Archaeological Sites, Northern Plains, Morton County, North Dakota

Summary

In 2005, GLARC conducted archaeological data recovery operations at sites 32MO296, 32MO306, 32MO1374, and 32MO1375 located in Morton County, North Dakota. The sites define short term prehistoric Native American resource extraction sites and campsites that date to the Early to Middle Plains Archaic, Late Plains Archaic, Early Plains Woodland, Middle Plains Woodland, and Late Plains Woodland periods. The archaeological data recovery operations involved a program of systematic surface collection, noninvasive remote sensing, and hand excavation. Well over ten thousand artifacts were recovered from the four sites, and numerous cultural features, defining intra-site activity areas, were identified at the sites. Each of the sites produced meaningful data that was used to address culture history and chronology, lithic and ceramic styles, subsistence and settlement patterns, regional interaction, and paleoenvironmental conditions relative to the prehistory of the lower Otter Creek valley.

The sites have since been largely obliterated by the construction of a flood control project. The final reports on the archaeological excavations have been published and exist in a .pdf format. The archaeological records and materials have been submitted for long term curation. The inventory and analysis data for each site exist within an Microsoft Access database.