The Fisk Site (21WB61) consists of a mound group and several panels of petroglyphs, one set of which is located at an erosion-sculpted rock shelter near the crown of a bluff above the Mississippi River in SE Minnesota. An examination of these features on May 11, 1996 confirmed both the presence of the mound group and the authenticity of the petroglyphs. Prior to this time mound and rock art expertise had not yet been applied in the assessment of this site.

The Mound Group The initial report on this group (Morse-Kahn 1995:5) included a massive earthen enclosure judged to be a kind of fortification. This proved to be a quarry pit approximately 1.5 meters deep, and essentially terminating at its outer edges along the natural terrace. A narrow road winds down to the low ground toward the southwest where the quarried stone was probably used for foundations. At the north end of the quarry pit stands a huge conical mound with some small slabs of the poor quality limestone lying about on its surface. This may be an aboriginal mound partly covered with quarry debris and originally built on the narrow terrace. The whole quarrying operation seems somewhat experimental and was probably of limited duration. The lane for hauling the blocks proceeds to the north from the quadrangular pit, parallel to the line of mounds. The track is narrow and quarrying along it, on the bluff side, was not extensive. Drill holes for dynamiting were observed in a test site near the north end of the track, perhaps 60m north of the main pit.

A linear arrangement of prominent, symmetrical aboriginal mounds parallels the edge of the terrace at an orientation of 350° mg. The quarry track runs adjacent to these on the bluff side at the same orientation. There are between 10 and 12 mounds, mostly conical and precisely symmetrical. They range in size from 10 to 20 feet in diameter, and from 3 to 7.5' high. At least one shows evidence of a looting attempt, but safely at the apex of the cone. Most of these mounds exhibit little or no quarrying debris on their flanks. Several are elliptical in plan view but most are conical. In most cases, the symmetry alone precludes their production through quarrying. Also, each mound neatly occupies the terrace, usually displaced inward from the edge by a distance of 3 or 4 feet. No case was observed in which the earth or quarrying debris was pushed over the edge, or which had inadvertently slid over the edge. The terrace floor remains clear at the outer edge of the mounds. Large trees are growing on some of the mounds.

This is a very impressive aboriginal mound group with several large conicals. Its placement on a terrace directly overlooking the Mississippi satisfies the common theme of commanding presence for such groups and serves further to validate them without excavation. Whether they are contemporary with the petroglyphs at a higher elevation is not known. The mounds occur at an elevation of approximately 35m above the alluvial plain, while the petroglyphs are at least 90m higher.

The Paleoart at Fisk-Wabasha This is a classic "grooving" site almost identical in this respect to those recently investigated at West Salem, Wisconsin by R. Boszhardt (1995). The original investigators have provisionally identified three levels of petroglyph activity at First Cave (lowest, but above the mound group); Second Cave, a bit higher than First, and Third Cave, the topmost position on the bluff. While all levels exhibit grooving, and appear mostly non-figurative, the highest position offers the richest concentration. At least four panels were observed at Third Cave which a naturally sculpted rockshelter with "bridge" effect. The rockshelter points out over the ledge to offer spectacular views of the Mississippi for many miles both north and south. A four foot platform allows for standing observation in front of the shelter. The panel at this position has extensive vertical grooving. The floor, as well as a fissure at this position, show clear evidence of extensive burning. No calcine bone, or charred remains, were observed on the surface. In fact, as is common among northern rock art sites, no clear signs of domestic activity were apparent at any of the carving loci.

Drawing of Third Cave ©1996 Deborah Schoenholz

A possible figurative form may occur on the innermost wall of Third Cave. This specimen was observed by a resident living in the area. At that time it appeared to be an anthropomorph, but now has suffered extensive erosion, to the point where only one very long incised line (perhaps outlining the figure's right side) remains . The resident informant reports that the head of this figure was originally sculpted and was represented in three dimensions. Natural damage is too advanced to observe this now, but precedents, while very rare, exist for this practice at grooving sites. Principal among these is the Lemonweir Site on the Wisconsin River about 150 miles to the southeast (Stiles 1993).

There are several hundred grooves intentionally incised into the sandstone at Fisk. Those filled with lichen or calcium carbonate deposits are difficult to see, but many remain quite plain. They vary in width from a few millimeters to wide gashes of nearly three centimeters. Some have a rounded cross-section, while others exhibit neat V's. Most are vertically oriented, and would average about 30-40 cm in length . Some have been engraved at angles of up to 30° from the vertical and might be mistaken for letters or graffiti in some cases. It is possible that vandals saw these marks from time to time and sought to embellish them by producing initials from them. There are many rock faces, however, which exhibit grooving only. Some of the non-figurative rock art on these panels may represent iconic congruence, Natural pits may for the basis for added vertical lines.

An effort to identify grooving on the shelter ceilings as occurs at the Bell Coulee Site in Wisconsin (Boszhardt 1995) failed. However, with the very high potential for further sites in the Fisk Site area, perhaps carved ceilings will also be found there. In general there is a very close correspondence between the Fisk Site and those reported by Boszhardt.

The exact function of grooving is not known, but theories which suggest a practical function like "sharpening" stone knives, etc. are highly improbable. Such action will serve only to abrade the harder stone and make it dull. Stone knives exhibiting such treatment (except haft-associated grinding) have not been found. An alternative theory (Steinbring 1990:178-180, Steinbring et al 1995:60-61) suggests that grooving as a repetitive and rhythmic act may involve rituals leading to a trance state. Proponents of entoptic theory (Lewis-Williams and Dobson 1989) assert that much rock art is produced while the practitioner is in a trance state. Ecstatic shamanism is widely known to involve trance, and the achievement of trance can be produced by either repetitive percussion or grooving. an explanation for Fisk might be that it is a kind of spiritually endowed location with exotic natural forms at a dramatic location where supplicants grooved to achieve dreams to aid them in their various quests, both practical and religious.

Grooving is a universal act, and is found well represented in the rock art of Australia and France and elsewhere (Steinbring et al, 1995:58, 60-61). The last decade has seen its discovery by David Lowe (1987:349, 352) in southwestern Wisconsin, Stiles-Hanson (1987:300,305) in western Wisconsin, and now clear concentrations of it in eastern Minnesota. The locations listed are remarkable in their similarity.

Jack Steinbring May 11, 1996

References Cited:

Boszhardt, Robert F. 1994 "Rock Art Research in Western Wisconsin 1994-1995. Reports of Investigations No. 201." Mississippi Valley Archaeological Center University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Lewis-Williams, J.D. and T.A. Dobson 1989 "Images of Power" Southern Book Publishers, Johannesburg.

Lewis, T.H. 1898 Northwestern Archaeological Survey. Published by the author, St. Paul.

Lowe, David 1987 "Rock Art Survey of the Blue Mounds Creek Drainages in Iowa and Dane Counties, Wisconsin," The Wisconsin Archeologist, vol. 68, No. 4, pp. 341-376, Milwaukee.

Morse-Kahn, Deborah 1995 Minnesota Archaeological Site Form for Fisk Complex, Site No. 21WB61: First Survey, October 30, 1995. Office of the State Archaeologist.

Morse-Kahn, Deborah 1996 Minnesota Archaeological Site Form for Fisk Site, Site No. 21WB61: Second Survey, May 11, 1996. Office of the State Archaeologist.

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Steinbring, Jack 1990 "Post Archaic Rock Art in the Western Great Lakes," in Gibbon (edit.) The Woodland Tradition in the Western Great Lakes: Papers Presented to Elden Johnson University of Minnesota Publications in Anthropology, No. 4, pp. 167-194, Minneapolis.

Steinbring, Jack, Gary Granzberg and Maurice Lanteigne 1995 "Elemental Analysis in Pursuit of Function in Rock Art," in Steinbring (edit) Rock Art Studies in the Americas, pp. 55-65, Oxbow Monograph 45, Oxford.

Stiles, Cynthia 1993 Lemonweir Rock Art Site, National Register Rock Art Form (OMB No. 1024-0018) Site No. 47JU134. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

©1996 Jack Steinbring

Fisk Site photos copyright ©1996 Charles Bailey & Deborah Morse-Kahn

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