Fur Trade Archaeology at the Ouiatenon Preserve: The 2016/2017 Geophysical Investigations

Summary

The contents of this report describe the results of geophysical survey on the recently-established Ouiatenon Preserve, located southwest of Lafayette, Indiana, in Tippecanoe County. This project was co-directed by Dr. Michael Strezewski (University of Southern Indiana) and Dr. Robert G. McCullough (Illinois State Archaeological Survey), with financial support from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund, administered through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

The Ouiatenon Preserve, which was recently established through the efforts of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association (TCHA) and the Archaeological Conservancy (TAC), includes properties containing the archaeological remains of Fort Ouiatenon and a number of Kickapoo and Mascouten villages that contemporary documents indicate were once in the vicinity of the fort. Fort Ouiatenon was founded by the French in 1717 and was the first permanent European establishment in the present state of Indiana. During the time of the fort’s existence and thereafter, Native American peoples from the Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten tribes resided within a number of villages in the immediate area.

Archaeological investigations at Fort Ouiatenon began in 1968 and continued through 1979. This work, however, focused largely on the fort proper, with little attention paid to the archaeological remains of the Native American villages. The present project then, is an attempt to better understand the nature, extent, and integrity of the surrounding Native American village sites, utilizing geophysical survey to cover broad areas of the Preserve in a relatively short period of time. This season’s work is a continuation of a task that began in 2009, with additional fieldwork conducted in 2012/2013. The work conducted in 2016/2017 was critical, as plans are in place to reestablish prairie vegetation over much of the Ouiatenon Preserve, which would severely limit our ability to conduct geophysical survey in the near future.

During the 2016/2017 work at the Ouiatenon Preserve, we investigated a total of six previously-recorded archaeological sites: 12-T-9, 12-T-25, 12-T-240, 12-T-336, 12-T-352, and 12-T-421. All six sites were surveyed with a magnetometer, with a total of 6.8 hectares covered (16.8 acres). Especially promising anomalies, as defined by the magnetometry data, were surveyed with the resistivity meter. Resistivity survey was conducted on sites 12-T-9, 12-T-25, 12-T-336, and 12-T-421, with a total of 1.64 hectares (4.05 acres) covered. Finally, a small area (0.22 hectares [0.54 acres]) of sites 12-T-9 and 12-T-240 was surveyed with electromagnetic induction, in order to test the results against those of the magnetometer.

The results of the survey indicate the location and probable presence of intact subsurface remains in a number of areas. Probable pits, structures, and/or thermal features were identified at a number of the sites. The magnetometry and resistivity results were particularly useful in this regard, while the limited electromagnetic survey was less useful, due to undetermined obstacles in collecting interference-free data. Subsurface testing is necessary to confirm the results of our survey. The results of the USI/ISAS survey can be used by the TCHA/TAC in the context of their efforts to restore the Preserve to prairie and develop the area for public use.

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1700 to 1800

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Michael Strezewski

Principal Investigator(s): Robert G. McCullough

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