This assemblage of artifacts was found in the bottom of a bell-shaped storage pit at the Energy Park village site in Red Wing, Minnesota. Bell-shaped pits were traditionally used on the Plains and Eastern Woodlands to store grains and vegetables for long periods. However, artifacts found in the pit include several bison scapula hoes, elk antler rakes, deer mandibles for shucking kernels off the cob, a granite grinding stone, and the remains of a small ceramic cooking pot.

The object I selected is the storage pit including all of its contents. I picked this “object” because the assemblage includes the remains of an agricultural toolkit purposefully placed in the bottom of the pit before being buried. The toolkit includes tools for planting, cultivating, harvesting, storage (the pit itself), processing, and cooking. All of the bone tools are well worn and were probably buried at the end of the harvesting season. The pit also contained charred plant remains, which are currently being analyzed. This analysis will tell us what kinds of plants were being grown and used for food.
– Ed Fleming, Curator of Archaeology