Archaeology of Minnesota: The Prehistory of the Upper Mississippi River Region

Histories of Minnesota typically begin with seventeenth—century French fur traders exploring the western shores of Lake Superior. And yet, archaeology reveals that Native Americans lived in the region at least 13,000 years before such European incursions. Archaeology of Minnesota tells their story—or as much as the region’s wealth of artifacts, evidence of human activity, and animal and plant remains can convey.

From archaeological materials, Guy Gibbon reconstructs the social, economic, and...