MOTI SAUNA BEACH EXCAVATION AND SITE SURVEY AT 

ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK 

By 

Caven P. Clark 

Midwest Archeological Center 

Technical Report No. 27 

United States Department of the Interior 

National Park Service 

Midwest Archeological Center 

Lincoln, Nebraska 

1993 
ABSTRACT 

The 1991 archeological projects on Isle Royale included the final phase of excavation 

at the Mott Sauna Beach site, a Terminal Woodland Juntunen phase site, which will be 

disturbed by the continued construction of housing units on Mott Island. In addition, the 

investigation of a grave-robbing incident on Cemetery Island and a number of small 

compliance surveys are reported as contributions towards the documentation and 

interpretation of Isle Royale's archeological record. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Isle Royale's unique logistical requirements are such that a host of people are 

necessary to conduct a research project there. Radio dispatchers, boat mechanics, rangers, 

warehouse foremen, and many others, all contribute to a project's success. The 1991 season 

was no exception, and thanks are due to Tim Cochrane, Stu Croll, Bill Fink, Susan 

Bertolino, and Sam Morrow. Special thanks are due to Karlis Karklins, Canadian Parks 

Service, and Doug Birk, Institute for Minnesota Archaeology, for their assistance with the 

identification of the trade beads from the Lane Cove site. I greatly appreciate the donation 

of Forensic Anthropologist Norm Sauer's time and expertise in the identification of the 

small skull fragment from Cemetery Island. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Abstract ........................................................... i 

Acknowledgments ................................................... ii 

... Tableofcontents .................................................. 111 

List of Tables ...................................................... iv 

List of Figures ..................................................... iv 

MottSaunaBeach ................................................... 1 

Introduction ................................................... 1 

The Mott Island Housing Project Sites ............................... 1 

Mott Sauna Beach (20IR134) ...................................... 1 

Compliance in Proposed Campground Development Areas ..................... 5 

Merritt Lane Campground (20IR78) ................................. 5 

Lane Cove Campground (20IR128) ................................. 5 

Erosion Monitoring .................................................. 9 

Duncan Narrows/Grass Point (20IR3 1) .............................. 9 

Daisy Farm (20IR45) ........................................... 10 

Rock Harbor (20IR56) .......................................... 12 

Threemile Campground (20IR116) ................................. 12 

2% Mile (20IR118) ............................................. 14 

Duncan Bay Campground (20IR141) ............................... 14 

Lane Cove Trail (20IR199) ...................................... 15 

ARPA Violation Investigation at Cemetery Island (20IR42) ................... 17 

Conclusions ....................................................... 19 

References Cited ................................................... 21 

Tables ........................................................... 25 

Figures .......................................................... 27 
LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1 . Finished copper artifacts from Mott Sauna Beach ................... 25 

Table 2 . Waste copper from Mott Sauna Beach ............................ 25 

LIST OF FIGURES 

Figure 1 . East end of Isle Royale and location of 1991 archeological sites ......... 27 

Figure 2 . Mott Sauna Beach site showing location of excavation units ............ 28 

Figure 3 . Artifacts from Mott Sauna Beach ................................ 29 

Figure 4 . Plan of Lane Cove campground ................................. 30 

Figure 5 . Artifacts from Lane Cove campground ............................ 31 

Figure 6 . Plan of historic cemetery, Cemetery Island ......................... 32 

Figure 7 . Cut nails from the coffin. Grave #4. Cemetery Island ................. 33 
MOTT SAUNA BEACH 

Introduction 

Archeologists from the Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) visited Isle Royale 

National Park from June 18 to June 26, 1991, to complete data recovery at the Mott Sauna 

Beach site (20IR134) and to examine proposed development areas at Lane Cove 

campground (20IR128) and Merritt Lane campground (20IR78). Locations of these areas 

are shown in Figure 1. Results of work conducted at the Mott Sauna Beach site are 

discussed below in this section, while findings in the campground development areas are 

presented in the next section. 

A number of small sites were visited to assess the extent of erosion or deflation since 

the area was last visited in 1990. Descriptions of these small sites are presented in the later 

section entitled "Erosion Monitoring." Finally, a grave-robbing incident which occurred 

sometime in June 1991 was investigated and is reported here. 

The Mott Island Housing Project Sites 

Survey of potential sites for housing units on Mott Island was begun in October of 

1989 with an examination of several areas on the south-facing shore of the island. Three 

cultural sites were found in the project areas. A mid-twentieth-century garbage dump was 

declared not significant and was given no further consideration. The second site consisted 

of a chert uniface found in a shovel test in an area southwest of the present apartment 

complex. This site (Mott Island #3, 20IR172) was tested in 1990, one additional chert item 

was found, and the site was declared not significant. The third site, Mott Sauna Beach 

(20IR134), was situated in an area of primary impact and received the full attention of 

MWAC archeologists in its testing and subsequent mitigation. 

Mott Sauna Beach (20IR134) 

In 1987 a water-rolled copper awl was found on Mott Island on a gravel beach 

located to the east of the National Park Service (NPS) dorms and sauna, locally referred to 

as the sauna beach. Its presence on this beach suggested that an undiscovered prehistoric 

component was located along the eroding shoreline and in the developed area immediately 

adjacent to the beach. 

A survey in October 1989 succeeded in detecting such a site (Figure 2). Surface 

examination of the eroding soil at the head of the beach in October of 1989 disclosed eight 

small cord-marked body sherds and a copper bar on the surface of the main access trail 

between the sauna and the beach. Close-interval (5 m) shovel testing in the area between 

the beach, sauna, and new dorm facility resulted in the discovery of a copper butterknife and 

a substantial portion of a Juntunen pot break. Materials were found between 0 and 20 cm 
below surface in beach deposits. A large copper bar was collected from the surface between 

the laundry and new dorm. 

Site testing in 1990 confirmed the initial assessment of the site's content. Four test 

units in the area of the Juntunen pot break disclosed a thin midden deposit with additional 

sherds from the same vessel, a small quantity of worked waste copper, debitage, and a small 

amount of calcined bone. Four units located to determine the horizontal extent of the site 

produced no more midden deposits and contained an average of one artifact per unit. 

In 1991 eleven additional excavation units were excavated to remove the core of the 

occupation area in anticipation of the construction of housing units on the site (Figure 2). 

This final phase of excavation revealed fragments of two other Terminal Woodland ceramic 

vessels and a highly localized area of waste copper in association with burned bone. The 

latter is considered a combination annealing and food processing hearth. Approximately 

four liters of flotation samples were removed. 

Copper artifacts 

The collection of copper artifacts is typical of sites to which raw or semiprocessed 

copper was transported for further processing. Finished items include two bars and a 

butterknife (Table 1). Bars represent a stage at which copper was fabricated in the most 

useful shape for trade or transport, with no specific final product anticipated (Clark 1989). 

The butterknife (Figure 3e) is a typical late prehistoric form, named by Quimby (1939) as 

a descriptive term for this small hafted blade. A small quadrilateral pin or awl was found 

in the 1991 excavations. The awl recovered in 1987 is quadrilateral in cross section and 

measures about 4.5 cm in length. It was not available for study. 

Worked waste copper (Table 2) is the detritus from the copper fabrication process. 

Its classification recapitulates the continuum from a raw, unprocessed state to the byproducts of copper fabrication, analogous to a lithic reduction sequence (Clark 1989). 

Waste copper at Mott Sauna Beach was found in a very small area of black, midden-like soil 

associated with calcined bone. 

Ceramic artifacts 

The pot break intersected by a shovel test contained 212 sherds from a single vessel, 

which is described below as Vessel #l. Subsequent excavation produced an additional 574 

sherds, largely from Vessel #1 but including rims from two other vessels. 

Vessel #1: The rim is castellated and the neck collared (Figure 3a, b). Exterior 

decoration is by horizontal and diagonal lines of push-pull; there is a single band of diagonal 

push-pull decoration on the interior. Vessel construction is laminar with felsitic grit temper 

less than or equal to 2.6 mm. Temper density is about 10 percent and maximum vessel 

thickness is 6.8 mm. This vessel is of the Juntunen Drag-Jab type (McPherron 1967). A 
clay sample from this vessel was subjected to neutron activation analysis to determine its 

geological source area (Clark 1991). Its closest geochemical affinity is with a cluster of 

samples from Thunder Bay to northern Minnesota (Clark et al. 1992), indicating that this 

particular vessel was brought to Isle Royale from the north shore of Lake Superior. 

Vessel #2: This vessel is represented by one rim (Figure 3c) and two neck sherds. 

The lip is smooth and straight. No surface decorations are present on the smooth exterior; 

the interior is exfoliated. There is a short collar 1.7 cm below the lip. Temper is fine 

felsitic grit less than or equal to 1 mm; temper density is about 5 percent. The rim is 

consistent with a Terminal Woodland context. 

Vessel #3: One rim sherd represents this vessel (Figure 3d). It is of limited 

diagnostic value, owing to its small size, but is consistent with the rest of the materials from 

the site. The lip is straight and rounded. The exterior surface is smooth with diagonal 

push-pull impressions originating immediately below the lip. The interior is exfoliated, 

revealing the laminated interior structure of the sherd. Temper is felsitic grit and mica, less 

than or equal to 2 mm. 

The eight additional sherds from the trail to the beach are heavily encrusted with 

cooking residue under which a smoothed cord-marked surface is discernible. They are not 

diagnostic but are likely Terminal Woodland as well. 

Finally, one lump of fired clay, apparently squeezed in the hand, suggests that in 

addition to the importation of finished ceramics to Isle Royale, pots were manufactured 

from locally obtainable clay. The nearest known clay source is at Moskey Narrows, 6 km 

from Mott Island. 

Lithic artifacts 

The lithic industry at the Mott Sauna Beach site focused on the reduction of small 

pebbles of Hudson Bay Lowland chert into small expedient tools. A total of 49 flakes of 

Hudson Bay Lowland chert, two flakes of Portage Lake quartzite, and one flake of Rossport 

chert from the north shore of Lake Superior were found. Eleven Hudson Bay Lowland 

chert flakes were made by the bipolar technique of reduction, typical of an industry utilizing 

small pebbles as its source. Lithic tools are limited to an endscraper and a sidescraper, both 

made of Hudson Bay Lowland chert. The only notable aspect of this assemblage is the 

absence of raw materials common on other Isle Royale Terminal Woodland sites, such as 

jasper taconite and Gunflint silica. 

Conclusions 

The site as delineated by the survey represents a Juntunen phase (A.D. 1200-1450) 

occupation. The areal distribution of the artifacts suggests that the site is confined to the 

northeastern half of the upper beach area; shovel testing elsewhere failed to disclose any 
cultural materials. While it is likely that more artifacts are present in the site area and may 

be discovered during site disturbance, the site's primary occupation area has been 

completely excavated. Further construction should be excluded from the area south of the 

block excavation and east of the buried water line to prevent further impacts to the site. 

It is instructive to note the difference between the data obtained at successive stages 

of site investigation. Initially, 20IR134 was identified as an isolated spot find. Subsequent 

shovel tests disclosed the presence of buried deposits over a wide area. Test excavation 

further delineated a small area of intensive occupation, but failed to find the copper 

annealing feature, resulting in a skewed interpretation of site function relative to other 

contemporary sites on the island. Complete excavation of the core of the site produced a 

more typical image of site activities, including domestic tasks involving a minimum of three 

vessels, stone tool production, copper working, and food processing. The physical layout of 

the site is also typical in terms of the highly localized nature of the artifacts and deposits; 

densities may vary widely from one unit to the next contiguous unit, indicating that the site's 

integrity had been minimally disturbed. 
COMPLIANCE IN PROPOSED CAMPGROUND DEVELOPMENT AREAS 

Mern'tt Lane Campground (20IR78) 

This site was identified in 1961 with the recovery of a grooved adze and a flake 

(Bastian 1963:377, Plate 50a). The site's location is "a small shelf along the rocky northwest 

shore of Merritt Lane north of the channel separating Merritt and Boys islands" (Bastian 

1963:36). Test excavations by the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology 

(UMMA) survey contained Initial and Terminal Woodland ceramics and a large projectile 

point "of probable Middle Woodland affinity." A "relatively large amount" of cultural 

material was found in the campground. Two of the ceramic artifacts are illustrated by 

Bastian as punctate (1963:355, Plate lli) and linear punctate (1963:359, Plate 19d) types. 

The latter is similar to some of the early Blackduck ceramics from Voyageurs National Park 

(Lynott et al. 1986). 

Surface collection of the site in 1987 added 19 pieces of lithic debitage. This 

campground was visited by Mark Lynott, Tim Cochrane and the author in June 1991. 

Copper, lithic, and ceramic artifacts were found in front of the single shelter and collected. 

Cochrane and the author returned to the site in August to shovel test the proposed tent site. 

Six test units were dug, with negative results. Additional artifacts were found in front of the 

shelter at this time and collected. While no apparent cultural resources are known to be 

present in the area of the proposed tent site, the ongoing use of the dock area and existing 

shelter will continue to expose prehistoric artifacts. Regular monitoring of the site is 

recommended. 

Lane Cove Campground (20IR128) 

The Lane Cove site is located within and around the NPS campground on the east 

end of a sheltered cove (Figure 4). It was discovered through shovel testing by NPS 

personnel in 1982, when development of the campground was initiated (Maass 1984). The 

site was tested in 1988 by the MWAC and revisited in 1991 to determine the potential 

impact from proposed tent site modification of the campground. Previous field work and 

analysis is reviewed below. 

The 1988 survey team surface collected all exposed areas (e.g., trails, tent sites). 

Two gunflints and debitage were found in Tent Site #2. Two excavation units were 

subsequently placed here. Test Unit #1 was excavated to a depth of 20 cm below surface 

and contained six chert flakes. Tent site construction and use has truncated the upper part 

of the soil. Site stratigraphy begins with a gravel layer, which turns to brown sand and 

gravel just above 10 cm below surface. The second test unit in Tent Site #2 was located 

5 m to the west of the first unit and was excavated to a depth of 10 cm below surface; it was 

completely sterile and had likely lost all of the upper soils as a consequence of tent site 

preparation and use. 
The third test unit was located at the base of a rock outcrop 20 m east of Tent Site 

#2, where a few sherds had been found in the 1982 survey. The unit was excavated to a 

depth of 10 cm below surface and contained a large portion of a crushed Terminal 

Woodland pot. Most of the sherds were recovered from the northwest corner of the unit. 

In 1991, the MWAC team conducted shovel tests along two parallel transects across 

the entire campground. All tests were negative, but surface finds in Tent Site #2 included 

a mix of aboriginal and Euroamerican-derived materials, indicating that the site dates to the 

Contact period (ca. A.D. 1650-1750). 

Lithic Artifacts 

Sixteen waste flakes were recovered, mostly Hudson Bay Lowland chert (n = 14), and 

one each of jasper taconite and Rossport chert. Limited tool maintenance is indicated by 

the lack of dorsal cortex and the small size of the flakes. No stone tools of any kind were 

found. 

Ceramic Artifacts 

Vessel #1: Four rim, 4 neck, 28 body, and 9 indeterminate sherds constitute the 

sample from this Terminal Woodland vessel. The exterior has smoothed cord marking from 

below the lip to the shoulder where it becomes cord-marked. Temper is felsitic grit less 

than or equal to 1.8 rnrn and the temper density is 30 percent. Maximum sherd thickness 

is 5.5 mm. The rim is straight and thickened in profile with a pinched "pie crust" lip that 

is smoothed (Figure Sa, b). This style of pottery extends from the late Terminal Woodland 

into the historic period. Similar types are found at the Bell site in Wisconsin (cf. Bell site 

Type 11; Wittry 1963). Mason (1986) has attributed Bell site Type I1 pottery to the historic 

Potawatomis. It is a common style at the Michipicoten site (Wright 1966), where it is 

referred to as Peninsular Woodland. 

Vessel #2: Two small sherds from a historic brown glazed stoneware vessel were 

found in Tent Site #2. They are from a crock or jug, and while not particularly diagnostic, 

they are not inconsistent with the other artifacts found on the site. 

Gunflints 

P. Martin (personal communication 1989) describes the two gunflints as follows: 

Spa11 gunflints were made on a single Clactonian flake, trimmed to a squarish outline for use 

in the gunlock. The first of these flints [Figure 5c] is made on a light brown translucent chert 

and is heavily worn through use. After being exhausted as a gunflint, this specimen was used 

with a firesteel to strike sparks for firestarting. It has a flat bottom and a slightly rounded heel. 

The length dimension of the flint is diminished through wear, but measures 26.1 mm. It is 26.6 

mm wide and 7.6 mm thick. Gunspalls of this type have been tentatively identified as French 

in origin by Hamilton and Emery (1988:30). Manufacture in France carries no implication of 
use by French nationals, however: these flints were widely marketed, and are found on sites of 

various cultural affiliations. 

The second flint [Figure 5d] is also a spall, heavily worn and used with a firesteel. It was made 

on a mottled grey chert, has a flat base and rather rough retouch around the heel. Its length 

is worn to 19.9 mm, and its width is also diminished, measuring 24.7 mm. The flake is 7.6 mm 

thick. Spalls of this general form, with rough retouch, made on grey cherts, have been 

tentatively identified as British by Hamilton and Emery (1988:30). 

Both of the Lane Cove flints are sized for use in sporting or trade arms of the late eighteenth 

and/or early nineteenth century. They could easily have found their way to Lane Cove via 

Indian hunters or fishermen who had ready access to such equipment through both the fur 

trade and their contact with European governments. The earliest European visitors to Isle 

Royale may have carried weapons with flints lie these, as well, so that cultural attribution 

cannot be certain. The fact that no other European items were collected in the test excavations 

argues for a Native American context for these particular artifacts, however. 

Glass Trade Beads 

Consistent with the earlier find of gunflints was the recovery of six glass trade beads 

described below and shown in Figure 5. Measurements give maximum diameter of each 

item; parenthetical references refer to the Kidd and Kidd 1970 classification: 

Figure 5e: One small, 3 mm, circular (oblate) tumbled bead, white opaque (IIal4). 

Figure 5f: One pinkish-white wire-wound bead, 4.2 mm, tapered ends (WIcl). 

Figure 5g: One tubular bead, 4.9 mm, white opaque core with clear veneer (Ia4). 

Figure 5h, i: Two tubular beads, 3.0 and 3.9 mm, white opaque with clear veneer (Ia4). 

Figure 5j: One cylindrical wire-wound bead, 5.3 mm, black with raised yellow 

appliquC wavy filaments around each end (WIIId*). 

Descriptive and classificatory equivalents (Kidd and Kidd 1970; Mason 1986; Stone 

1974) date this group of beads from the late eighteenth century to the late nineteenth 

century. The black bead with yellow appliquC is unusual and potentially an earlier type than 

the white beads, all of which have a long duration in the Upper Great Lakes. Karklins 

(personal communication 1992) and Birk (personal communication 1992) place the black 

appliquC bead in the late 1700s to early 1800s. 

Faunal Remains 

Three bone fragments were recovered from Test Unit #l. These include one 

unburned, unidentified large mammal and two small calcined fragments (Martin and Masulis 

1989:3). 
Conclusions 

Site survey and testing since 1982 indicates that a substantial portion of this 

component has been lost to tent site development and use. The ongoing discovery of 

artifacts indicates that cultural deposits still exist around the periphery of Tent Site #2. 

Rather than initiate additional disturbance, it is recommended that Tent Site #2 be closed 

and allowed to revegetate. The site is of particular importance, given the paucity of sites 

which reflect the initial contact between native and white cultures on Isle Royale. In 

addition to the Lane Cove campground, trade items have been found at Pickerel Cove #1 

(20IR144), Belle Isle (20IR29), Indian Point (20IR28), Grace Island (20IR17), and Merritt 

Island (20IR78). 
EROSION MONITORING 

Duncan Narrows/Grass Point (20IR31) 

Now known as Duncan Narrows, the Grass Point site is located on a level point of 

land on the south side of the entrance to Duncan Bay. It is currently an NPS campground 

used primarily by boaters. Excavations here in 1989 concentrated on an area of shoreline 

erosion that had exposed a prehistoric hearth feature northeast of the campground. In 

August 1991 no traces of cultural features were noted in the eroding profile, but a basalt 

hammerstone was collected from a slumping surface 3 m northeast of the area where the 

feature was excavated. Previous investigations at Grass Point are summarized below. 

Fred Dustin, acting on the report of the finding of a stone pipe, visited the Grass 

Point site in 1929-1930. His excavations produced equivocal results pertaining to the 

prehistoric occupation he believed was here. Some charcoal and a section of rib bone 

("probably moose") which was "broken in the customary Indian manner" were found 

(Dustin 1957:16-17). More convincing evidence in the form of Terminal Woodland 

ceramics (variety unspecified) was found by an NPS employee in 1960, and the site was 

tested by the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology (UMMA) survey team in 

1962. Historic materials relating to the nineteenth-century American Fur Company fishery 

were abundant in the test units. However, one unit contained 34 pieces of stone debitage 

and one piece of worked copper. Bastian (1963:35) assessed the potential for a more 

substantial archeological site as unlikely but suggested that further testing would be 

required. 

The 1988 MWAC survey team made surface collections of exposed areas in front of 

the shelters, in the tent sites, and along the beach. An eroding hearth was noted by Pat 

Martin of the Michigan Technological University (MTU) and was brought to the attention 

of the MWAC survey team. The feature, a basin-shaped hearth was found eroding out of 

the cut bank about 70 cm below surface. The feature matrix extended approximately 28 cm 

into the wall of the eroding bank. It is estimated that a little more than half of the feature 

was salvaged. A basalt hammerstone was found on the surface of the trail between the 

current tent sites and the fire ring at the Grass Point campground. Given the proximity to 

documented copper mines above Grass Point on Mount Franklin and Point Lookout, the 

absence of copper here is likely a function of the sampling procedure used at this low 

density site. 

Most of the historic artifacts are attributable to the American Fur Company fishery 

or the subsequent Duncan's fishery at Grass Point. Cut nails constitute a conspicuous part 

of the collection and probably mark the site of one of the fishery structures near the 

location of our first excavation unit on the northeast side of the point. 
Daisy Fam (20IR45) 

The Daisy Farm site is situated at the mouth of Benson Creek, which has, by draining 

the upland areas of Lake Benson and surrounding areas, created a broad alluvial fan that 

is unusually flat, even in comparison with other parts of the Rock Harbor area. Abandoned 

channels of Benson Creek are present above the 189-m (620-ft) contour, but the lower 

stream appears to have remained stable in its present course in recent history. 

The townsite of Ransom, named for one of the three incorporators of the Ohio and 

Isle Royale Mining Company, was established in 1846-1847 on what is now the site of the 

Daisy Farm campground. This habitation, according to Rakestraw (1965:34), was the largest 

on Isle Royale between 1847 and 1850. The operation was less profitable than had been 

anticipated and was suspended in 1849. Facilities at the Ransom townsite described by Ives 

in 1847 included a wharf to the north of Benson Creek, four log houses, a large log 

storehouse, and a smelter (Ives 1847). Rakestraw (196534) did not find any traces of the 

smelter or of any of the structures in his survey, but Martin did locate the remains of the 

smelter in his 1986 mapping project of the Daisy Farm site. Behind the townsite are 

numerous mining features, including adits, shafts, and poor-rock piles (Martin 1988). 

The next major episode of occupation at the Daisy Farm site was the CCC camp 

established in 1936. Remnant features of this occupation are extensive and include trash 

dumps, concrete footings, a dock footing, and structural features in the broad grassy area 

between the shore and the campground. Historic photographs of the CCC camp in the Park 

archives show a combination of permanent and temporary structures with rock-lined roads 

and pathways; there is even a boxing ring at the northeast end of the camp. This is as 

desirable a location as can be had anywhere on Isle Royale, and its complex occupational 

history is reflected in the surface and subsurface deposits distributed over the large area 

between the shore and first bedrock ridges behind the site. 

The prehistoric component at the Daisy Farm campground was discovered in 1957 

by Albert Spaulding of the University of Michigan. Excavations at that time consisted of 

one five-foot-square unit and "a few small test pits" in the flat open area south of the 

campground (Bastian 1963:37). Twenty-two pieces of debitage and one unifacial tool were 

recovered from these excavations. In the years following, a number of lithic artifacts have 

been exposed by shoreline erosion in the vicinity of the NPS dock and the outlet of Benson 

Creek, including two small expanding-stem projectile points, and debitage (Clark 

1987:22-23). 

In the 1987 season the shoreline was again examined. Lithic artifacts were found in 

three areas: in shallow water just west of the NPS dock, from an exposed erosional surface 

immediately below the ranger's quarters, and from another eroding surface 18 m east of the 

outlet of Benson Creek. 
Shovel testing at 10-m intervals established the areal extent of a prehistoric 

occupation at the Daisy Farm, and also clarified the temporal context of the site. 

Prehistoric materials appear to be concentrated on both sides of Benson Creek, extending 

approximately 20 m west of the NPS dock to Shelter #12 on the east, and from the present 

shoreline of the Rock Harbor channel 30 m to the north. Backdirt from postholes at the 

message board, which at the time of survey was being reset, was screened and resulted in 

the first prehistoric ceramics recovered from this site. Additional ceramics were found in 

a shovel test on the opposite (east) side of Benson Creek. 

As a follow-up to the discovery of prehistoric ceramics in 1987, the Daisy Farm site 

was test excavated during the 1988 survey. Two l-x-l-m units were established in the 

vicinity of the 1987 finds on the east side of the mouth of Benson Creek. This effort was 

rewarded by the discovery of Initial Woodland (Laurel) ceramics in one unit, and in the 

other by a dense Terminal Woodland midden containing ceramics, copper, lithics, bone, and 

botanical remains. 

The Daisy Farm campground is one of the busiest in the Rock Harbor area and the 

trail across Benson Creek sees a great deal of foot traffic. As a consequence, the path has 

become deeply incised, which resulted in the exposure of prehistoric artifacts. In 1990 two 

sherds of Initial Woodland pottery and a large projectile point were found on the surface 

of the trail near the ranger's residence on the west side of Benson Creek. A few pieces of 

fire-cracked rock were also noticed further down the trail towards the creek. Three weeks 

later a second visit resulted in the recovery of two additional sherds. Given the paucity of 

data on the Initial Woodland substage on Isle Royale and the fact that this appeared to be 

an eroding deposit, the decision was made to open some test units during the final week of 

the survey. 

A total of four l-m-square units were excavated in the trail. The excavation units 

revealed a minimally disturbed hearth feature. This feature consisted of a roughly ovate 

area of fire-cracked rock with the remains of two Laurel vessels, a large copper awl, one 

projectile point base, and a small amount of debitage. Charcoal was diffuse throughout the 

feature but sufficient for a radiocarbon sample, which yielded a date of 2080 + 60 B.P. 

(Beta-41640; wood charcoal; 613c undetermined). The calibrated age range for this sample 

is 202 cal B.C. to cal A.D. 67, calibrated at two sigma using bidecadel data sets with the 

program CALIB 3.0 (Stuiver and Reimer 1993). The intercept is 60 cal B.C. The date 

range is consistent with the accepted age of Laurel culture in the upper Great Lakes. 

In 1991 a check on the shoreline of the Daisy Farm site indicated that erosion in the 

vicinity of the dock head continued to threaten a portion of the site. The area near the 

message board where four excavation units were dug in 1990 appeared to be stable, but 

should be monitored on a continual basis so that no further attrition of this part of the site 

takes place. 
Rock Harbor (20IR56) 

The Rock Harbor site was originally identified by Spaulding, who collected a sherd 

from the beach here in 1957. The site is located on a small sandy point about one-half mile 

southwest of Daisy Farm. Subsequent tests by the UMMA survey were negative, with the 

exception of "one large unit" that contained Terminal Woodland (Bastian's large punctate 

and linear punctate categories) and recent historic artifacts (Bastian 1963:37-38). 

In May 1987 the site was relocated by the presence of lithic and ceramic artifacts on 

the beach and in the shallow water off the sandy point upon which the site is situated. 

Shovel tests above the beach produced no materials; the soils here are particularly heavy 

and wet. The site was again checked in September 1987 and additional collections of 

ceramics, lithic tools, and debitage were made. 

In a brief visit to the site in 1988 one waterworn rim sherd, one unifacial scraper, and 

three flakes were collected from the beach and shallow water on the point. Although it is 

difficult to determine, the rim appears to have been decorated with a series of oblique 

cord-wrapped stick impressions below the lip, which shows a sharp eversion. It is Terminal 

Woodland but cannot be assigned to anything more specific, due to its weathered condition. 

The Rock Harbor site was again visited in 1991 to check on the amount of artifacts 

exposed by wave action since the previous year. One waterworn body sherd and one uniface 

were collected from the southwestern beach. It is possible that the occupation of the site 

took place at a time when the water levels were slightly lower than at present. 

Threemile Campground (20IR116) 

Woodland stage artifacts were found in the exposed areas in front of Shelters #2 and 

#3, and immediately above the northeastern dock at the Threemile campground. Cultural 

materials were found up to 30 m away from the modern shoreline on an elevated rocky 

slope. This is a departure from the expectation that sites tend to be located on level areas 

of "softer" soils. Surface collections were made from three general proveniences 

corresponding to the areas of maximum disturbance and exposure: Shelter #2, Shelter #3, 

and the dock area. Collections were made in 1987 and 1990, and limited testing was also 

undertaken in 1990. 

The site sits above and to the northeast of a small cove with a good beach. An 

intermittent stream and a marsh occupy the lowest part of the swale behind the cove, 

rendering much of the more even ground too wet for occupation. However, no artifacts 

were found at Shelters #4 or #5, which are neither as wet as the swale nor as steep and 

rocky as the ground in front of Shelters #2 and #3, where the site is located. 
The lithic artifacts from the Threemile #1 site include 46 waste flakes, one bipolar 

corelwedge, one projectile point, a pebble core, and two small distal biface fragments. The 

projectile point is very small, probably a true arrow point of the Terminal Woodland 

substage, and is made of Hudson Bay Lowland chert. Both biface fragments are the 

working ends of tools, one a graver or awl, the other likely a projectile point or knife. Both 

are made of Hudson Bay Lowland chert. The bipolar object is of the opposed ridge 

morphology and is made of red jasper taconite. 

A total of 80 pieces of waste copper, six bars, and three finished items (one 

butterknife, one awl, and one projectile point) were recovered from the 1987 surface 

collections in the campground. Only one piece of unmodified copper in the assemblage 

attests to the intensity of the copper fabrication activities undertaken at this site. 

Five of the six bars are homogeneous; the sixth and smallest is rolled and 

hammered. The awl is in a poor state of preservation but appears to have a single point. 

There is one rolled sheet that is probably a fragmentary rolled tubular bead fragment. The 

projectile point is a small piece of laminated copper. 

Thirteen sherds, all probably from one vessel, were found at the Threemile #1 site 

in 1987. In 1990 additional sherds were noted near the base of Shelter #2 near where 

previous finds had been made. An excavation unit was opened at the southeastern corner 

of the shelter, revealing a pot break. A sample of 82 body sherds and two rims belong to 

a Huron style vessel with a smooth exterior. The rim is castellated and collared with five 

horizontal trailed lines between the lip and collar. Temper is felsitic grit, less than or equal 

to 4.2 rnm with an estimated density of 30 percent. Cooking residue is preserved. 

Other excavation units were sited to explore the possibility of intact deposits between 

Shelters #2 and #3, in front of which deflation by continued use had initially exposed 

prehistoric artifacts. Test Unit #1 contained only one burned chert uniface. Test Unit #2, 

located on the same contour as the two shelters, contained a shallow annealing hearth with 

16 pieces of waste copper, one rolled copper bead, one gunflint silica and two Hudson Bay 

Lowland chert flakes, one sand-tempered and one grit-tempered body sherd, and one 

hammerflake. The characteristics of the hearth, a mix of black and ashen grey soils, is 

similar to other features interpreted as annealing hearths on Isle Royale; for example, those 

at Belle Isle #3 (20IR143) and Indian Point (20IR28) described by Bastian (1963). 

Faunal remains collected in 1987 from the surface were identified as, " . . . three 

fragments of slender, polished mammal bone that are most similar in morphology to a fibula 

shaft of a large wolf, . . . Densmore . . . observed that ribs from small mammals were 

modified into needles by the Ojibway, and that the implements were used to make nets and 

snowshoes and to weave cattail mats" (T. Martin and Masulis 1989:42). 

A visit was made to the Threemile campground where the 1991 Student Conservation 

Association (SCA) project was in progress. Examination of the disturbed areas in the group 
campsites and individual sites near Rock Harbor revealed no cultural items. One copper 

bead, one piece of waste copper, and one flake were collected from the front of Shelter #2 

and the dockhead. 

The attrition of the prehistoric site at the Threemile campground is a continuing 

concern. Regular monitoring of the deflated areas in front of the shelters and the dockhead 

since 1987 has revealed that these portions of the site, while still producing artifacts, are 

essentially destroyed. Excavation units in the area of Shelters #2 and #3 contained 

undisturbed prehistoric deposits. Management of the area, it appears, has resulted in heavy 

impacts to some portions of the site and few impacts, if any, to other portions. Future 

relocation of shelters, trails, and privies will require close scrutiny if the remaining portions 

of the site are to be protected. 

235 MILE (20IR118) 

This site was recorded as a spot find at the time of its discovery in 1988, but during 

a reexamination of the site in the fall of 1989 hammerstones, hammerflakes, and chert flakes 

pointed to a much more complex deposit. The site is located about 400 m from the 

Threemile campground in a broad area of exposed bedrock and jack pine within 20 m of 

the Rock Harbor channel. 

Artifacts were collected from the main trail and its branches over a distance of about 

70 m. Major concentrations of hammers and hammerflakes occur immediately above two 

vegetation-filled depressions designated Mine Pits #1 and #2. Additional pits are located 

nearby: a total of five pits were mapped as probable mines. A small number of chert flakes 

was collected from one area adjacent to Pit #3-an unusual association for a mining site. 

Hammerflakes were collected from a bedrock exposure at the northeast end of the site 

(where the spring spot find was found), some distance apart from the pits and major 

concentrations of artifacts, suggesting an ancillary area of testing or initial processing. 

In 1991 hammerstones, hammerflakes, and chipped stone were again observed 

eroding out of the trail at the prehistoric copper mine northeast of the Threemile 

campground. One chert flake was collected. This site should be monitored to assess the 

extent of ongoing attrition, with an eye to eventual excavation of the trail or rerouting the 

trail up-slope to a position which does not affect the site. 

Duncan Bay Campground (20IR141) 

A large linear lithic scatter was found at the Duncan Bay campground. Lithic flakes 

were found in the exposed areas in front of both shelters and in the trail to the dock. The 

flakes were particularly abundant in the deflated area immediately above the dock on the 

north side of the point. A surface collection of all materials exposed in deflated surfaces 
was made at this time. In 1990 shovel testing on the shelf between the rock ridge upon 

which the lithic scatter was found and the small bay to the north was negative. 

The bedrock point projects out into the southwest end of Duncan Bay where it is 

exposed to wind. The point is level only along its crest, becoming wider from northeast to 

southwest. The high density of debitage, most of it jasper taconite, Rossport chert, and 

gunflint silica, and the absence of ceramics and worked copper, is typical of flintknapping 

episodes undertaken away from occupation areas. The exposed aspect of the site location 

provides relief from insects and also affords a view of the length of Duncan Bay. 

The campground at the head of Duncan Bay was discovered in 1989, at which time 

it was already in an advanced state of destabilization and erosion. The area above the dock, 

the trail to the shelters, and trails from the shelters to the water have all yielded large 

quantities of lithic waste and tools. 

A revisit to the site in 1990 recapitulated the earlier findings of extensive deflation 

of devegetated areas which had exposed a large number of lithic artifacts. The 1990 

collection also includes a fragment of a human molar, but it could have come from an 

unfortunate camper from any era. 

A visit in August 1991 found the situation unchanged, and in the area in front of 

Shelter #1 leading down to the water, the degree of erosion had increased since spring of 

1990 when a compliance survey was conducted there. It is likely that most of this site has 

already been lost to erosion and deflation through visitor use. Water-bars could be 

constructed to arrest the erosional process in some areas. Areas not currently exposed 

between the dock area and the shelters should be preserved and every effort made to avoid 

devegetation. There may yet be some small pockets of undisturbed site remaining here. 

Lane Cove Trail (20113199) 

One flake made of Portage Lake quartzite was found by Wolf/Moose Biologist 

Joanne Thurber on the trail west of the Lane Cove campground. Both the raw material and 

the elevation of the find at about 198 m (650 ft) strongly suggest that the discovery indicates 

the presence of an Archaic site. The 1991 MWAC crew surveyed the site area while at 

Lane Cove but were unable to find any other artifacts with which to confirm the site 

location. 
ARPA VIOLATION INVESTIGATION AT CEMETERY ISLAND (20IR42) 

Cemetery Island is situated on the Rock Harbor Channel near Middle Islands 

Passage and the West Caribou Island campground. The historic mid-nineteenth-century 

cemetery was visited by the MWAC crew on June 22, 1991, at which time the site appeared 

as it had for years. Then in August of that year, following an apparent grave-robbing 

incident that occurred in the weeks following the June visit, the site was revisited by the 

author. The purpose of this trip was to document the nature and extent of damage caused 

by the looters. The looting constitutes a violation of the Archeological Resources Protection 

Act of 1979 (ARPA), which protects prehistoric and historic cultural resources on federal 

lands. 

The looted grave (Grave #4) is one of nine marked or partially marked graves, all 

believed to date to the 1850s, where persons associated with the copper mining operations 

at the Siskowit Mine were interred (Figure 6). This grave was marked with a reconstructed 

wooden cross and a rock border. At the time of this investigation the grave was partially 

backfilled and cut spruce saplings had been placed in an attempt to conceal the looting 

episode. 

The saplings were removed and all loose fill at the grave was troweled out by hand 

and examined for materials. Abundant surface vegetation was mixed with loose fill, 

indicating the extent of the disturbance. Large, lichen-covered rocks that had formerly 

marked the border of the grave and some rocks from Grave #7 were used by the looters 

for backfill. The reconstructed cross was found buried in the upper 15 cm of the backfill. 

Cut nails with adhering wood (Figure 7) were distributed throughout the backfill 

matrix. Additional cut nails were found at the bottom of the looter's pit and in fill left 

around the pit orifice. Some small and badly decomposed wood pieces believed to be coffin 

fragments were also found in the backfill. The 32 nails recovered fall into two groups, based 

on length. Sixteen nails are 2 318 inches (62 mm) and sixteen are 1 112 inches (39 mm). 

The looter's pit was excavated to a depth of 110 cm below surface and measured 80 

cm by 220 cm at the orifice. The pit was straight-sided except at the south end where it 

sloped to permit access to the bottom. Between 50 cm and 68 cm below surface there was 

a discontinuous lens of black loam soil which probably indicates the original level of the 

coffin. 

The only skeletal material recovered consisted of a fragmentary occipital bone 

(posterior skull) of an infant, identified by Dr. Norm Sauer, Michigan State University. It 

was found at a depth of 65 cm below surface in a matrix of black loam heavily invaded by 

rootlets. 

The existence of the coffin is inferred from the numerous cut nails with adhering 

wood. That the coffin contained a child's skeleton is indicated by the single skull fragment 

recovered during the excavation of the looter's pit, and by the length of the pit, which would 

not admit a normal adult in a primary extended interment. Other than documenting the 
sequence of backfilling and attempts at concealment, no evidence suggesting the identity of 

the looters or their motives was obtained. It is likely that major portions of the coffin and 

virtually the entire skeleton were removed by the looters. 

Subsequent to this investigation the grave was backfilled and large stones placed to 

replicate the original condition and appearance of the grave. Artifacts and the occipital 

fragment were removed to the MWAC in Lincoln for analysis. The cranial fragment has 

since been reburied at the site of its original interment. 
CONCLUSIONS 

Eleven sites were examined at Isle Royale National Park in the 1991 season. The 

excavation of the Mott Sauna Beach site completes the mitigation of this late prehistoric 

component in advance of the construction of new housing on Mott Island. The site was 

found to be the result of an occupation of short duration, involving a combination of 

domestic and copperworking activities by persons sharing cultural affinities with the 

Juntunen phase of the Lake Superior basin. 

The Lane Cove campground investigation produced significant artifacts in the form 

of glass trade beads datable to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a poorly 

documented time in Isle Royale's past and one which warrants careful scrutiny. The 

situation at Lane Cove, that of campsite deflation and potential modifications, is duplicated 

at many other locations on the island. At all campgrounds that intersect a cultural site we 

face the chronic problem of preserving the resource while at the same time maintaining the 

quality of the facility for visitor use. Long-term planning should seek to identify alternative 

locations for sensitive sites or mitigative measures to insure the preservation of cultural 

properties in extant facilities of the park, rather than a yearly program that continues the 

attrition of existing ones. 

The investigation of the looting incident on Cemetery Island was unsuccessful in 

terms of disclosing the intent or identity of the vandals. Benefits obtained from this incident 

include the opportunity for increased public awareness and involvement in cultural resource 

protection. The recovery of the infant skeletal fragment also increased the meager 

knowledge of the identity of those interred in the cemetery there. 
REFERENCES CITED 

Bastian, Tyler J. 

1963 Archeological Survey of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, 1960-1962. 

Manuscript on file, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor, 

and Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln. 

Clark, Caven P. 

1987 Archaeological Survey of the Rock Harbor Area; Isle Royale National Park 1986. 

Cultural Resource Management Report No. 14. Michigan Technological 

University, Houghton. 

1989 Analysis of Copper Waste and North Shore Ties in the Terminal Woodland 

Substage: The 1988 Isle Royale Archaeological Survey. Journal of the Steward 

Anthropological Society 18(1-2): 15 1- 164. 

1991 Group Composition and the Role of Unique Raw Materials in the Terminal 

Woodland Substage of the Lake Superior Basin. Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State 

University, East Lansing. 

Clark, C.P., H. Neff, and M. Glascock 

1992 Neutron Activation Analysis of Late Woodland Ceramics from the Lake 

Superior Basin. In Chemical Characterization of Ceramic Pastes in Archaeology, 

edited by H. Neff, pp. 255-267. Monographs in World Archeology No. 7. 

Prehistory Press, Madison, Wisconsin. 

Dustin, Fred 

1957 An Archaeological Reconnaissance of Isle Royale. Michigan History 41(1):1-34. 

Hamilton, T.M., and K.O. Emery 

1988 Eighteenth-Century Gunflints from Fort Michilimackinac and Other Colonial Sites. 

Archaeological Completion Report Series No. 13. Mackinac Island State Park 

Commission, Mackinac Island. 

Ives, William 

1847 Land Survey Notes and Plats of Isle Royale, Michigan. On file, U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C. 

Kidd, Kenneth E., and Martha Ann Kidd 

1970 A Classifcation System for Glass Beads for the use of Field Archaeologists. 

Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 1. 

Parks Canada, Ottawa. 
Lynott, Mark J., Jeffrey J. Richner, and Mona Thompson 

1986 Archeological Investigations at Voyageurs National Park: 1979 and 1980. 

Occasional Studies in Anthropology No. 16. National Park Service, Midwest 

Archeological Center, Lincoln. 

Maass, Carol 

1984 Interim Cultural Sites Inventory. Manuscript on file, Isle Royale National Park, 

Houghton, Michigan, and Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln. 

Martin, Patrick E. 

1988 Technical Report on Archaeological Survey and Evaluation Isle Royale National 

Park During 1986. Archaeology Laboratory, Department of Social Sciences, 

Michigan Technological University, Houghton. 

Martin, Terrance, and Mary Masulis 

1989 Animal Remains from Archaeological Sites at Isle Royale National Park, Michigan: 

1987 Season. Quaternary Studies Program Technical Report 89-389-8. Illinois 

State Museum Society, Springfield. 

Mason, Ronald 

1986 Rock Island: Historical Indian Archaeology in the Northern Lake Michigan Basin. 

MCJA Special Paper No. 6. Kent State University Press, Ohio. 

McPherron, Alan 

1967 The Juntunen Site and the Late Woodland Prehistory of the Upper Great Lakes 

Area. Anthropological Papers No. 30. Museum of Anthropology, University of 

Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Quimby, George I. 

1939 Aboriginal Camp Sites on Isle Royale, Michigan. American Antiquity 4(3):215- 

223. 

Rakestraw, Lawrence 

1965 Historic Mining on Isle Royale. Isle Royale Natural History Association. 

Houghton. 

Stone, Lyle 

1974 Fort Michilimackinac 1715-1 781. Publications of the Museum, Michigan State 

University, East Lansing. 

Stuiver, Minze, and P.J. Reimer 

1993 Extended C-14 Data Base and Revised CALIB 3.0 C-14 Age Calibration 

Program. Radiocarbon 35(1):215-230. 
Wittry, Warren 

1963 The Bell Site, Wn9, An Early Historic Fox Village. The W2sconsin Archeologist 

44(1): 1-57. 

Wright, J.V. 

1966 The Ontario Iroquois Tradition. Anthropological Series No. 75. National 

Museum of Canada Bulletin 210. The Queen's Printer, Ottawa. 
Table 1. Finished copper artifacts from Mott Sauna Beach. 

Item Dimensions (L x W x TH mm) Weight (g) 

Bar 86.0 x 18.3 x 14.5 90.0 

Bar 37.1 x 13.4 x 7.5 17.6 

Butterknife 45.8 x 12.6 x 2.1 3.5 

Pin or awl 1 .O 

Table 2. Waste copper from Mott Sauna Beach. 

Category Number Weight (g) 

Raw, with matrix 1 0.3 

Hammered nugget 3 3.8 

Flat, vesicular 7 30.6 

Flat, homogeneous 7 17.7 

Flat, laminated 24 39.0 

Rolled, laminated 1 0.9 
Figure 1. East end of Isle Royale and location of 1991 archeological sites. 
:Ffgure 2. M:ott Sauna Beach site -showing location of excavation units. 

28 

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SKETCH MAP 
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Figure 6. Plan of historic cemetery, Cemetery Island. 

32 

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REPORT CERTIFICATION 

Icertifythat "Mott Sauna Beach Excavation and Site Survey at Isle Royale 

National Park" by Caven P. Clark 

-- -- 

has been reviewed against the criteria contained in 43CFR Part 7 (a)(l) and 

upon recommendation of the Regional Archeologist has been classified as 

available 

6/14/93 

Date 

Classification Key Words: 

"Available"-Making the report available to the public meets the criteria of 43CFR 7.18 (a) 

(1). 

"Available (deletions"-Making the report available with selected information on site 

locations and/or site characteristics deleted meets the criteria of 43CFR 7.18 (a)(l). A list of 

pages, maps, paragraphs, etc. that must be deleted for each report in this category is attached. 

"Not Availablefi-Making the report available does not meet the criteria of 43CFR (a)(l).