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UW-La Crosse MVAC Since 1982, the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center (MVAC) at the University of Wisconsin - La Cro

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On the angled ceiling of Tainter cave, in southwestern Wisconsin, is a drawing of a unique animal. While all of the othe...
10/22/2026

On the angled ceiling of Tainter cave, in southwestern Wisconsin, is a drawing of a unique animal. While all of the other drawings in the cave are made with relatively sharp lines, this animal was drawn with much wider lines that suggest finger application of pigments. The animal has an oblong body with four stumpy legs, a round head to the left, and two apparent long horns. It is not clear what animal this drawing is intended to represent, but the spread horns are reminiscent of early forms of bison, such as Bison occidentalis. If so, this distinctive glyph might represent Paleoindian or Early Archaic art that would date from at least 8,000 to 10,000 B.P. More images from Tainter cave can be found at: http://mvac.uwlax.edu/past-cultures/specific-sites/rock-art/ .

Support MVAC during One Day for UWL – Starts Tomorrow, October 20-21, 2026For 24 hours, alumni and friends from around t...
10/19/2026

Support MVAC during One Day for UWL – Starts Tomorrow, October 20-21, 2026

For 24 hours, alumni and friends from around the world will come together in celebration and support of university students and programs! One Day for UWL demonstrates the immediate impact of the UWL family. It provides students, friends, families and alumni the chance to work as a collective group, in a short amount of time, to give back to campus and the areas they care about most. Consider showing your support for MVAC tomorrow on One Day for UWL.

Link to make a One Day for UWL secure online donation to MVAC.
https://uwlgivingday.uwlax.edu/giving-day/117644/department/117726

MVAC Match - Double Your Donation!

Connie Arzigian, Jim Theler, and Kathy Stevenson will match the first $4000 given to the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center (MVAC). Help support MVAC's public archaeology activities!

Double your donation! For your donation to apply toward this match it will need to be made online (link below) on October 20-21.

Link to make a One Day for UWL secure online donation to MVAC.
https://uwlgivingday.uwlax.edu/giving-day/117644/department/117726

Floral analysis identifies the different seeds and nuts found in flotation light fractions. The seeds and nuts can tell ...
10/15/2026

Floral analysis identifies the different seeds and nuts found in flotation light fractions. The seeds and nuts can tell us about the environment around the site, and what plant foods were eaten. Other plants may have been collected for baskets, medicines, or other purposes. In the Midwestern United States, usually the only plant remains that survive in archaeological sites were charred, or burnt, as in a campfire. Unburned materials have decayed but the charred materials have survived. Charred seeds retain their original shape and size and many other features and can often still be identified as to the kind of plant. Sorting plant remains is usually done under a microscope due to the small size of the seeds.

Wisconsin archaeologist Robert "Bob" Birmingham received the Distinguished Career Award at the 2026 annual meeting of th...
10/12/2026

Wisconsin archaeologist Robert "Bob" Birmingham received the Distinguished Career Award at the 2026 annual meeting of the Midwest Archaeological Conference in Mankato, Minnesota. In Patrick Jung's nomination, Jung noted that Bob deserved the award as a result of his decades of contributions to Wisconsin and Midwest archaeology, including his years as Wisconsin's State Archaeologist, and as author of multiple books on Wisconsin archaeology. Currently, Bob is the driving force promoting and preserving Aztalan State Park, and raising funds for the proposed interpretive center and museum. Congratulations, Bob!

Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society
10/12/2026

Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society

Thanks to Jim Theler for this week’s post - The bones of the American beaver are found at many archaeological sites thro...
10/08/2026

Thanks to Jim Theler for this week’s post -

The bones of the American beaver are found at many archaeological sites throughout the Midwest and are fairly common at late precontact (AD 1300s to early 1600s) Oneota sites in the La Crosse area. The beaver was an occasional food item in the diet of Native peoples in postcontact times and in the past. The most common beaver bones from La Crosse sites are portions of the upper and lower jaws each of which once held a reddish-orange colored front tooth or incisor. These incisors were desired for use as tools, of course beavers are amazing woodworkers with their razor-sharp incisors, a fact apparent to Native peoples. The jaws of harvested beavers appear to have been saved or "curated" (thus found in larger numbers compared to other bones) and the incisors removed and used for woodworking or as other tasks. That the incisors were used as tools is indicated by grinding striations found on the business-ends of the incisors in efforts to resharpen the cutting edges. In the upper right of the photo are worked incisor fragments from La Crosse Oneota sites and in the lower right a right mandible of a beaver showing the fractured interior margin that resulted from an incisor removal. On the left is a side view of a modern beaver skull showing the incisors.

In this video MVAC Senior Research Associate Dr. Connie Arzigian explains what can be learned from burned bone. Bones ar...
10/01/2026

In this video MVAC Senior Research Associate Dr. Connie Arzigian explains what can be learned from burned bone. Bones are formed as a protein matrix (collagen) that supports the mineral structure (calcium and phosphate). As bones are exposed to heat, the collagen begins to break down, and over 650 degrees C, (1200 degrees F), the collagen and other organic material burns off, and only the mineral matrix remains. These are called calcined bones, and they will preserve better under environmental conditions such as acidic soils where unburned bones will have decayed.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/e7OodoBg3U0

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UW-La Crosse, Archaeology Building, 1725 State St
La Crosse, WI
54601

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+16087858463

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