Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

they comprised were copper implements, bone and stone tools, small stone arrow points, and
elaborately decorated ceramics. Typical sites include those related to resource procurement,
villages, camps, hunting and processing sites, and burials.
Mississippian Tradition
The Mississippian Tradition (ca. 900 A.D.–1650 A.D.) in Minnesota was primarily confined to
the southern parts of the state, but some of its elements (particularly those related to ideology)
probably extended further to the north. The Mississippian had its origins in the southern United
States and is partially characterized by cultural influences from Mexico. Its defining qualities
include an intensification of agriculture, along with increases in the size and complexity of
communities and cultural systems. While unquestionably influenced by Mississippian Tradition
developments to the south, sites in Minnesota display a variation of those lifeways to life in
forest and prairie environments. Cultivation relied heavily on corn, beans, squash, sunflowers,
and tobacco. Hunting and fishing were also important. Small side-notched arrow points are
typical of this period, as are groundstone tools (e.g., axes, hammerstones, mauls, and grinding
stones), bone and antler tools, shell, bone and copper beads and ornaments, and incised pottery.
Typical sites of the Mississippian Tradition period include large villages, agricultural fields, tool
production loci, hunting and processing sites, and burials.
1.1.4.2 State of North Dakota
Northern North Dakota extends across parts of the Great Plains and Central Lowlands
physiographic provinces (Fenneman and Johnson, 1946). The area in the Great Plains province
includes both the glaciated and unglaciated Missouri Plateau sub-provinces. The Central
Lowlands province includes the Western Lake sub-province.
Northern North Dakota is in the Northern Plains cultural area (Wood, 1998:11). The prehistory
of the state has been summarized in several monographs and edited volumes, including Wood
(1998:1-15; 2001:186-195); Kay(1998:16-49); DeMallie (2001b); Frison (1998:140-172; 2001:
131-145); and Johnson (1998:159-172). The Great Plains cultural area extends from central
Canada to southern Texas.
A Cultural context for the prehistoric period in North Dakota and the larger area of the Great
Plains was developed in the early and mid-twentieth century by Kroeber (1939), and was
elaborated by others in later years (Wedel, 1961; Bamforth, 1988; Frison 1991, Gregg, et al.,
2008; Kornfeld et al 2010). Detailed cultural chronologies for the northern portion of North
Dakota are largely nonexistent, although chronologies have been developed for other parts of the
state (Gregg, 1984; see ND SHPO, 2009; Gregg et al, 2008). The North Dakota State Historic
Preservation Office (ND SHPO) has developed a historic preservation plan titled Historic
Preservation in North Dakota, 2010-2015: A Statewide Comprehensive Plan (2009) that includes
cultural contexts for both the prehistoric and historic periods. Its prehistoric cultural chronology
is illustrated in Figure H-1.
In common usage, the prehistoric cultural chronology for North Dakota includes five
archaeological traditions: Paleo-Indian, Plains Archaic, Plains Woodland, Plains Village, and
Equestrian Nomadic. The time periods for each vary across space.
Northern Border Activities H-49 July 2012