3.Toolesboro
Mounds, Iowa, National Historic Landmark Study
A recent study by the Office of the State Archaeologist
of Iowa with the support of the State Historical
Society of Iowa and funds provided by the National
Park Service, has resulted in a new report on the
Middle Woodland mounds at Toolesboro, Louisa County,
Iowa. This report includes a history of the mound
investigations conducted primarily by the Davenport
Academy of Natural Sciences in 1875 and 1886, an
analysis of the 89 extant artifacts from the mounds
currently curated by the Putnam Museum in Davenport
(successor to the Davenport Academy), and interpretations
regarding mortuary behavior and related activities
based on surviving archival evidence.
Documentary data suggest that at least 18 conical
mounds, comprising two separate groups, plus
a geometric earthwork or enclosure, were reported
at Toolesboro as early as 1841. By the end of
the 19th century, surface indications of the
earthwork and many of the mounds had been destroyed,
and most of the remaining features had been dug
into. Only seven mounds exist currently. Consideration
of mound content and structure, as reported in
published and unpublished sources, along with
artifact analysis verify interpretations that
the Toolesboro mounds represent Hopewellian mortuary
structures. Mortuary features consisted of prepared
subfloor pits containing multiple primary interments,
and secondary mound-fill or intrusive burials
of disarticulated elements. Extant artifacts
include hammered copper celts, gouges, and pins;
both plain and effigy platform pipes of aragonite
and northern Illinois Elkhorn Creek pipestone;
Hopewell Zoned dentate stamped ceramics; and
freshwater pearl and marine shell items. Almost
all of the artifacts can be classified as Hopewellian
Interaction Sphere types, indicating a likely
date for mound construction and site use around
100 B.C.- A.D. 200.
The mounds at Toolesboro comprise perhaps the
most widely recognized Hopewell site in Iowa,
and yet a comprehensive report detailing the
history of their investigations and the nature
of their internal structure and contents had
never been prepared. The current report goes
a long way to remedy this situation, and provides
a basic data set upon which future research and
on-site interpretation can build. Proposed research
including source analysis of existing artifacts,
scrutiny of aerial photographs, remote sensing
of subsurface features, as well as comparable
studies of related sites in eastern Iowa, is
expected to contribute vital data on the relationship
between Toolesboro and the rest of the Hopewell
world.
Reference
Cited
Alex, Lynn M. and William Green
1995 The
Toolesboro Mounds National Historic Landmark:
Archaeological
Analysis and Report. Research Papers
Volume 20 (4). Office of the State Archaeologist,
The University of Iowa, Iowa City.
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