Prehistoric Clay Sources: A Forensic Exercise in Geoarchaeology

The prehistoric Oneota culture of the Upper Mississippi River Valley relied on pottery for storage, cooking and ceremonial purposes. Oneota pottery shards recovered from archaeological sites in the La Crosse area are composed of clay presumed to be from a local source. Un-tempered clay balls have also been found at archaeological sites in the La Crosse area. The un-tempered clay samples from archaeological sites provide the opportunity to compare clay collected by Oneota people to local clay sources. The focus of this research is a “forensic” exercise in which prehistoric clay samples are compared to samples recently collected from La Crosse area ridge-top and terrace clay sources. Comparisons are made on the basis of color and magnetic susceptibility. Magnetic susceptibility measurements are used to “fingerprint” the

Published as part of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 9 (2006)