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Jewels in the Crown
SOUTH MINNESOTA ±
D A K O TA
Mill Creek pottery. NEBRASKA IOWA Little Sioux Area
0 100 200 km
numbers of bison bones found in the vil- 13OB31 13OB8
lages of these pedestrian hunters indicate Big Sioux Ri ver 13OB7
direct access to the herds. Village fortifica- Little Sioux Ri 13OB4
tions hint at anticipated external threats. Mill 13OB12 13OB29
Creek was involved with early Mississippian 13OB3 13OB3
trade from the east through Cahokia—North 13OB10 13OB407
America’s largest prehistoric metropolis 13OB11 13OB26
at the mouth of the Missouri River. They were also
positioned between Plains peoples to the west and 13CK1 13BV401
emerging Oneota societies to the east—people who 13CK401 13BV2
would soon follow them. 13BV3
13OB2
13CK64 13BV5
13CK15 13CK402 13BV31
13CK52 13CK3 13BV6
13CK21 13BV1
13PM7 13CK81
13PM65
13CK80
13PM1
13PM172 Big Sioux Area 13CK39
13PM127
13PM36 13CK47
13PM61 ver
13PM37
13PM4 13PM60
13PM248
13PM23 13PM429/WD105
13WD402
In the extraordinarily rich artifacts recovered from 0 5 10 20 Miles Legend
dozens of Mill Creek and Glenwood sites, we 0 10 20 40 Kilometers
recognize objects familiar to the Plains Indian village Rivers
way of life as it persisted for almost a millennium. Big and Little Sioux Areas
The hide, feathers, wood, quill work, cloth, and Sites
sinew that comprised the tools, clothing, and orna-
ments of these early people have long since perished. Location of Mill Creek sites in northwest Iowa. The
Nevertheless, surviving items in stone, bone, pottery, Loess Hills study identified 14 villages and burial sites
and shell offer a well-rounded view of prehistoric in the Big Sioux locality.
technology and a glimpse into a rich symbolic and
ceremonial life.
These were settled agrarian communities, and like Bird’s-eye view of a fortified Mill Creek village.
any town or farmstead that persists over the decades,
they permanently imprinted the landscape with the
remnants of houses, fortifications, cemeteries, fields,
and the ordinary detritus of daily life. Mill Creek
peoples were focused bison hunters and horticul-
turalists. Their tightly spaced lodges within fortified
villages and extensive middens suggest long-term,
sedentary occupations lasting decades. The large
6 University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
