Ancient burial site will be protected by new easement
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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Thursday, June 28, 2007 |
The perfectly round hill on the Annie Wittenmyer Complex at 2800 Eastern Ave. is in the heart of Davenport, an unlikely location for this ancient American Indian burial site.
Dating to about 500 B.C., the mound will be protected as part of the first Conservation Easement granted to the Office of the State Archaeologist, Iowa City.
“Everyone’s primary concern is for the long-term preservation of this burial site,” said Shirley Schermer, director of burial programs in the archaeologist’s office.
The historic easement is being established in cooperation with the City of Davenport, Scott County, Johnson County, the State Archaeologist and Family Resources, Inc.
The Scott County Board of Supervisors is the final party to sign off on the deed, with approval expected at tonight’s regular board meeting.
Officials are loathe to talk about the burial mound because they worry it will be vandalized.
It was identified a few years ago as part of another project at the complex, Schermer said, noting Iowa law does allow confidentiality in the precise location of the remains. There is no public access to the exact site, and persons who violate the easement rules may be charged with an aggravated misdemeanor.
But that could change in the future if officials eventually decide to add signs to the location and educational materials, said Schermer, who also teaches archeology at the University of Iowa.
Expert tests
The Woodland Cultural period of American Indians dates from 500 B.C. to 1000 or 1200 A.D. “This mound goes back to the early part of that period, about 2,000 years,” Schermer said.
An archeologist/geomorphologist tested the area in 2003. This expert used a 1-inch probe
to verify soil samples with minimal disturbance, Schermer said, determining the site to be an actual burial mound and the approximate date it was established.
“As far as we know, it is intact,” Schermer said.
The 31-acre Annie Wittenmyer Complex is the former Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, and the campus was also the site of a Civil War Army facility called Camp Kinsman. The home closed in 1975 and the property was acquired by the City of Davenport and used by various departments.
It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Family Resources, Inc., has had a presence on the campus since 1849, and is the major lessee of space. The organization’s headquarters are currently moving to first floor of the Administration Building, a former branch of the Davenport Public Library.
Mound-makers
American Indians of the Woodland Period do not share a direct cultural link to modern-day tribes, Schermer said. The Woodland period is marked by the emergence of a pottery-making tradition, and a change from a nomadic lifestyle to occupying permanent villages.
One phenomenon generally associated with Early Woodland is the construction of these earthen mounds, according to a National Park Service Web site, nps.gov. A typical early Woodland mound would contain a shallow burial pit, extended burials, red ocher spread over the grave site and possibly some crude pottery and turnkey-tailed projectile points.
This tradition of mound-building disappeared after about 500 A.D., and scholars don’t know exactly why, according to the Iowa State Historical Society Web site, iowahistory.org.
Protected American Indian burial grounds open to the public, and located near the Quad-Cities, are the Albany Indian Mounds in Albany, Ill., and the Toolesboro Indian Mounds, in Toolesboro, Iowa.
Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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