William E Whittaker

A long-term project to map and catalog all precontact Native American burial mounds in Iowa provides information about the number, location, form, survivorship, and rate of loss of mounds. This analysis reveals previously undocumented mound manifestations, including a large cluster of 200 linear mounds along the central Des Moines River valley. Historical records reveal that at least 7,762 mounds were identified at 1,551 sites in Iowa between 1840 and the present. About 47% of the mounds from these sites can be possibly seen in lidar, with 33% of the total clearly seen in lidar. Data show that mound loss over time is linear. Extrapolation of data suggests that at least 15,000–17,000 mounds stood in Iowa in the nineteenth century, but the actual number was likely higher.
Un proyecto a largo plazo para mapear y catalogar todos los túmulos funerarios de los nativos americanos previos al contacto en Iowa que proporciona información sobre el número, la ubicación, la forma, la supervivencia y la tasa de pérdida de túmulos. Este análisis revela manifestaciones de túmulos previamente no documentados, incluyendo un gran conjunto de 200 túmulos lineales a lo largo del valle central del río Des Moines. Los registros históricos revelan que al menos 7,762 túmulos fueron identificados en 1,551 sitios en Iowa entre 1840 y el presente. El análisis del mapa lidar indica que aproximadamente el 47% de los túmulos de estos sitios se pueden ver posiblemente en lidar, y el 33% del total se ve claramente en lidar. Los datos muestran que la pérdida de túmulos con el tiempo es lineal. La extrapolación de los datos sugiere que al menos 15,000-17,000 túmulos existieron en Iowa en el siglo XIX, pero el número real probablemente era más alto.

This report summarizes the discovery of ca. 200 linear mounds along 40 km of the Des Moines River in central Iowa. Many of these mounds were mapped and recorded piecemeal over a century, but their full extents were not known until recent high-resolution lidar mapping. General insights about the age and significance of the mounds can be inferred from nearby archaeological sites and surface finds, as well as comparisons with regional mounds. Limited archaeological evidence suggests the linear mound concentration may be associated with a long stable Woodland occupation of the region, culminating in the Late Woodland Great Oasis manifestation.

The Palace site in Des Moines, Iowa, is an exceptionally well-preserved, multi-component Middle Archaic site with evidence for house basins. The main components of the Palace site had repeated occupations (6175 ± 25 B.P. to 5885 ± 15 B.P.) and evidence for multi-season occupation and reutilization. The Palace site appears to be the western periphery of phenomena associated with Eastern Middle Archaic sites: the appearance of substantial house basins occupied multi-season and repeatedly, a mixed diet based on deer and riverine resources, and an abundance of large ground stone tools. Comparisons with other Middle Archaic sites suggest house basins are broadly associated with Hypsithermal warming, but this association is tenuous, different regions appear to adapt house basins under different climatic conditions. Similar sites might exist in large river valleys throughout the Plains, but these sites are probably difficult to locate archaeologically.

Iowa has the reputation of being one big corn field, so you may be surprised to learn it boasts a rich crop of recorded archaeological sites as well-approximately 27,000 at last count. Some are spectacular, such as the one hundred mounds at Sny Magill in Effigy Mounds National Monument, while others consist of old abandoned farmsteads or small scatters of prehistoric flakes and heated rocks. Untold numbers are completely gone or badly disturbed-destroyed by plowing, erosion, or development. Fortunately, there are many sites open to the public where the remnants of the past are visible, either in their original location or in nearby museum exhibits. Few things are more inspiring than walking among the Malchow Mounds, packed so tightly it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Strolling around downtown Des Moines is a lot more interesting when you are aware of the mounds, Indian villages, and the fort that once stood there. And, although you can't visit the Wanampito site, you can see the splendid seventeenth-century artifacts excavated from it at Heery Woods State Park. For people who want to experience Iowa's archaeological heritage first hand, this one-of-a-kind guidebook shows the way to sixty-eight important sites. Many are open to visitors or can be seen from a public location; others, on private land or no longer visible on the landscape, live on through artifact displays. The guide also includes a few important sites that are not open to visitors because these places have unique stories to tell. Sites of every type, from every time period, and in every corner of the state are featured. Whether you have a few hours to indulge your curiosity or are planning a road trip across the state, this guide will take you to places where Iowa's deep history comes to life.

At least fifty-six frontier forts once stood in, or within view of, what is now the state of Iowa. The earliest date to the 1680s, while the latest date to the Dakota uprising of 1862. Some were vast compounds housing hundreds of soldiers; others consisted of a few sheds built by a trader along a riverbank. Regardless of their size and function-William Whittaker and his contributors include any compound that was historically called a fort, whether stockaded or not, as well as all military installations-all sought to control and manipulate Indians to the advantage of European and American trade.