University of Minnesota Archaeology Collection

Partner: The University of Minnesota--Twin Cities

A large and important collection of Minnesota artifacts will be organized and inventoried through this partnership. Artifacts in the collection represent some of Minnesota's premier archaeological sites including the 8,000-year-old Itasca Bison Kill Site at Lake Itasca State Park and the Cooper Site, a 17th century Dakota village at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. Work completed through December 2012 includes a physical inventory of 1,400 boxes of artifacts, updates to more than 5,000 records in the MHS Collections Management System and development of priorities for future conservation activities. This work will ultimately give the public better access to this collection, made up of materials collected over 70 years. This project will also improve the security of the artifacts by bringing their storage conditions and collections management data up to museum standards.