Woodland: Potters and Moundbuilders Early Woodland
The increasing population of prehistoric Indians in this area is believed by some to
have spurred the development of food gathering techniques and a complex social system
inferred as the Woodland period.
From 450 to 150 B.C., archaeologists see a carryover of some of the Late Archaic
traditions with the addition by some groups of pottery and earthen mounds.
Thick-walled pottery tempered with heavy grit appears during the Early Woodland period.
This pottery suggests a change from the Archaic style of nomadic hunting to a more
sedentary subsistence.
One phenomenon generally associated with Early Woodland is the construction of earthen
mounds. A typical early Woodland mound would contain a shallow burial pit, extended
burials, red ocher spread over the grave site and possibly some crude pottery and
turnkey-tailed projectile points.
Archaeologists believe the transition from Late Archaic to Middle Woodland occurred
quite rapidly in northeast Iowa.
Middle Woodland
In the Midwest, a major change in food procurement marks the beginning of the Middle
Woodland. Prehistoric Indians of the Middle Woodland gathered among many selective food
sources in large quantities as well as horticulture or gardening.
The Middle Woodland culture of northeast Iowa were influenced by the Hopewell culture
of the Ohio and Illinois river valleys. Two characteristics that indicate a Hopewell
influences in Middle Woodland Indians of northeast Iowa are the burial rituals and the
presence of exotic materials acquired through the extensive Hopewell trading networks.
Along with burials are found ornamental copper in the form of breastplates, beads and
rolled copper that was worn as jewelry. Obsidian from the Yellowstone area is found as
ceremonial points in the burials, as well as shells from the Gulf Coast and mica from the
Appalachian region. The source of the copper is believed to be the Keewanaw Peninsula of
Upper Michigan. All of these indicate extensive trade network across North America. The
presence of cultural diffusion is also possible but not well documented.
From looking at the conical mounds of the Middle Woodland period, archaeologists have
theorized that a social class system was developing among the prehistoric Indians. The
presence of copper and other ceremonial items may indicate the status of a particular
person buried in the mounds.
In most cases, burials of this period are found in shallow pits at the ground surface
or on raised areas called alters. As many as twelve burials have been found in a single
mound. Some burials are found in an extended position, while many are found as bundle
burials. A bundle burial is believed to indicate that the deceased were not buried
immediately, but placed on scaffolds in a tree, and were later collected into a bundle and
buried during mound construction.
Another burial practice was cremation. The skeletal remains were charred in fire pits
and later, the remaining bones were placed on platforms of earth and rock within the
mound.
Why build earthen mounds? The tools of the Woodland culture for digging dirt, mostly
clam shells and scapula blades of bison, were better for scraping up dirt than to dig deep
pits in the grounds. It is also believed that the large earthen mounds played a dual role
of being scared sites, easily found and visited by descendants.
Why do some mounds contain several burials? Perhaps this indicates disease or possible
large groups dying at one time. Although this may have happened, archaeologists believe
that there are practical reasons for this. If someone died in the winter, prehistoric
Indians did not have the tools to dig through frozen ground. If one individual died during
the gathering season, it may not have been practical to stop food gathering to build a
mound at that particular moment.
Late Woodland
The Late Woodland period, during which the Effigy Mound Culture occurs, begins around
350 A.D. and continues in northeast Iowa until 1300 A.D. The Effigy Mound Culture began
around 600 A.D. and continued to the end of the Late Woodland era. Although this culture
continued to build conical, linear and compound mounds, they are best characterized by the
construction of animal-shaped effigy mounds.
The most common effigy mound shapes in northeast Iowa include the bear and bird mounds.
The largest remaining bear effigy in Iowa lies in the Effigy Mounds National Monument's
North Unit. It is 137 feet long and 3 1/2 feet high. The "Little Bear" mound is
visited in the ranger-guided walks at Effigy Mounds National Monument. It is 80 feet long
and 2 1/2 feet high. In the South Unit of Effigy Mounds, a group of ten bears, three birds
and two linear mounds can be viewed. This represents one of the largest collection of
effigy mounds left in the Midwest.
In other areas of southern Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northern Illinois, effigy
mounds in the shape of lynx, panther, bison, water birds, eagles, lizards and turtle
mounds can be found. In Wisconsin, a "man mound" exists, which may actually be a
fork-tailed bird.
Burials in effigy mounds are less common than previous mound types. Some
anthropologists view the effigies not as burial sites, but as ceremonial places. As the
population of the Woodland Indians increased, a sense of harmony and balance needed to be
maintained with the food resources of the area. They go on to speculate that mound
building may have been part of a ritual, using the animal spirit to ensure a consistent
and regular food supply.
Other theories revolve around the effigies representation of clans of people living in
this area, symbolizing a particular totem of a specific group of Woodland Indians. More
recent theories have attempted to show the connection between mounds and astronomical
phenomena, such as calendars or timepieces.
Typical artifacts of the Late Woodland period include triangular points. The small
projectile points indicate the bow and arrow had been introduced and widely accepted (400
A.D.). A type of pottery called Madison-ware wall fabric impressed is associated with Late
Woodland Indians.
During the warmer seasons, the Woodland Indians continued to use campsites near the
rivers and marshes, where they gathered clams, mussels, catfish, wild rice, potatoes and
acorns for food. Small bark-covered huts served as temporary shelters during this time.
As the rivers froze and food resources dwindled during the winter, the Woodland Indians
of this area moved up into numerous valleys and used rockshelters for protection from
harsh weather. The sediments in the base of rockshelters often contain the charcoal, bones
of animals, and pottery left by these prehistoric Indians. Petroglyphs, or rock art, are
associated with prehistoric Indians "using" these rockshelters. Images of
animals on rockshelter walls may have been symbolic of the relationship of the early
people with their environment. One archaeologist indicated that some petroglyphs may have
been the sites of "vision quests" or spiritual renewal.
Around 1300 A.D., effigy moundbuilding in northeast Iowa ended. Although it is not
believed that the Woodland culture vanished or left the area, many of their food gathering
and moundbuilding practices changed. The most commonly accepted explanation deals with the
influx of a new tradition from the Mississippian culture known as the Oneota.
Oneota: Farmers and Village Dwellers Around the same time that moundbuilding
ended in the area (1250 A.D.), evidence of a new culture became evident in the
archaeological record along the Mississippi River valley. Oneota refers to the Indian name
for the Upper Iowa River in northeast Iowa. Major occupation sites have been discovered
near LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and along the Mississippi River south to the present monument.
Many archaeologists believe the Oneota are of Mississippian origin, possibly from the
Cahokia site near the present-day city of St. Louis.
Oneota pottery contains clay tempered with crushed mussel shells. The surface is found
to contain incising, and the pots usually have handles which make them distinguishable
from Woodland type pottery.
The Oneota were farmers who raised corn, beans and squash in the rich terrace soils
along the river. They lived in permanent village sites where they built longhouses out of
wood. The decomposed remains of a longhouse discovered in an archaeological dig site near
LaCrosse measured 110 feet long. In the floor of the buildings were located storage
chambers for food. Some of these storage chambers were later used as refuse pits which
contained valuable archaeological information about the Oneota people.
The Oneota also used pipestone from southwest Minnesota to make pipes and tablets. The
tablets were used to record images of the Oneota spirit world. The New Albin tablet is on
display at the visitor center at Effigy Mounds National Monument. Around 1600 A.D., the
archaeological record indicates that the Oneota left this region. Increasing pressure from
European settlement in the east caused a migration of eastern tribes to the midwest.
Competition for hunting and space are believed to be the major causes for the Oneota
migration that occurred just before exploration of the region.
The early settlers of the plains in present-day Iowa found a group of big-game hunters
who hunted bison and called themselves the Iowa Indians. The Iowa Indians are believed to
be the descendants of the Oneota.
The rich forests, prairies and riverbottoms were used by prehistoric Indians for over
10 thousand years. Today we know relatively little about these people. We can appreciated
the relationship these cultures had with their environment. We can walk in their pathways
and sense the harmony of this interesting place.
mobile hunters and gatherers who
specialized in hunting the now-extinct "mega-fauna" such as the wooly mammoth
and mastodon. Spear points called Clovis and Folsom style projectile points where used in
hunting. Other tools found in this area include drills,knives and bone tools. A few
surface finds in northeast Iowa contain evidence of the Paleo-Indian hunters lived in the
"Driftless Area" at the time of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet. As the transition of
post-glacial coniferous forests to deciduous forests took place, an increase in plant
resources coincided with the beginning of the Archaic. 
