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KICKOFF AT COUNCIL BLUFFS - JULY 18TH
Glenwood Earthlodges
The Loess Hills Scenic Byway weaves through the rugged landscape of
windblown silt deposits along the Missouri Valley. This unique American
treasure possesses natural features found only in one other place in the world:
the valley of the Yellow River in China. In addition
to the natural beauty, the Loess Hills Scenic Byway
skirts a unique archaeological resource: the Glenwood
culture earthlodges. Nearly 300 earthlodge sites have
been identified in the southern Loess Hills, extending
from Council Bluffs to Thurman. The lodges date from
about A.D. 1150 to 1300, with the greatest concentra-
tion found near Glenwood. Early Native American
people built square-shaped timber houses set within
shallow pits. The lodges had vertical wall support
posts, were covered by earth, and ranged in size from
300 to 1,800 square feet. The largest of these may have An excavation of
been occupied by up to 40 persons, probably members an earthlodge.
of an extended family or band. The Glenwood culture
people cultivated corn, beans, sunflowers,
squash, and many other plants. They were
extraordinarily able fishermen and hunt-
ers, and participated in a far-reaching trade
network for exotic shells and other raw
materials.
While the majority of the known lodge
sites have been severely impacted by con-
struction work, scientists from the Office of
A modern reconstruction of the State Archaeologist have been working
an earthlodge.
to understand how many relatively undis-
turbed earthlodge sites still remain.
It is estimated that over 4 million objects from Iowa sites are curated at the OSA’s repository.
Photographs of the OSA’s repository and select artifacts, courtesy of John Cordell.
