Spring Creek site
Spring Creek site | |
| Area | 0 acres (0 ha) |
|---|---|
| NRHP reference No. | 72001475[1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 20, 1972 |
The Spring Creek site (
The Michigan Archaeology Society
Inhabited during the tenth century AD, Spring Creek appears to have been typical of Woodland period villages in the Great Lakes region: like many others in the region, it was the home of people who both farmed extensively and engaged in hunting. The number of animal bones found at the site is very small — only enough to feed three individuals per year. Other evidence indicates a large population at the site; as a result, it is believed that most meat eaten at Spring Creek was processed at another location. Typical Ottawa villages were inhabited only by women and by old men during most of the year: the men of the village would generally gather into hunting parties that would make extended journeys from home, often departing both during summer and winter; only those individuals who could not participate in the hunts would remain in the village year-round.[2]: 295
Spring Creek is recognized as one of the best examples of an Ottawa semipermanent village.[2]: 298 It contrasts greatly with sites such as northern Michigan's Juntunen site: excavations at Juntunen produced vastly different types of pottery, while Spring Creek's artifacts are highly uniform in their style.[4] The two sites were likewise far from similar in their uses: Juntunen is believed to have been a hunting camp that was occupied seasonally for centuries, rather than being intensively inhabited for a small number of years. These two sites, along with similar camps and villages along Lake Michigan, are the basis for a theoretical understanding of the Ottawa economy during the early portion of the Late Woodland period.[2]: 296
In 1972, the Spring Creek site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its important place in the region's archaeology. A similar distinction was given to the Juntunen site six years later.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Fitting, James E., and Charles E. Cleland. "Late Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Upper Great Lakes". Ethnohistory 16.4 (1969): 289-302.
- ^ U of Nebraska P, 2000, 550.
- ^ a b Brown, James A. "Review: Contributions to Michigan Archaeology". American Anthropologist 71.6 (1969): 1213-1214.
Further reading
- J. E. Fitting; J. R. Halsey; H. M. Wobst (1968), "The Spring Creek Site", Contributions to Michigan Archaeology, 32, U of M Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology: 1–78
External links
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