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Archaeological History - Prehistoric Peoples

Archaeology is the study of past cultures based on objects and evidence they have left behind.

To know about a past for which there are no written records, physical remains must be studied in an orderly way. As with any science, this field is continually changing as new discoveries are made and new ideas are developed. The following is a brief discussion on Wisconsin archaeology, generally representing the views of archaeologists and anthropologists.

Ho-Chunk History

The Ho-Chunk are a Siouan-speaking people whose presence in present-day Wisconsin was known to the French at Quebec as early as 1616.

According to oral tradition, they originated at Red Banks, generally assumed to be a site on the Door Peninsula on Green Bay, where they were located at the time of French contact in the 17th century. Their language is related to the Chiwere branch of Siouan that includes the Ioway, Oto, and Missouria, who acknowledge having broken off from the Ho-Chunk and moved west.

Material Culture and the Arts

For Native people in the Great Lakes area, finding sufficient food was sometimes a challenge.

They structured their seasonal round of movements and forays to different areas to take advantage of rice, nuts, berries and other foods which were plentiful as well as travelling to good fishing spots and areas where game was plentiful.