mounds, flat topped mounds,

effigy mounds, linear mounds, intaglio earthworks, refuse heaps,

garden beds and corn fields. Altho there are some earth re-

mains that are intermediate between various types, the above

classification serves to good advantage for discussion and com-

parison, and may well be treated in the order given.

Few enclosures exist in Wisconsin. Yet the most famed

of the earthworks within the state is an enclosure with accom-

panying earthworks which has been called the Aztalan ruins.

It would be of no special value to present here a review of the

literature pertaining to these earthworks. Those who desire

this will find that West (I) has recently made a complete his-

torical summary together with a critical analysis of the literature

on Aztalan.

These remarkable ruins are now badly mutilated by long

Vol. XX-1. (1)

2 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

cultivation of the land, but there can be little question concerning

the main features as described by Hyer (I) and later by Lap-

ham (I). The main wall formed three sides of an irregular

parallelogram with the river forming the fourth side (See plate

2). The total length of the wall as given by Lapham was 2,750

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 3

feet. The width was about 22 feet and the height was from

one to five feet. It enclosed 17 2/3 acres. Along its outer edge

were projecting "bastions" which in some cases resembled con-

ical mounds. At a few places (and only at a few points) on

the surface of the wall a shallow layer of burned clay was

found. The presence of this burned clay has led to unwarranted

descriptions of a ruined "brick" wall. The wall was made of

dirt taken from numerous excavations in the immediate vicinity.

The clay "brickets" are most probably the remains of clay

plastered huts.

Within the enclosure were various earthworks. At least

three were flat-topped, pyramidal mounds with graded ap-

proaches and in one case with terraced sides. The largest was

15 feet high with a level top 53 feet square. Lapham (I) noted

within the enclosure some two dozen circular mounds resembling

4 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

hut rings. Effigy mounds probably existed within the enclosure

and linear and conical mounds were quite numerous in the im-

mediate vicinity. Some of the latter which were 25 feet high

in 1837 still show as conspicuous features (See plate 4).

It is greatly to be regretted that the various efforts made

to preserve these earthworks were not successful. Seventy

years of continuous cultivation over the greater portion of the

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 5

earthworks has so effaced the finer features that many im-

portant questions can not be determined. In the light of the

present knowledge of American archaeology the surface features

might be interpreted readily. The judgment of to-day is that

here was an inclosed Indian village. The presence of effigy

mounds in and about the enclosure, of conical burial mounds,

and of the abundance of Indian artifacts found on the site, all

of which are characteristic of the archaeology of the region,

leads to the conclusion of West (I) that Aztalan was "the site

of a permanent village of prehistoric Indians of the effigy mound

period."

Besides the Aztalan enclosure some 20 other but smaller

enclosures have been reported in various parts of the state.

These include oval, square, rectangular, octagonal and horse-

shoe shaped enclosures. A few of these are shown in Plate 3.

Some are evidently the earthen remains of fortified areas, others

were dance or play grounds and others lodge sites. Among the

enclosures are several in the Green Bay region that are as-

sociated with Indian villages of historic date.

The enclosures of Wisconsin do not constitute an important

or a distinguishing feature of its archeological remains. The

best of them do not compare in extent or in exactitude of design

to the numerous hill forts, enclosures and defensive walls of

6 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Ohio. They are few in number, simple in plan of construction

and of varied use. They give evidence of sporadic and feeble

attempts at fortification, and of exceptional rather than general

use of dirt walls in the construction of buildings. They are as-

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 7

sociated with various other types of earthworks and with village

sites in a manner which marks them as the work of Indians.

In taking up the discussion of conical mounds we have to

consider the type of mound most extensively distributed over

the mound bearing area. Externally they are dome shaped

heaps of dirt appearing to the eye as shown in plates 4, 5, and 6.

In Wisconsin conical mounds range in diameter at the base from

10 to nearly 100 feet and from a few inches to about 25 feet

in height above the surrounding level. Most of them are less

than ten feet in height.

The various modes of burial in these mounds do not admit

of a satisfactory classification. Either stones were first used

to construct a rude vault, or bark and logs were used for the

same purpose or the remains were directly covered with dirt.

When stones were used their arrangement varies from a low

stone wall surrounding the remains to a rough vault of stones

piled over the body. In the latter case if the dirt layer was

originally thin, or possibly even omitted, the structure would

now appear as a cairn burial. Lawson (I) has described about

30 cairns located in the vicinity of Lake Winneconne which are

supposed to contain

burials. T he con-

struction of a vault

or tepee like shelter

of bark or logs was

evidently a com-

mon practice. The

greater portion of

the mound is of

dirt which is usu-

ally unstratified es-

pecially in the

smaller mounds.

Stratified mounds

are, however,

rather common.

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 9

This feature is the result either of successive additions to a

mound or of the employment of different soils which were laid

on in layers.

In any of the above cases one or many bodies may occur

in a single mound. The body or bodies were either placed

prostrate or in a sitting position with the feet extended or in

a sitting position with the feet folded under the body. Burials

were made below the original surface of the ground, on the

surface, or scattered at various levels

thru the mound. In the latter case

there is usually evidence that burials

were made at different times either

with or without additions of dirt, the

latter being what is called an in-

trusive burial.

The interment of the dead did not

always occur soon after death while

the body was intact. In the so-called

"bundle burial" the dismembered

bones from one or more skeletons

were deposited each in a separate

bundle with the skull placed on or

near the bundle and again the bones

were piled in a confused mass form-

ing a communal burial.

Fire was commonly used in the

burial ceremony leaving such evi-

dence as layers of ashes with charcoal or even charred and

partly consumed timbers.

A considerable number of mounds have been opened with

the view of carefully studying the method of burial but these

cases are few compared with those that have been ruthlessly

opened by relic hunters.

Various artifacts are often but not always found beside

the remains of the dead. Of these pottery vessels, arrow

points, stone axes, and pipes are most common. In the majority

of mounds there is no evidence that they were built since the

advent of the whites, yet there are numerous authentic records

10 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

of the presence with the original burial of such articles as glass

beads, iron implements, gun flint, copper kettles and even in

one case (Hoy I) of "a small fur covered brass nailed trunk"

containing cheap jewelry. These facts clearly indicate that some

of the conical mounds were constructed after the establishment

of trade relations with the whites, a point

corroborated by considerable historic data.

Seldom are excavataions found from

which dirt was taken for the building of

mounds. In plowed fields the soil of

mounds nearly always shows a marked

color contrast to that of the field. Stratified

mounds are usually built of layers of dif-

ferent material. Some mounds are com-

posed entirely of clay, others of rich black

loam, and still others of a rather coarse

gravelly soil. The dirt was evidently ob-

tained from some near by ravine, bank or

other unsodded exposure.

It is conclusive that but a small propor-

tion of the dead were buried in mounds,

for associated with mound groups are vil-

lage sites with cemeteries of shallow dirt

burials in which the greater number were

buried.

Conical burial mounds occur singly or in

groups. In the southern part of the state

they are usually grouped with linear and

effigy mounds. In most groups there is a

miscellaneous arrangement of types as is

seen in plates 7, 8 and 9. There is, how-

ever, a noticeable tendency for the conicals

to be arranged in long rows as shown in plates 8 and 10, an

archaeological feature characteristic of the so-called Wisconsin

District (Thomas I). Short chains of conicals with edges over-

lapping occur as indicated in plates 9 and 22. Conicals with

linear connections are not uncommon (See plates 9 and 22).

In regard to numbers the conicals far exceed the total of

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 11

all other mounds in Wisconsin. Some data on this point will

be presented later.

The oval mound differs from the conical only in having

an oval base. They are less frequent and shade into the short

linear type.

In Wisconsin flat topped and truncated pyramidal mounds

are few in number. A few low broad topped "platform" mounds

are found along the Mississippi River (See plate II.) Lapham

reported several pyramidal mounds nearly all of which were

at Aztalan.

We now come to the most interesting and remarkable of

Wisconsin antiquities, the effigy mounds. These are dirt cameos

built in the form of various animals or in some cases possibly

to represent inanimate subjects. Some of the animals most

accurately represented are the turtle, deer, mink, panther, bear,

various types of birds and in at least two cases the human figure.

Some are rather crude in outline but the greater number are

well formed and of good proportions as can be seen in the plates

12 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

illustrating this article. There is some degree of exaggeration

in the extenuated tails of many of the turtle and panther effigies,

but in the majority of cases the art displayed is realistic. This

is especially shown in the fact that the animal is represented as

it is usually observed in nature. The turtle, frog and lizard-

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 13

14 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

like effigies (See plate 18) are built with the limbs at each side

of the body, thus representing the animal as it appears when

one looks down on it. Birds of the air (Plates 16 and 17) are

shown as they appear when flying overhead and often the bill

is shown as if the head were turned to one side. The forked

tail and curved wings are present in some cases (See plate 16).

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 15

Land mammals as the bear, deer, mink and panther are repre-

sented in profile which is the view one has of the animal either

when alive or dead. In these, however, the two hind limbs and

the two fore limbs are respectively united in the effigy, but in

a few cases (As in plate 15) all four limbs are shown in the

profile making the figure more realistic.

The height of the majority of the effigy mounds is about

21/2 or 3 feet, altho a few are as high as 6 feet. Bear effigies

16 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

range in length from 39 to 82 feet in length and birds with

wings extended from 100 to 624 feet. The bird in the group

on the State Asylum Grounds near Madison (See plate 16) is

according to the data at hand, the largest bird effigy in existence.

Its body stands six feet in height and the wing extent is 624

feet. During the field assembly of the Wisconsin Archaeological

Society held during the summer of 1910, a tablet was erected

on this mound with appropriate exercises.

Effigies are in many cases grouped with linear and conical

mounds (Plates 7, 8, 9 and 10) altho they may be found either

singly or in groups entirely separated from mounds of any other

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 17

class (Plate 17). In an individual group several types of effigies

may be present and there may be duplicates of one or more

types. In the arrangement of the effigies in a group no uniform

method was followed, altho there is a tendency for them to be

included with conicals in a long row. As a rule the effigies in

a group bear no apparent relation to each other. Still in some

cases there is co-ordination of

action represented in the rela-

tive positions. For example,

the three birds constituting the

Lower Dells Group (See page

17) are represented as flying

in unison. The mammoth bird

in the Asylum Group is the

central figure of three large

birds represented as flying to-

ward the lake with the wings

overlapping. The bear mounds

are sometimes arranged as tho

the animals were walking to-

gether (See plate 14). Other

examples could be cited which

indicate that in some cases the

builders intended to represent

a co-ordination of action.

The abundance of mounds

and the proportional numbers

of the different types varies in

different portions of the state.

There are few areas where a

complete survey has been

made and upon which there

is adequate statistical data.

For the purpose of illustrating various points regarding the

number and the distribution of the various types, two typical

areas can be taken from the midst of the effigy bearing region.

In seven townships in Sauk County the writer located 734

Vol. XX-2.

18 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

mounds. About 50 miles southeast of Sauk County lies Lake

Koshkonong with a water surface of nearly 13 square miles.

The following table shows the principal facts in the comparison

of these two areas.

Sauk Co. Area. L. Koshkonong Area.

Area in sq. miles............. 200 31

Total No. mounds ............ 734 481

" "conicals............ 337 309

" " effigies ............. 183 42

" " bear effigies........ 47 0

" " mink effigies....... 12 1

" " bird effigies........ 43 10

" " turtle effigies ....... 0 9

It is to be noted that the effigies are less numerous than are

the conicals. This is true of any given area. The character of

the effigies in these two areas is different. The bear type so

abundant in Sauk County is absent at Lake Koshkonong.

Twelve mink are found at Sauk County and but one at Lake

Koshkonong. The 43 birds in Sauk County have the wings ex-

tended while nearly all of those at Lake Koshkonong are of a

very different type with drooping wings as shown in No. 9,

plate 16.

The above illustrates the fact that the dominant types of

various areas are different. Peet (I) has divided the effigy

bearing area into seven clan habitats on the basis of the pre-

ponderance of one type of effigy. While this division is based

on incomplete data it is suggestive of what will be revealed if a

complete census of the effigy mounds is ever made.

Any discussion of effigies should not be concluded without

some mention of the remarkable man mound at Baraboo, Wis-

consin. In the early records of Wisconsin antiquities and in

some later ones, it has been stated frequently that there are

numerous mounds representing the human figure. The surveys

of these, however, show the upper limbs to be greatly dispro-

portionate to those of the human figure and that in many cases

there is no suggestion of the lower limbs. A careful study of

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 19

this phase of Wisconsin archeology leads to the conclusion that

there have been reported but two mounds with outlines that are

true to those of the human figure. Both of these are located

in Sauk County, which is geographically near the center of the

effigy bearing area. Both were carefully surveyed by Wm. H.

Canfield, a pioneer surveyor and archaeologist of Sauk County,

who contributed several surveys to the work on Wisconsin An-

tiquities by I. A. Lapham. One of these effigies known as the

La Valle Man Mound has been leveled by cultivation and but

for Mr. Canfield's timely survey all accurate data regarding it

would be unavailable. The second and more perfect effigy lies

near Baraboo. Its original length was 214 feet, but nearly 60

feet of the lower limbs have been destroyed by the construction

of a public highway. The outline given in plate 19 was traced

by the writer from the original plat made by Mr. Canfield in

1859. The head, arms, trunk and upper part of the legs are

still well preserved. The outlines are definite and well formed

and the resemblance to a human figure is in no way exaggerated

in the survey. In height the mound is nearly uniformly 21/2 feet.

It will be seen from the survey that the limbs are short in pro-

20 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

portion to the length of the body and that the figure is in the

attitude of walking toward the west. The horn-like projections

which evidently represent a head dress are noticeable features.

Through the activity of the Wisconsin Archaeological Society, the

Sauk County Historical Society and the Wisconsin Federation

of Woman's Clubs a public subscription was raised and purchase

made of enough land surrounding the mound to make a small

park. For complete data regarding the preservation of this

mound those who are interested are referred to Vol. 7, No. 4,

of the Wisconsin Archaeologist. In comparison to these two

readily recognizable effigies of the human figure the other

"man mounds" seem clearly to be representations of birds or at

the least grotesque forms of a human being.

Associated with effigy mounds in a few locations were earth-

works known as intaglios. In the construction of these the dirt

was dug away and the form of the animal represented in the

excavation, a method which is the reverse of true mound con-

struction.

But eleven intaglios have ever been reported. Nine of these

were figured by Lapham and the other two were reported by his

contemporary Wm. H. Canfield. The plats and descriptions

which these two men made some half a century ago, give nearly

all that will probably be known concerning intaglios. No others

have been found, and of the nine reported all but one have been

destroyed. This one is located at Ft. Atkinson. In form it is

of the rather common type known as the panther mound. In

length it is 108 feet. The greatest depth of 21/2 feet is in the

body, the depth of which is increased by the dirt piled up at

the margin of the excavation. The tail is a slight but decided

excavation and toward the tip it gradually merges into the gen-

eral level. The photograph reproduced in plate 21 shows quite

well the configuration of the body, head and limbs. As a class,

intaglios constitute a unique and distinctly local feature. Their

designs relate them to effigy mounds. One is a cameo, the other

is an intaglio.

In distribution the effigy mounds are almost exclusively lim-

ited to the southern half of Wisconsin. A few are found in

adjoining portions of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. The noted

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 21

"serpent mound" and three other mounds in Ohio are undoubt-

edly effigies. Unsubstantiated re-

ports mention effigies in the bad

lands of Dakota, and at least one

is found in Canada. Two bird

shaped figures constructed entire-

ly of white quartz boulders have

been described from Georgia

22 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

(Jones I). These resemble the earth effigies of Wisconsin ex-

cept that they are constructed of stones. The boulder mosaics

of the Dakotas are simpler in construction for they consist of

the figure in outline.

The mounds thus far considered as effigies are those that

clearly represent some animal more or less recognizable. There

are, however, various types of linear mounds and combinations

of conical and linear forms that may have been constructed to

symbolize inanimate things and hence may be called conven-

tionalized effigies.

The principal classes of linear mounds are as follows:

The pure linear type is a straight wall like mound of uni-

form width and height. They are usually about 21/2 feet in

height and from 10 to 20 feet in width. Some are so short

that they approach the oval and platform mound types, while

the longest are over 900 feet in length. For relative sizes of

this type see numbers 7 to 12 of plate 22.

The straight pointed linear is usually of considerable length

and differs from the pure linear as given above in having one

end tapering to a long drawn out point. (See Nos. 1, 2 and 3,

plate 22). Variations from this type are to be found in which

the pointed end may be bent to one side at an angle (See num-

bers 4, 5, 13, 14, of plate 22).

Club shaped linears are frequently found (Plate 22, No. 6)

and kidney shaped linears are not wanting (No. 20, plate 22).

The various linear types described above are sometimes

modified by an enlargement at one end (See Nos. 4, 15, 16 and

17, plate 22). This ranges from a low, flattened enlargement

to a rounded, well built conical mound. Various projections or

appendages to some of the linear forms (Fig. 25, plate 22) give

figures that shade toward effigies proper. These types of linear

mounds are mingled in the mound groups as shown in the vari-

ous group plats (Plates 7, 8, 9, and 10). The studies and

observations of the linear mounds made in the field from purely

an archeological point of view have convinced the writer that

the linear mounds of Wisconsin are really effigy mounds erected

with symbolic meaning.

Besides the types already discussed there are peculiar com-

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 23

binations and composite mounds (See plate 22, Nos. 30, 31, and

32) which do not admit of any rational explanation. As Fowke

(I) aptly says regarding the anomalous earth structures of Ohio,

"The builders of such figures probably knew what they were

about, but we cannot even guess at their thoughts or intentions."

Refuse heaps do not constitute a conspicuous feature on

many of the Wisconsin village sites, yet they deserve some men-

tion. The ones most noticeable are low and flattened heaps of

various remains of camp refuse. No extensive explorations of

village sites and refuse heaps have been carried on in Wis-

consin.

Corn fields are associated with many of the village sites.

Where they have not been disturbed by the white man's culti-

vation they are easily recognized. The hills are often 11/2 feet

in height and about 3 feet apart. Each hill is a dome shaped

pile of dirt the result of continued heaping up of the soil. The

photos reproduced in plate 24 show well the appearance of a

typical Indian corn field. The largest fields comprise at least

40 to 60 acres but usually the fields are much smaller. In at

24 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

least two places in the lake Winnebago region [Lapham (I)

and Lawson (2)] the stones scattered over a field "had been

carefully collected into little heaps and ridges to make room for

the culture of crops. The stone heaps are six to eight feet in

diameter and from one to two feet high."

The present appearance of garden beds is fairly well shown

in plate 25. As the name implies these are patches covered with

ridges or beds. The best of these as described by Lapham (3)

were "one hundred feet long, and had a uniform width of six

feet. The depressions (paths) between the beds are 8 inches

deep and 15 inches wide. Mr. Charles E. Brown has recently

collected all the data on Wisconsin garden beds (Brown I). He

finds that they are present in 17 different localities which are

nearly all in the eastern part of the state between Green Bay

and Racine. They are of small area and are laid out in simple

patterns displaying no such elaborate designs as are reported in

Michigan. Garden beds are so often intimately associated with

corn fields, village sites and mound groups that they must be

ascribed to the same builders.

We have now considered the character of the principal

archaeological features that may be considered as within the

range of the title of this paper. In regard to their general dis-

tribution it is to be noted that there are but five counties which

at the present time have no record of at least some of the vari-

ous classes of earthen remains. The most recent archaeological

map of the state appeared in 1906 and is here produced (See

plate I) as it appeared in the Wisconsin Archaeologist, Vol. 5

Numbers 3 and 4. It shows in a grapic way the main facts in

the distribution of conicals and effigies. By far the greater

number of mounds are in the southern part of the state along

the principal lakes and streams.

It is difficult to make an accurate estimate of the total

number of mounds in the state for there are but a few areas

in which a complete census has been made. The author would

judge from the data at hand that there are at least 20,000 conical,

linear and effigy mounds in the state.

The purposes for which most of these earth works were

constructed are evident from the foregoing. The difficult points

26 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

in this question are concerned with the effigy and linear mounds.

In regard to the former it is now generally conceded that they

were built as totems in connection with the clan system of In-

dian organization. To the writer the only satisfactory explana-

tion of the linear mounds is to assign them to the effigy class.

The various types of linears which have been, from time to

time, considered as defensive walls may be found on the crests

of narrow ridges, or extending down the slopes of steep hill-

sides, or even extending over a series of undulating ridges in

such relation to each other and to the immediate topography

that the theory of their use as a means of defense or as house

sites must be rejected. Human remains are so seldom found

in linear mounds that it is clear they were not built for pur-

poses of burial. Rev. Peet's views regarding their use as game

drives are not accepted by archaeological students. From the

preceeding discussion of linear mounds it is evident that there

are intermediate or transitional forms between the linears and

the pure effigy types with which they are mingled. It must be

admitted however that various elongated mounds extend west-

ward into Minnesota and Manitoba beyond the limits of the

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 27

pure effigy types. Yet the character and extent of these linears

are not adequately known. In fact no satisfactory study has

been made of the range, number, and classification of the vari-

ous types of linears and effigies. What is most needed at pres-

ent is a complete systematic field survey, not of isolated areas

here and there but of the entire area. This would make clear

many perplexing questions and give abundant data to correlate

with that obtained from historical and ethnological sources.

In the minds of the readers of these pages there will arise

many legitimate questions pertaining to the authorship of these

earthworks. A complete discussion of this problem is not in

place here. Fortunately West (I) has recently compiled a work

of nearly 200 pages in which he discusses all phases of the

problem. For the benefit of the readers of this article the greater

part of the conclusions which he deducts will be quoted although

it is hoped that those who are especially critical will read the

entire discussion given by West upon which the following con-

clusions are based.

1. The entrance of the principal mound-builders into Wis-

consin appears to have been from the south and southwest.

Other tribes, who erected some of the more recent conical tumuli,

entered from the north and east.

2. The effigy mounds and other earthworks closely associ-

ated with them were erected during the same period, and by the

same tribe or culturally related tribes.

3. No information that we now possess concerning the

earthworks of our state justifies the conclusion that they are uni-

formly of great antiquity. The evidence is plain that of the

burial mounds some were erected in early historic times. The

date of the erection of the oldest mound groups may safely be

placed at not to exceed three centuries previous to the discov-

ery of America by Columbus.

4. The enclosure and closely associated works at Aztalan

are the remains of an Indian village. None of the Wisconsin

earthworks were built for purely religious, and none for sacri-

ficial purposes. Cremation was not a usual practice, but the

use of fire in burial ceremonies was a common custom among

our ancient Indians.

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 29

5. The mounds explored give conclusive proof that the cul-

ture status of their authors was practically the same as that

of the early historic tribes. Their social conditions, domestic

and burial customs are not found to differ. They alike lived

in villages, manufactured such implements as their manner of

life required, depended for subsistence on agriculture and the

chase; carried on a traffic with distant tribes, understood the

art of war and defense and used the streams as their principal

highways.

6. That the Wisconsin earthworks were erected by the

Indians is now so well established as to scarcely admit of ar-

gument. That the authors of the effigy mounds were of Siouxan

stock, probably the Winnebago, is a hypothesis that appears

to be well founded. The author predicts that it will be ac-

cepted as an undisputed fact, within the present generation.

7. From the evidence at hand, the occupation of Wisconsin

soil can be classed in but two principal periods. The first be-

ing the effigy mound-building era, during which all classes of

earthworks were constructed; second, the time elapsing since

the custom of erecting imitative earthworks ceased.

30 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

In conclusion a word should be said concerning the archaeo-

logical area to which the Wisconsin region is related. Thomas

(I) has divided the entire mound bearing area into several dis-

tricts each with a more or less marked individuality in the char-

acter of the mound remains. According to this division the area

included in N. Dak., S. Dak., Minn., Wis., adjoining portions of

Canada, the extreme northeastern portion of Iowa and the north-

ern portion of Illinois constitutes what is called the "Dakotan

District." The features characteristic of this area are boulder

outlines, effigy mounds, linear or elongate mounds, connected

series of conical mounds and long rows of conical mounds.

While these classes show various relationships that war-

rant this grouping they are not characteristic of the area as

a whole. Boulder outlines are confined to the western portion

of the arena as defined. Pure effigies are chiefly confined to

Southern Wisconsin and it is in this portion of the so-called

Dakotan District that all the characteristic features excepting

boulder outlines reach their best development.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

Certain portions of this article are here given as written in

a paper on "Effigy Mounds and Mosaics in the Valley of the

Mississippi" presented by the writer before the Mississippi Val-

ley Historical Society at the annual meeting for 191O and which

will appear in the proceedings of that Society.

Many of the figures and plates illustrating this paper have

appeared in various numbers of the Wisconsin Archaeologist and

are here reproduced by permission.

For the above favors the writer wishes to express here his

thanks to the above named organizations and to the various in-

dividuals named in references and in descriptions of plates.

REFERENCES CITED IN THE TEXT.

BROWN - Charles E. Brown.

1. Wisconsin Garden Beds, Wis. Archaeologist, Vol. 8, No. 3.

FOWKE- Gerard Fowke.

1. Archaeological History of Ohio, page 295.

Prehistoric Earthworks in Wisconsin. 31

HYER - N. T. Hyer.

1. Milwaukee Advertiser, Feb. 25, 1837.

HOY--Dr. P. R. Hoy.

1. Who Built the Mounds? (Racine 1886).

JONES -C. C. Jones.

1. Smithsonian Report 9, 1877.

LAPHAM - I. A. Lapham.

1. The Antiquities of Wisconsin. Smith. Cont. to knowledge,

vol. 7, 1855.

2. Same. Page 61.

3. Same. Page 57.

LAWSON -Hon. P. V. Lawson.

1. Wis. Archaeologist. Vol. 2, No. 1.

2. Same. Page 30.

PEET-Rev. Stephen Peet.

1. Wisconsin Academy of Sciences. Vol. 8, page 299.

THOMARS - Cyrus Thomas.

1. Twelfth Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology.

WEST-Geo. A. West.

1. The Wis. Archaeologist. Vol. 6, No. 4.

Ohio History Journal