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' 1.4 Cultural Resources Study Area Background The proposed Study Area is located in western Hennepin County to the northwest of the Lake Minnetonka Area and is part of the Central Lakes Deciduous South Archaeological Region (Anfinson 1990). The physical relief in this region was formed by the retreat of the vast ice sheets at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. It is assigned to the Pine City Moraine Association relating to ' the Grantsburg sub-lobe of the Des Moines lobe and is a gently undulating landscape comprised of glacial till. Till from the earlier St. Croix moraine of the Superior lobe underlies the Pine City Moraine contributing to a uniquely lacustrine landscape and the soils which subsequently formed in ' the area consist of loamy and clayey tills. Presently, the climate of the Study Area is continental with wide seasonal variations in temperature. 1 Annual precipitation in the region is sufficient to support a variety of agricultural crops as well as lands suitable for pastoral use. At the time of Euro-American arrival, the vegetation in the region was part of the Big Woods environment. Big Woods environments can be described as forests of ' elm, sugar maple, basswood and oak that once covered much of south-central Minnesota. The modern vegetation assemblage near the Study Area consists of parcels of land in agricultural use,and mixed deciduous hardwoods. Human occupation in the region dates back to the beginning of the Holocene period 12,000 years ago. The earliest inhabitants were Paleoindians (10,000 — 6,000/5,000 B.C.), who were highly mobile, widely scattered, hunting and gathering bands. Archaeological evidence representing the Paleoindian period in Minnesota is scarce, largely represented by the isolated finds of large, finely crafted chipped-stone projectile points. The Archaic period (6,000/5,000 — 400/200 B.C.) in Minnesota follows the Paleoindian period and is typified by a shift in subsistence strategies to a more diversified hunting-and-gathering. Excavated Archaic sites demonstrate greater sedentism and ' population growth, as well as the development of more advanced lithic technologies and a diverse tool kit. The Woodland period (400/200 B.C. — A.D. 1650) is characterized by several important adaptations, including adoption of pottery, use of the bow and arrow, and the widespread ' construction of earthen mounds. The Mississippian/Oneota tradition (ca. A.D. 1000 — 1700) in the upper Midwest and Minnesota is largely represented by local expression of cultural manifestations by Woodland peoples. ' The Historic period in Minnesota began in the late seventeenth century with the arrival of Euro- American fur traders, explorers, missionaries, and soldiers. The American Indian population ' inhabiting the region at the time of contact was the Dakota. Subsequent treaties with the Tribes in the region opened the land for Euro-American settlement in the mid-1800s. The westward migration of people from the East Coast as well as new immigrants, primarily from northern Europe, follows a pattern of settlement common throughout Minnesota and the Midwest. It is common in the historic record to find settlements of groups along ethnic lines in the region, and in the Study Area,people from Sweden and Germany were the most populous. ' Orono Project Phase Ia Literature Review April,2011 MPUC Docket No. E002/TL-11-223 7 1