reduced the need to blanket vast areas with labor intensive, Phase I shovel test probes as had been done by previous investigators. The results of the project also indicate where other sites are likely to occur, not only within PIRO, but also within a wide variety of public lands (USFS, Tribal, etc.) around Lake Superior, both in the US and Canada. The discovery of the newly recorded archaeological sites represented a huge addition to the site inventory at PIRO, where very few prehistoric sites had previously been recorded. Following a national mandate, a major emphasis over the past several years by the National Park Service has been assessing the condition of archeological sites across the park system, and this study allowed the Park Service to enter data on site conditions for nearly two dozen newly recorded sites.
Dr. John Anderton holds the remains of an ancient hearth, evidence consisting of fire-crack rock from campfires over 2000 years old.
Information from this project has already been used in the planning of a major road rebuilding project within the park (H-58) and will be used in the development of new interpretive materials by the Park. The results of the project have led to several scholarly presentations at local, state, and national meetings, as well as at an international conference on Geoarchaeology in March 2009 in Sheffield, UK. Currently a scholarly manuscript based on the project is in press with the Wisconsin Archaeologist and second manuscript emphasizing more of the modeling efforts has been submitted for review to Geoarchaeology: An International Journal. The final technical report will be submitted to the NPS this summer.
Lastly, please be advised that the cultural resources of PIRO are protected under a series of federal laws such that any digging at or looting of archaeological or historical sites is a crime. Please report all such activity to the nearest park personnel or visitor center.
-PIRO-
Photos by Jon Anderton.
Dr. Jon Anderton, PhD, RPA is Professor and Head of the Department of Geography at Northern Michigan University.
Dr. Robert Legg saving an archaeological site location using GPS.
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Dr. Robert Legg, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Northern Michigan University.
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