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4.1.2 Archaic Tradition (7,500 to 800 B.C.)
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<br />The Archaic Tradition continues the trend of resource diversification started in the Late
<br />Paleoindian period. Native American communities developed broader toolkits, used a wider array
<br />of foods, and became less mobile over the course of the Archaic. Additionally, by the end of the
<br />Archaic, communities were using communal burial sites. Stemmed and notched points,
<br />groundstone tools, particularly those for woodworking, and cold-hammered copper tools are
<br />hallmarks of the Archaic Tradition in the archaeological record (Anfinson 1997; Gibbon and
<br />Anfinson 2008). By the end of this period the climate shifted to a cooler, wetter pattern up until
<br />the strong, human-driven, warmer climates of the modern era. Resource gathering technologies
<br />during the Archaic included the aforementioned hunting, as well as trapping, fishing, foraging,
<br />woodworking and plant processing. Many of the larger, documented sites in the central portion of
<br />the state likely began during the end of this period.
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<br />4.1.3 Woodland Tradition (800 B.C. to European Contact)
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<br />In the Midwest region, archaeologists tend to divide the Woodland Tradition into three periods:
<br />Early, Middle, and Late. However, Anfinson (1987) and Gibbon (2012) suggest in Minnesota it is
<br />more appropriate to divide the era into Initial and Terminal Woodland periods. This view is not as
<br />Statewide Multiple
<br />Property Documentation Form for the Woodland Tradition (2008), and Buhta et. al. On the
<br />Periphery?: Archaeological Investigations of the Woodland Tradition in West- Central Minnesota
<br />(2014), retaining the more traditional use of Early, Middle, and Late designations. Beginning
<br />approximately 2,800 years ago, peoples in the region experienced increases in population with the
<br />advent of first horticultural and then agricultural subsistence strategies to augment already extant
<br />systems of hunting, gathering, etc. As populations increased, settlements near favorable
<br />transportation and resource corridors shifted from seasonal to year-round occupations as they made
<br />forays to collect necessary resources (Johnson 1988; Anfinson 1987:222).
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<br />The period also witnessed the technical transition from spear/atlatl to bow and arrow weaponry
<br />useful for both hunting and warfare. This change in technology lead to the use of smaller projectile
<br />points or arrow heads. Similarly, the period also saw the invention of ceramic vessels and it is
<br />these vessels and their change over time, from thick walled, grit tempered, conoidal vessels, to
<br />thinner walled, shell tempered, globular vessels, which has greatly assisted the archaeological
<br />community in further refining their understanding of group identity, cohesion, and integration
<br />throughout the region. Indeed, there are more than ten major recognized ceramic complexes for
<br />the state with many temporal overlaps, often based more on location than visual representation. A
<br />final example representing not only identity and permanence on the landscape, but also religious
<br />practices, was the use of earthen burial mounds. Although community size was likely similar
<br />between the Early Woodland and Late Archaic periods, by the Late Woodland period, populations
<br />were certainly on the rise.
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<br />Phase I Archaeological Survey of Proposed Capstone Homes Housing Development 9
<br />Ramsey, Anoka County, Minnesota
<br />Nienow Cultural Consultants, LLC
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