The East Terrace Site

The East Terrace Site
Conclusion

If you stand on the East Terrace site today and look southwest across the Mississippi River, your view of the opposite bank is obscured by a long, low island. This island, which straddles a shallow stretch in the river, is one of the landscape features that made this spot an easy place to cross the river and a convenient place to camp. These same attributes make this a good place to build a modern bridge. The Paleoindians may have crossed the river here and found it a pleasant spot to wring out their wet clothes and set up camp for the night. The nearby rapids kept the river from freezing over in the winter, and provided a water source for humans and game alike.

Archaeology is a bridge between the past, the present, and the future. Items lost or left behind by the past occupants of East Terrace were uncovered by archaeologists in the last several years. The objects we leave behind today may tell some future archaeologist about the cultures and lifestyles of the late 20th century. Archaeological sites are a resource that cannot be replaced. Once a site is disturbed, it cannot be recreated or put back into place. Because so much archaeological information is gleaned from the spatial relationships between artifacts, site disturbance destroys our chance to understand the past.

People have lived in the same places near river crossings for thousands of years. As a result, earlier archaeological deposits are destroyed or disturbed by more recent human activities, such as bridge construction. Many other archaeological sites are destroyed each year by activities like farming and lake-side construction, and by natural forces like erosion and flooding. Because survey and mitigation are now required in conjunction with many construction projects, archaeologists and highway engineers are able to work together to identify and protect sites. When parts of sites like East Terrace must be destroyed, archaeologists are given the opportunity to gather information from them.

It is this survey and mitigation process that helped archaeologists identify the East Terrace site. Undisturbed sites containing Paleoindian artifacts are rare in Minnesota. How many other rare sites like this one were lost in the past before the mitigation process was initiated to save our cultural heritage?

Cultural resources are non-renewable. We must protect and care for those we have left. Archaeological sites face many dangers, from vandalism to construction to farming. Do your part. Respect and protect cultural resources in your area. Participate in archaeological excavations and activities only with trained archaeologists. Educate your neighbors about the value of our Cultural heritage. Remember. Archaeological resources are our only bridge to the past.

The 'Preserving Minnesota's Cultural Resources' web site is jointly sponsored by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under Agreement No. 75077.