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 The Laurel complex and other cultures in the Hopewellian sphere | |
| Geographical range | Upper Midwest, central Canada |
|---|---|
| Period | Woodland |
| Followed by | Blackduck tradition |
| Defined by | Lloyd Wilford |
TheLaurel complex orLaurel tradition is anarchaeological culture which was present in what is now southernQuebec, southern and northwesternOntario and east-centralManitoba in Canada, and northernMichigan, northwesternWisconsin, and northernMinnesota in the United States. They were the first pottery using people of Ontario north of theTrent–Severn Waterway. The complex is named after the formerunincorporated community ofLaurel, Minnesota. It was first defined by Lloyd Wilford in 1941.[1]
TheHopewell Exchange system began in the Ohio and Illinois River Valleys about 300 BCE. The culture is referred to more as a system of interaction among a variety of societies than as a single society or culture. Hopewell trading networks were quite extensive, withobsidian from theYellowstone area,copper fromLake Superior, and shells from theGulf Coast.
The construction of ceremonial mounds was an important feature of the Laurel complex, as it was for thePoint Peninsula complex and other Hopewell cultures. Sites were usually located at rapids or falls wheresturgeon come to spawn and ceremonies may have coincided with this yearly event. The mounds and the artifacts contained within them indicate contact with theAdena andHopewell of theOhio River valley. It is unknown if the contact was direct or indirect.[2]
The first mound-builders in what is now theKay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung National Historic Site of Canada, Laurel culture (c.2300 BP - 900 BP) who lived "in villages and built large round burial mounds along the edge of the river, as monuments to their dead."[3] These mounds remain visible today.[4] Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung is considered to be one of the "most significant centres of early habitation and ceremonial burial in Canada," is located on the north sideRainy River inNorthwestern Ontario, Canada. It became part of a continent-wide trading network because of its strategic location at the centre of major North American waterways.[3]
The later Blackduck tradition has been framed as asuccessor culture in the region, with the archaeologist K. C. A. Dawson positioning the Blackduck as a new, unrelated population which spread northward through northern Minnesota, southern Manitoba, and northwestern Ontarioc. AD 500 to AD 900.[5] Blackduck ceramics were notably better-constructed than Woodland period predecessors, with thinner walls and larger size.[6] It was noted by Dawson that at the Wabinosh River site north of Lake Superior, late Laurel ceramics display some traits of the Blackduck and Selkirk traditions. Dawson associates the Laurel with anArchaic period residual population, with an influx of Blackduck people as the climate in the north became milder; he associates the Blackduck with theOjibwe.[5]
