Ancient mining on the shores of Lake Superior
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- Description
The author of this short archaeological report, Charles Whittlesey (1808-1886), was a West Point-trained scientist who conducted pioneering archaeological work in Ohio and Wisconsin. After serving in the Black Hawk War in 1832, Whittlesey practiced law in Cleveland until he was hired by the U.S. government to survey the mineral resources of Lake Superior between 1847 and 1851. While doing that work, he made notes for the monograph given here (published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1863). Modern archaeology has demonstrated that Native Americans mined copper at Lake Superior sites between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Penninsula as early as 4,000 B.C. In this report, Whittlesey describes excavations, artifacts, and tools that he recovered from the region around the Keweenaw Peninsula in Houghton Co., Michigan, but his descriptions also pertain to the early archaeology of Old Copper Culture sites in Wisconsin's Iron, Ashland, Bayfield and Douglas counties. Whittlesey's pictures and d
- Creator
Whittlesey, Charles, 1808-1886
- Partner
- Recollection Wisconsin
- Contributing Institution
- Wisconsin Historical Society
- Publisher
- Smithsonian Intitution
- Subjects
- Artifacts (Antiquities)
Excavations
Historic sites
Tools
Implements, utensils, etc
Geology
Mines and mineral resources
Copper mines and mining - Location
- Washington, D.C.
Ashland County; Bayfield County; Douglas County; Iron County; Houghton County;
Wisconsin; Michigan - Type
- text
- Language
- English
- Rights
- We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org.
- Chicago citation style
- Whittlesey, Charles, 1808-1886. Ancient mining on the shores of Lake Superior. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/35088. (Accessed March 28, 2024.)
- APA citation style
- Whittlesey, Charles, 1808-1886, Ancient mining on the shores of Lake Superior. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/35088
- MLA citation style
- Whittlesey, Charles, 1808-1886. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America <http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/35088>.