Grand Meadow Quarry Archeological District: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Historic district in Minnesota, United States}} |
{{short description|Historic district in Minnesota, United States}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} |
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{{Infobox NRHP |
{{Infobox NRHP |
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| name = Grand Meadow Quarry |
| name = Grand Meadow Quarry Archeological District |
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| refnum = 94000345<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref> |
| refnum = 94000345<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref> |
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The '''Grand Meadow Quarry |
The '''Grand Meadow Quarry Archeological District''' (21MW8) in [[Mower County, Minnesota]], United States, is an Indigenous [[historic district (United States)|historic district]] that was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1994.<ref name=nris/> The principal site within the District is the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry (GMCQ), originally a sprawling landscape of an estimated 2,000 pits dug over many centuries using handheld tools to reach a layer of high-quality gray [[chert]] (or "flint"). Even though the District is now predominantly obscured by plowed farmland and roadways, a pristine 8-acre remnant of the original 170-acre chert quarry still exists in a small woods, alongside 7 acres of restored prairie and grassland. That 15-acre portion of the quarry site, purchased by [[The Archaeological Conservancy]] (TAC) in 1994, is separately known as "The Grand Meadow Chert Quarry Archaeological and Cultural Preserve." |
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This quarry is the only known culturally utilized source for "Grand Meadow Chert (GMC)," a distinctive hard, gray stone used by Native Americans to make many everyday tools including spear points, arrowheads, drills, knives, and hide scrapers. The earliest known use of Grand Meadow Chert is from a [[Plains bison|bison]] [[Game drive system|kill site]] (21YM47) near [[Granite Falls, Minnesota]], in a context that was [[Radiocarbon dating|C-14]] dated to 7700-8000 [[Before Present|B.P.]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Trow|first=Tom|last2=Wendt|first2=Dan|date=2020|title=The Grand Meadow Chert Quarry|url=https://mowercountyhistory.org/The%20Grand%20Meadow%20Chert%20QuarryCorrected%20CopyArticle1.pdf|journal=The Minnesota Archaeologist|volume=77|pages=87|via=Mower County Historical Society}}</ref> Grand Meadow Chert is now known to have been used at archaeological sites in 52 counties in Minnesota.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-10|title=Mower County Historical Society receives large grant for archaeological site|url=https://www.myaustinminnesota.com/mower-county-historical-society-receives-large-grant-for-archaeological-site/|access-date=2020-12-29|website=My Austin Minnesota|language=en-US}}</ref> For thousands of years, the small number of GMC tools found at sites throughout the region can be accounted for by people who collected nodules that were found eroding from the banks of the two creeks that cut through the District. Eventually, increased Native populations and the preference for use of GMC as a [[tool stone]] for making hide scrapers may have increased demand and inspired people to dig the first pits to expand access to the buried stone. |
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==Rediscovering the GMCQ== |
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The abandoned chert quarry pits went unrecognized for centuries, and were eventually filled in for farming in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is no known record of this chert source among the oral histories of the Dakota-speaking communities of the region. It was the astute observations by a prominent local stone and artifact collector, Maynard Green, that led to recognizing the significance of the many remnant pits in the small oak woods within the District. Mr. Green wrote to a leading archaeologist, Lloyd Wilford, in 1952, but failed to attract professional interest until 1980. In that year, Green met with a team from the Minnesota Statewide Archaeological Survey led by archaeologist Tom Trow. Green showed the team the pits hidden in the small woods, and the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry was then added to the state site file. Trow first presented the site to the 1981 meeting of the Council for Minnesota Archaeology. Additional efforts by Orrin Shane and Tim Ready at the [[Science Museum of Minnesota]] led to the 1994 NRHP nomination and the permanent protection of the Preserve by the TAC. In 2022 an archaeology team from [[Hamline University]] did the first research within the District, and returned in 2023 with their field school. |
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Public access and interpretation within the GMCQ Preserve are being developed though a partnership among the [[Mower County Historical Society]], the [[Prairie Island Indian Community]], and [[The Archaeological Conservancy]]. The self-guided walking tour along the new "''Wanhi Yukan'' Trail" will open to the public in the Fall of 2024. <ref name=mchs>{{cite web|url=https://www.mowercountyhistory.org/chertmine.html |title=The Grand Meadow Chert Mine |publisher=Mower County Historical Society |accessdate=April 25, 2019}} </ref> |
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'''(Re)discovery of the Chert Quarry''' The Grand Meadow Chert Quarry(GMCQ)Archaeological and Cultural Preserve is located in southeastern Minnesota near the modern town of Grand Meadow. It includes nearly 100 remnant pits within an oak savanna, and a recently restored prairie. A prominent local stone and artifact collector, Maynard Green, first identified the odd landscape as an Indigenous chert quarry and reported it to a leading archaeologist, Lloyd Wilford, in 1952. Local residents had noted the pitted nature of the region but did not press further into its significance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Trow |first=Tom |last2=Wendt |first2=Dan |date=2020 |title=The Grand Meadow Chert Quarry |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349722082_The_Grand_Meadow_Chert_Quarry |journal=The Minnesota Archaeologist |volume=77 |pages=75-98}}</ref> In 1980, a team from the Minnesota Statewide Archaeological Survey led by archaeologist Tom Trow, met with Mr. Green who showed the team the pits hidden in the small woods. They cut a test trench into the landscape in order to reveal the side profile of one of the pits. In the bottom of a 110 cm to 140 cm deep pit, they discovered chert.<ref name=":0" /> The high-quality chert was discovered in yellow-brown, egg-shaped nodules that were between 4.5-30.5 cm in length. <ref name=":0" />. Trow first presented the site to his colleagues at the 1981 meeting of the Council for Minnesota Archaeology, using an aerial photo from 1968 that clearly revealed the pattern of pits on neighboring land. |
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[[File:Grand Meadow chert.jpg|thumb|Grand Meadow chert with a fossil embedded inside. ]] |
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'''What is chert and why is chert significant?''' Chert is a high quality stone that was often used to make high-quality stone-tools in the past, through a process known as [[knapping.]] Chert, often known as [["flint,"] is uniquely characterized as “cryptocrystalline quartz texture”,<ref name=":0" /> which can create a sharp edge for cutting, and is an extremely durable material. Indigenous communities thus used chert to make many useful tools for their everyday life. These included knives, scrapers, and projectile points. |
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Grand Meadow chert has been used for over 8,000 years in Minnesota <ref name=":1" /> and has been found in more than half of Minnesota's counties, and in other surrounding states. These remnants of GMC indicate the existence of trade routes and networks connecting people and spreading the material.<ref name=":0" /> To date, there has been little evidence of long term occupation at GMCQ, implying that Indigenous communities may have utilized the site to extract chert and gone onwards to other locations to create their tools. <ref name=":0" /> [[File:Grand Meadow chert.jpg|thumb|Grand Meadow chert with a fossil embedded inside. ]]'''Why is it called the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry?-- Understanding the name''' The naming of the GMC quarry is significant as it identifies the place and makes the location known to others. There have been many discussions about what the name of the site should be. While some archaeologists believe sites should be identified based on the geological formation there is also discussion of changing the name to represent the geographic location. In the past the site had been named “Rapid Chert” because of the gray color and geological attributes or “Cedar Valley Chert” because of the formation.<ref name=":1" /> “Grand Meadow Chert” is specifically named because of the geographical and broader landscape it represents.<ref name=":1" /> It is not always clear what the geological aspects of the site are, therefore naming things based on geography is most sustainable.<ref name=":1" /> |
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==References== |
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{{National Register of Historic Places}} |
{{National Register of Historic Places}}. |
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{{Coord|43.72761|-92.58927|display=title}} |
{{Coord|43.72761|-92.58927|display=title}} |
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Latest revision as of 17:01, 5 January 2024
Grand Meadow Quarry Archeological District | |
| Nearest city | Grand Meadow, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Area | 170 acres (69 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000345[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 8, 1994 |
The Grand Meadow Quarry Archeological District (21MW8) in Mower County, Minnesota, United States, is an Indigenous historic district that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[1] The principal site within the District is the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry (GMCQ), originally a sprawling landscape of an estimated 2,000 pits dug over many centuries using handheld tools to reach a layer of high-quality gray chert (or "flint"). Even though the District is now predominantly obscured by plowed farmland and roadways, a pristine 8-acre remnant of the original 170-acre chert quarry still exists in a small woods, alongside 7 acres of restored prairie and grassland. That 15-acre portion of the quarry site, purchased by The Archaeological Conservancy (TAC) in 1994, is separately known as "The Grand Meadow Chert Quarry Archaeological and Cultural Preserve."
This quarry is the only known culturally utilized source for "Grand Meadow Chert (GMC)," a distinctive hard, gray stone used by Native Americans to make many everyday tools including spear points, arrowheads, drills, knives, and hide scrapers. The earliest known use of Grand Meadow Chert is from a bison kill site (21YM47) near Granite Falls, Minnesota, in a context that was C-14 dated to 7700-8000 B.P.[2] Grand Meadow Chert is now known to have been used at archaeological sites in 52 counties in Minnesota.[3] For thousands of years, the small number of GMC tools found at sites throughout the region can be accounted for by people who collected nodules that were found eroding from the banks of the two creeks that cut through the District. Eventually, increased Native populations and the preference for use of GMC as a tool stone for making hide scrapers may have increased demand and inspired people to dig the first pits to expand access to the buried stone.
Rediscovering the GMCQ[edit]
The abandoned chert quarry pits went unrecognized for centuries, and were eventually filled in for farming in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is no known record of this chert source among the oral histories of the Dakota-speaking communities of the region. It was the astute observations by a prominent local stone and artifact collector, Maynard Green, that led to recognizing the significance of the many remnant pits in the small oak woods within the District. Mr. Green wrote to a leading archaeologist, Lloyd Wilford, in 1952, but failed to attract professional interest until 1980. In that year, Green met with a team from the Minnesota Statewide Archaeological Survey led by archaeologist Tom Trow. Green showed the team the pits hidden in the small woods, and the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry was then added to the state site file. Trow first presented the site to the 1981 meeting of the Council for Minnesota Archaeology. Additional efforts by Orrin Shane and Tim Ready at the Science Museum of Minnesota led to the 1994 NRHP nomination and the permanent protection of the Preserve by the TAC. In 2022 an archaeology team from Hamline University did the first research within the District, and returned in 2023 with their field school.
Public access and interpretation within the GMCQ Preserve are being developed though a partnership among the Mower County Historical Society, the Prairie Island Indian Community, and The Archaeological Conservancy. The self-guided walking tour along the new "Wanhi Yukan Trail" will open to the public in the Fall of 2024. [4]
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ Trow, Tom; Wendt, Dan (2020). "The Grand Meadow Chert Quarry" (PDF). The Minnesota Archaeologist. 77: 87 – via Mower County Historical Society.
- ^ "Mower County Historical Society receives large grant for archaeological site". My Austin Minnesota. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "The Grand Meadow Chert Mine". Mower County Historical Society. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
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43°43′39″N 92°35′21″W / 43.72761°N 92.58927°W
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