October 2010
8 posts
The Spiral at Ranelius
The northeastern protruding terrace at the Ranelius site was the area most heavily excavated 1955. This was the area of the site where the large, rock-line fire pits were found, discussed in our earlier blog “Features at Ranelius.”
There were several reasons why Leland Cooper and Elden Johnson were interested in this part of the terrace.
July 2010
12 posts
Changing Landscapes
Archaeologists all over the world are confronted with the problem of changing landscapes. We can never take for granted that the landscape we are working in is the same as when a site was inhabited hundreds or thousands of years ago. The landscape of the Spring Lake area has changed in a particularly dramatic fashion, primarily because of the installation of the Hastings Dam in the 1930s....
Features at Ranelius
Archaeologists are not just looking for artifacts during excavations. They are also looking for changes in the soil or remains of structures that resulted from human behaviors. These are known as features. Some examples of features are hearth areas, storage pits, refuse pits, or house floors.
June 2010
9 posts
Geophysical survey. Part 2.
Below are three videos that show Don Johnson collecting geophysical data from the Ranelius site using a radar unit, a magnetometer, and a resistometer.
WatchGeophysicist Don Johnson pushing the ground penetrating radar unit across a grid square on the Ranelius site. The antenna (the large white box) sends out several pulses of energy into the ground with every rotation of one of the rear wheels of the cart. When the signal bounces back, the receiver collects and records the amount of time and the strength of the signal.
Unfortunately (for a...
WatchMagnetometry survey. Don Johnson is walking south to north across one of the grids with the magnetometer. When he reaches the north edge of the grid square, he moves over 1 meter and walks another line north to south. The whole project area is covered in this way. The magnetometer takes several readings per second, so Don walks at a constant speed.
WatchDon Johnson conducting the electrical resistivity survey. The device Don is using has several probes that are pushed into the ground. Two probes are also placed into the ground in an area outside of the grid being tested. These are connected to the wire that is behind him. With each stop, the resistometer measures the difference in resistance at that point compared to the points off the grid....
Geophysical survey. Part 1.
The geophysical survey took place June 1 - 16. A lot of rain and a temporary equipment failure made the survey go a couple days longer than expected. As I said in a previous post, we used three methods to test the geophysics of the site: electrical resistivity, magnetometry, and ground penetrating radar. The first step, however, was to set up a grid across the site. A grid of 20 x 20 meter...
The Ranelius 1954 and 1955 excavation notes and...
As mentioned in the beginning of the “The Science Museum of Minnesota’s 2010 Ranelius site project at Spring Lake” blog post, the first step of the Spring Lake project was to study the 1954 and 1955 crew’s journals, maps, and any other notes associated with their excavations. Understanding the previous excavation is important because it allows us to associate the collected...
May 2010
3 posts
Staff of the Spring Lake project
This post lists the staff involved in the Science Museum of Minnesota’s 2010 archaeological research at Spring Lake.
Dr. Edward Fleming - Director. (This is me, and I will, hesitantly, write in the 3rd person about myself for just a moment)
Dr. Fleming is the Curator of Archaeology and Director of the Archaeology Program at the Science Museum of Minnesota. He holds a Ph.D. in...
The Science Museum of Minnesota's 2010 Ranelius...
The 2010 Ranelius site archaeological project has two main components. First, we are analyzing the collection from the Science Museum’s 1954 and 1955 excavation. This involves an in-depth examination of the field notes and maps, re-cataloging the artifact collection, and analyzing the various artifact classes (stone tools, ceramics, plant remains, bone materials) to place them into...
The Ranelius site
The focus of the 2010 field work is on the Ranelius site, which is located on a terrace overlooking the south shore of Spring Lake. During the 1950s, the Science Museum of Minnesota excavated a series of archaeological sites along the shores of Spring Lake. To date, these are the only professional excavations conducted in the area, with the exception of a Minnesota Historical Society project on...
April 2010
1 post
Welcome to Spring Lake Archaeology
Welcome! This blog is about an exciting new archaeological research project by the Science Museum of Minnesota. The project involves the region around Spring Lake, a bend in the Mississippi River just south of the Twin Cities metro area and a riverine lake that was formed when the Hastings Dam caused the flooding of the area in the 1930s.
Before Euro-Americans settled in this area, the...