Great Lakes archaeology -

A Taste of Wisconsin

by Jeff Steiner, Plymouth, Wisconsin

Volume 70, Number 4, October 2023 Central States Archaeological Journal

Wisconsin has many natural and beautiful areas to discover. For those of you who have not had a chance to come here and explore our state, it’s a great opportunity to see and enjoy its many natural wonders. For now we will focus on some of the ancient prehistory of Wisconsin.

A Taste of Wisconsin Archaeology – Fluted Axe from Sheboygan County and Wisconsin Projectile Point Types

This fluted axe is 11.25″ long and has 12 flutes. It was found in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. It is shown as #674 in Gail Highsmith’s book, The Fluted Axe. Ex Claude U. Stone, Earl C. Townsend, Jr., Gene Hynek, Bruce Filbrandt, and Bill Wasemiller.
Collection of the Author.
Photography – Jason G. Harrison.

Fluted axes are one of the more unique types of relics from Wisconsin. Figure 1 is an excellent example. No one knows for sure what the purpose of the flutes was. My thoughts are that they were not for utilitarian uses, such as reducing the weight for the swing of the axe, or helping it slide into the wooden handle better when struck. Rather, I believe that with the incredible amount of time and skill that it took to peck, grind, and polish the flute channels, there had to be some ritual meaning; perhaps only to be used by the leader of the clan or group that that person belonged to.

Gale Highsmith, author of the book, The Fluted Axe, did an awesome job on the study of this style of axe. It is an excellent resource for information and find locations of many of Wisconsin’s artifacts. Most fluted axes show use-wear or even damage on the bit. Some will have been resharpened. That being said, some were certainly used as a chopping or cutting tool for wood, or possibly even ice. Some even showed use-wear from digging in the ground.

A second viable purpose would be that it was used as a clan symbol for religious ceremonies, only to be worn and used by the High Priest or Medicine Man of their clan.

A third possible use could have been as a wealth symbol or a trade item while interacting with other groups.

I firmly believe the people that first started making fluted axes were the Old Copper Culture Complex people, since their areas of discovery coincide generally with discoveries of the fluted spuds. Pictured on the inside back cover is arguably the finest fluted copper spud ever to be discovered. Below is one of the finest fluted axes in private hands. You can see that they were quite possibly made by the same group or clan.

Now we can move on to the Old Copper Culture of Wisconsin. This metal working technology may be the oldest in the world, starting approximately 8500–9000 years ago. The copper was heated in a fire and then cold hammered. This process would be done many times over until the desired tool was completed. This annealing process would make the tool or weapon more pliable and not brittle. This ingenious accomplishment of the Early Archaic people would have made their life easier with such fine tools. It would have certainly been preferred over the traditional stone tools of the time. A great book on the subject of copper is Patina by Paul Schanen.

There are many point types known to be found in Wisconsin. Some of the more popular would be Table Rock, Osceola, Raddatz, Fox Valley, Dalton, Midland, Folsom, Clovis, Snyders, Adena, and Turkey Tail.

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Twelve Copper Artifacts Recently Dated Through the C-14 Method(Radio Carbon-14 Dating) from Northern Wisconsin

by Bill Reardon, Eagle River, Wisconsin

Volume 70, Number 4, October 2023 Central States Archaeological Journal

Native copper knife and projectile points dated 3840 BP, 1812 BP, and 900 BP from northern Wisconsin, illustrating later Old Copper Culture artifacts with curved blades, hammered copper surfaces, and oxidized patina.

Figure 1.

The Carbon 14 dating process was developed in 1946 by physicist Willard Libby. It can be used to date organic materials such as wood, bone, and fiber that can be fairly recent and also up to 50,000 years old. Copper is a metal and not organic. Indigenous peoples in this part of North America found that native copper could be used to make items like tools, projectile points, knives, ornaments, and various other items. The vast majority of native copper came from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and from Isle Royale in Lake Superior. It was either mined or found in scattered deposits from glacial deposition.

Three Old Copper Culture native copper projectile points from northern Wisconsin dated 8145 BP, 7795 BP, and 7759 BP, displaying long hammered blades with oxidized green patina and split hafting bases for shaft attachment.

Figure 2.

After fabrication of items from the copper, some sort of attachment was required to facilitate a desired use. The attachment device in most cases was wood or plant fiber. In parts of northern Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ontario, Canada, numerous copper artifacts have been found. Copper was not melted but worked cold or through the annealing process (heating, pounding, cooling, and then repeating the process several times). I have found several artifacts that still had remnants of the attachment device in place.

This was usually a small piece of wood or plant fiber. When copper is in the ground for long periods of time it oxidizes, turning a green color. This oxidation process can act as a preservative and keep the organic material in place. Wood and fiber, being organic, can in turn be dated through the Radio Carbon-14 (C-14) process.

Old Copper Culture copper spear points dated 7417 BP, 4711 BP, and 4429 BP from the upper Wisconsin River region, showing hammered native copper blades with tapered hafting areas and heavy archaeological patination.

Figure 3.

The 12 dated copper artifacts pictured are mostly from Vilas and Oneida Counties of Wisconsin. One artifact (No. 3) is from Florence County, Wisconsin. The dates range from approximately 900 to 8500 calendar years before present (BP). I chose to use dated artifacts mainly from the upper Wisconsin River system. I have had two artifacts dated from Michigan and Minnesota. Eleven of the 12 artifacts were dated by Beta-Analytic of Miami, Florida from 1999 through 2021. Archeologists refer to this group of people using copper as the “Old Copper Culture” or “Copper Complex.”

All the artifacts were found using a metal detector on private land with the owner’s permission. The display of these and other artifacts can be found at the Eagle River Historical Society on US Highway 45 in Eagle River, Wisconsin.

Figure 4.

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A Michigan Hi-Lo Point

by George Jachim, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Volume 65, Number 1, January 2018 Central States Archaeological Journal

Michigan Hi-Lo projectile point made of Bayport chert, showing broad blade, concave base with light grinding, and Late Paleo-Early Archaic workmanship from Ottawa County, Michigan.

Figures 1 & 2. The Hi-Lo point found in two parts in Ottawa County, Michigan.

On June 20, 2017 I was walking a favorite field of mine in Ottawa County, Michigan. Ottawa County is due west of Kent County, in west central Michigan. Grand Rapids lies within Kent County. As I was walking the rows of corn I came across the base portion of a point. At the time I knew it was much different from what I normally find. However, I did not think much more of it. It was only another broken part of a point. When I got back home, I followed my usual routine. I checked all broken pieces against pieces I had previously found. BINGO!!

No doubt about it; I had the perfect mate. What you see pictured here are the obverse and reverse of a Michigan Hi-Lo point (Figs. 1,2). It measures 1 ½ inches long, 13/16ths at the widest part of the shoulder and ¼ inch thick. The break is more prominent on the reverse. Noel D. Justice places this type point in the Late Paleo/Early Archaic time period. This was in the Great Lakes area; 8000 to 6000 B.C. The point type is named for the Hi-Lo site which is located in Ionia County, Michigan. This point was made from Bayport chert; a common lithic material found here in Michigan. Light grinding is found in the concave base. It is present on the ears and shoulder area as well. One shoulder has somewhat more grinding than the other.

Once I had taken the time to fully study my point, I knew I had found something special. At least, it was special by my standards. Next was to get another opinion. On June 22, 2017 I visited with Dr. Janet Brasher, Professor and Curator of Anthropology at Grand Valley State University. GVSU is the largest university in the greater Grand Rapids area. It has one campus in downtown Grand Rapids. Another campus is located in Allendale, Michigan. Dr. Brasher was very comfortable with this point being of the Hi-Lo type. She also agreed that Bayport chert was the stone of choice. Dr. Brasher also showed me two other Hi-Lo type points. They are part of the collection that GVSU has, so we could do some comparisons. My point is on the small side. Dr. Brasher has been a good friend for a number of years and has always made herself available to me. This is certainly one example of a fine working relationship between the professional and the avocational archaeologist. I have come to appreciate the knowledge and expertise that Dr. Brasher has shared with me. It is also worth noting that in the summer of 2014 Dr. Brasher and a team of GVSU students conducted some field work at this same site. My point was found there. However, their work was in a different area of the site.

This is not the first point found at this site. I have found about 60 artifacts found there. Lamoka and Brewerton are more common with scrapers, drills, hafted scrapers and blades also found. This point happens to be the earliest in the historical time line that I have found there.

This property is presently owned by a large farming operation out of Allendale. The owner has graciously allowed me a window of time in late spring. During this period, I can continue to walk this property and retrieve pieces of history. I originally learned of this site in May of 1994 when I met the original farmer and his family. They had already been working the farm for many years and he was a collector as well. I was able to view his personal collection on two occasions and it was impressive. We shared a common love for prehistoric artifacts. Because of this, he allowed me to walk his property. Eventually, the property changed to the current ownership.

This is the second Hi-Lo type point I have found; all items in my collection are personal finds. I feel very fortunate to have salvaged this part of history. Locating sites, finding pieces and documenting information relative to each piece all make for an excellent learning experience. Piecing together our historical past is fascinating and enjoyable. Here is another piece to the puzzle – or should I say two.

References:

Justice, Noel D.
1987 Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Midcontinental and Eastern United States. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN.

Brasher, Dr. Janet
Personal communication.
Professor and Curator of Anthropology @ Grand Valley State University.

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