Arts & Entertainment

Ancient mounds show how people lived before Columbus

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By CARIN TUNNEY
Capital News Service
LANSING — Down a narrow rural road in southwestern Michigan, an empty corner has neatly mowed grass and two tiny rolling hills. The mounds would likely go unnoticed if not for a small historical marker that most drivers pass without slowing. But hidden beneath the unremarkable ground lie answers to Michigan’s ancient past. This and similar earthworks sites tell us how ancient hunters and gatherers interacted with their environment in a time before written language documented how they lived. Unlike the majority of mounds across Michigan, these survived development, agriculture and human curiosity.

Agriculture

Archaeologists shed new light on ancient farming, university history

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By LAUREN GIBBONS
Capital News Service
LANSING — On the surface, Michigan might not seem like the nation’s most historic place. But to many archaeologists and other experts, the state holds a wealth of evidence about the past and remains an important player in providing insights to the past. For example, new developments in the archaeological world include research on ancient farming practices in Michigan and elsewhere in the region. “We’re doing a lot of things that other places haven’t done yet,” said Lynne Goldstein, an anthropology professor at Michigan State University, which hosted the latest Midwest Archaeological Conference. Findings gathered from archaeologists suggest that ancient farmers implemented several domesticated foods and agricultural practices much earlier than previously predicted, said MSU anthropology professor William Lovis, who curated the farming exhibit at the conference.