Cranberry Creek Archeological District, also known as Cranberry Creek Mound Group, is an ancient
American Indian burial mound site from circa AD 100–800 near
New Miner, Wisconsin, United States. It is three miles east of
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in
Juneau County.[3] It is part of the "effigy mound culture" of native peoples in Wisconsin, who practiced the "respectful burial of their dead".[4]
Humans first inhabited Wisconsin about 12,000 years ago, and the use of burial mounds developed in between 500 BC to 1000 AD during what is referred to as the
Woodland period. The burial mounds during the late Woodland period tended to be built as
effigies of birds, bears, and panthers, and examples of these can be found in the Cranberry Creek Archeological District.[4] As with other burial mounds on state property, the mounds in this region are protected against unauthorized
disturbance.[4][5] Many of the best examples of mounds in this area are on the east side of Cranberry Creek. In addition to effigies, conical, linear, and oval mounds are found. Although archeological studies have been conducted here since 1917, and farming has damaged parts of the northern cluster, the cluster in the southern section is essentially unaltered by modern man.[6] Cranberry Creek Archeological District encompasses one of the larger mound groups in Wisconsin with over 300 mounds,[5] and possibly up to 500 mounds.[7]
In addition to the Cranberry Creek Archeological District, Juneau County has two other related
National Register of Historic Places: Gee's Slough Mound Group (ref: 78000108), which is also from the Woodland culture, and
Lemonweir Glyphs (ref: 93001173).[1][9]
^"Chapter 3: Refuge Environment"(PDF). Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p. 23. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
^
ab
Birmingham, Robert A.; Leslie E. Eisenberg (2000). Indian Mounds of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. pp.
6, 110.
ISBN978-0-299-16874-2. Retrieved January 27, 2012. cranberry.
^
Ostergren, Robert Clifford; Thomas R. Vale (1997).
Wisconsin Land and Life. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 341–344, 350.
ISBN978-0-299-15350-2. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
Boszhardt, Robert F. (1987). Mapping Mounds in the Cranberry Creek Archaeological District Year 1: An Example of Cooperative Archaeology in Wisconsin. Madison, WI: Mississippi Valley Archaeological Center at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
OCLC27403160.