Marquette Street Archaeological District

Marquette Street Archaeological District

Region of archaeological district
Location Near the St. Ignace Mission, St. Ignace, Michigan[1]
Coordinates 45°52′0″N 84°44′0″W / 45.86667°N 84.73333°W / 45.86667; -84.73333Coordinates: 45°52′0″N 84°44′0″W / 45.86667°N 84.73333°W / 45.86667; -84.73333
Area 6 acres (2.4 ha)
NRHP Reference # 82000541[2]
Added to NRHP October 29, 1982

The Marquette Street Archaeological District is an archaeological site in St. Ignace, Michigan near the St. Ignace Mission. It covers 6 acres (2.4 ha) and includes one building, a village site, and a cemetery;[2] archaeological designations are 20MK82 and 20MK99. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[2]

Early history

A 1717 map of St. Ignace showing the location of the Jesuit Mission (in red at lower middle-left) on East Moran Bay; the Petun (Huron) village lies just to the north (left).

The Petun people originally lived east of Georgian Bay, but were driven by the Iroquois into what is now Wisconsin.[3] In the 1660s, the Petun were again displaced by the Sioux, and settled in what is now St. Ignace around 1670.[4] By this time, the reduction in numbers of Petun, due to disease and war, was so severe that some experts believe they were no longer culturally viable.[5]

Père Jacques Marquette established his mission near the village a few years later.[4][6] The village was home to 500-800 people.[4] The Petun remained in this location until 1701, when Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac persuaded them to move south when he founded Detroit.[5]

Excavations

Gravesite monument for Père Jacques Marquette near Archaeological District

The site of the Petun village in St. Ignace was excavated in the 1970s,[3] and again in 1983-86, 1996–97, and 2001.[4] Excavations have shown evidence of Petun longhouses and hearths, and acculturation from exposure to nearby European settlers.[4] In particular, the Petun reused European glass and metal fragments to fashion weapons and ornaments,[4] and incorporated elements of Christian worship into their own rituals.[5] However, the Petun cultural identity remained despite their repeated displacement, reduction in numbers, and exposure to European culture and goods.[5]

References

  1. ↑ The NRIS gives the location of the Marquette Street Archaeological District as "Address Restricted"; however, multiple sources indicate the Petun village was near the St. Ignace Mission on the (three-block-long) Marquette Street. The geo-coordinates given are approximate.
  2. 1 2 3 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. 1 2 Timothy Pauketat (2012), The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology Oxford Handbooks, Oxford University Press, pp. 424–425, ISBN 0195380118
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Charles E. Orser (2002), Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology, Psychology Press, pp. 373–364, ISBN 0415215447
  5. 1 2 3 4 Francis P. McManamon; Linda S. Cordell; Kent G. Lightfoot; George R. Milner (2009), Archaeology in America: Northeast and Southeast, ABC-CLIO, pp. 53–54, ISBN 0313331855
  6. ↑ "MICHIGAN - Dickinson County (NRIS database access)". NationalRegisterOfHistoricPlaces.com. Retrieved May 20, 2012.

Further reading

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