Search

Scandinavian Archaeology

Scandinavia is a region in North Europe made up of Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

The Scandinavian archaeology collection at the Milwaukee Public Museum is predominantly from Denmark. During the tenth to the thirteenth centuries, these three countries separated into three kingdoms. One area of Denmark, called Jütland, will be mentioned frequently because it is the origin of several artifacts of the collection.

Wild Plant Foods

Gathering wild foods was an important part of the seasonal round, both to supplement hunting and fishing, and to expand the diet of those tribes that raised corn, beans, and squash.

All through summer and fall, the women and children gathered wild fruit, berries, and nuts. The women fastened birchbark buckets (makuks) to bands around their waists and filled them with wild foods they gathered.

Ojibwe Oral Tradition

Wenebojo and the Wolves

One day, Wenebojo saw some people and went up to see who they were. He was surprised to find that they were a pack of wolves. He called them nephews and asked what they were doing. They were hunting, said the Old Wolf, and looking for a place to camp. So they all camped together on the edge of a lake.

Potawatomi Treaties and Treaty Rights

Peace Treaty

The Potawatomi signed a peace treaty with the United States in 1825 at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Many tribes were signatories to this treaty, including the Ojibwe, Sauk and Fox, Santee Dakota (Sioux), Menominee, and Ho-chunk. This treaty included no land cessions; instead, the federal government assembled the tribes to establish boundaries and peace between them.

Gardens and Farming

In regions where the growing season was long enough, Native people relied to some extent on agricultural crops, including corn, beans, and squash.

Since corn generally has a growing season of 120 days, Great Lakes Indians in northern areas could not grow much corn and could not depend on agricultural products. Those who lived where corn could be grown moved between different areas during their seasonal round, choosing lands with good soils for their gardens.

The Collection

The Milwaukee Public Museum has a representative collection of Lacandon material culture, totaling 113 objects and numerous photographs. Peter Thornquist collected the majority of the artifacts while visiting a Lacandon village in Metzabok, Mexico in 1979. The items were collected with funds provided by the Friends of the Museum and the Milwaukee Public Museum. The collection contains information on dress as well as domestic and religious life, including many unique and perishable objects such as feather hair ornaments, seed necklaces, and photographs.