A Phase One Archaeological Reconnaissance Of A Proposed Dredged Material Disposal Site At Prairie Island Minnesota PDF Download

A Phase I archaeological survey was conducted on a 195 acre parcel of land on Prairie Island in Goodhue County, MN during late October and early November, 1986. The survey area has been proposed as a disposal area for approximately 250,000 cubic yards of dredged material from Lock and Dam Number 3 on the Mississippi River. The purpose of this survey was to a.) determine whether any unknown archaeological resources were present within the survey area and b.) locate and map prehistoric mounds in archaeological site 21GD75. Several different survey techniques were employed during the study. These included pedestrian survey, shovel testing, and hand-auger coring. The mounds in 21GD75 were visually inspected and mapped using field notes and survey data compiled by T.H. Lewis in 1985. One previously unknown prehistoric archaeological site (21GD173) was located along the shoreline in the northeastern portion of the survey area. This site is assignable to the Woodland Tradition. The mounds in 21GD75 were located, examined, and described.