Fort McCoy ArtiFACT: Angelo punctated pottery

In 1961 and 1962, archaeologist William M. Hurley conducted archaeological investigations for the Wisconsin Highway Salvage Program prior to the development of Interstate Highway 90 (I-90).

Hurley and crew discovered five prehistoric sites on the banks of Silver Creek at Fort McCoy, Wis., within the project corridor and identified the sites as small village and camping areas dating to the Woodland cultural period (500 B.C. to A.D. 1200) based on the artifacts recovered during the investigation.

The artifacts unearthed from the sites along Silver Creek included a large number of pre-contact pottery fragments, which archaeologists refer to as “sherds.”

Native American pottery first appears in Wisconsin approximately 2,500 years ago during the Woodland cultural period, and the artifacts collected by Hurley from Monroe County were some of the first of this time period to be recognized in the Driftless Area.

While analyzing the artifacts, Hurley noticed some of the ceramics did not match other known types or styles of pottery found in Wisconsin or surrounding states. Archaeologists often designate types of pottery using a combined name of the location of the first find and a distinguishing design characteristic of the pottery.

Hurley continued this tradition and dubbed the newly identified ceramic type Angelo punctated: Angelo after the township where the “new” pottery was found and punctated for the type of design or decoration observed on the pottery.

Punctations are indentations produced by pressing the end of a stick, reed, grass, stem, antler tine, fingertip, or knotted cord into the wet clay of the pot after it is shaped into vessel form but before it is dried and fired, creating a depression on the exterior surface of the unfired pot as a decorative treatment. Punctations come in many shapes, including circular, semi-circular, wedge-shaped or triangular, square, and ovoid.

Hurley provided a detailed description of the artifact for archaeologists to use in identifying Angelo punctated pottery recovered during future excavations in Western Wisconsin and beyond. Distinguishing characteristics include narrow parallel incised lines or grooves on the rim and neck of the vessel which form bands around wedge-shaped or triangular punctations. Some vessels also exhibit deep, angular notching on the lip top of the rim.

It has been 60 years since the discovery and naming of the Angelo Punctated pottery type, one of Fort McCoy’s signature artifacts, and it is still not a well-dated or well-understood pottery type.

Based on stylistic attributes to pottery found on other sites and on what information was available in the 1960’s, Hurley made an educated guess that the new pottery type dated to the Middle Woodland cultural period (A.D 100 – A.D. 500). Another archaeologist, Robert “Ernie” Boszhardt, has since found evidence suggesting a later date for this ceramic type.

He places it within the Late Woodland cultural period (A.D. 500 – A.D. 1200), specifically A.D. 1000 – A.D. 1100, based on the discovery of well-dated Middle Mississippian pottery found in place with Angelo punctated pottery during excavations performed in 2003.

Hopefully more examples of this ceramic type can be located with charcoal for radiocarbon dating to gain a better understanding of where Angelo punctated pottery falls within the continuum of time.

All archaeological work conducted at Fort McCoy was coordinated by the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.

Visitors and employees are reminded they should not collect artifacts on Fort McCoy or other government lands and leave the digging to the professionals.

Any individual who excavates, removes, damages, or otherwise alters or defaces any historic or prehistoric site, artifact, or object of antiquity on Fort McCoy is in violation of federal law.

The discovery of any archaeological artifact should be reported to the Natural Resources Branch.

(Article prepared by the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.)