Sacred Stone, Sacred Land: A Traditional Native American Quarry Cultural Landscape

Summary

The Pipestone National Monument, created August 25, 1937, attracts people to mine its catlinite rock containing traces of iron-rich hematite giving it a red hue. The living cultural landscape preserved as a National Monument in southwestern Minnesota is 301 acres, but its modern constituency extends far beyond these borders. In ancient times, raw material from the Sioux Quartzite Formation traveled long distances as well. Archaeological research in combination with ethnography and descendent community participation provides an important perspective on the interrelationship of natural bedrock and Native American groups, who extracted raw material for trade, pipe making, and other craft or ritual products.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22039