Effigy Mounds Historic Resource Study

Methodology

Historical Research

HRAG&P undertook a comprehensive literature search for this project in late 2000. This effort resulted in preparation of a chapter outline for the HRS and an annotated bibliography of major primary and secondary sources to be used in preparation of the document. The research effort began with initial consultation with park and regional NPS office staff and other local informants. It continued with a review of secondary resources and gray literature, followed by primary-source materials at various Iowa repositories. HRAG&P's research focused on four efforts: 1) compilation and mastery of the published literature; 2) familiarity with the primary sources on which the published literature is based; 3) original research in primary sources on issues that pertained specifically to cultural resources within the monument; and 4) review of existing cultural resource documentation. Repositories consulted during the course of these investigations included Effigy Mounds National Monument, the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist, the National Park Service's Midwest Archeological Center, local historical societies, and University of Washington libraries. HRAG&P consulted with NPS Midwest Regional Office Senior Historian Ron Cockrell, NPS Midwest Archeological Center Archeologists Thomas Thiessen and Douglas Scott, and Cultural Landscape Inventory Coordinator Roberta Young.

Aerial View of Great Bear Mound Group. Courtesy of National Park Service

Field Visits

Information derived from previously completed cultural resource studies, inventories, and surveys of resources guided HRAG&P's field visits to the monument, completed in 2001 and 2003. Research conducted during the field visits focused on the extensive manuscripts housed in the archives at the monument. No subsurface or surface archeological investigations were conducted as part of this project.

The following National Park Service personnel at Effigy Mounds National Monument were consulted: Superintendent Phyllis Ewing, Chief Ranger Ken Block, Administrative Assistant/Archives Specialist Sharon Greener, Natural Resource Specialist Rodney Rovang, and Park Ranger/local historian Dennis Lenzendorf. In addition, HRA Gray & Pape, LLC. consulted the following staff members at the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist: Site Records Manager Colleen Eck, Documents Curator Julianne Hoyer, and Project Archaeologist William Whittaker.

Project Personnel

HRAG&P's Senior Historian, Patrick O'Bannon, served as Principal Investigator for the project. He acted as the primary point of contact with the National Park Service, directed the field visits, undertook preliminary historical research, prepared the chapter outline and annotated bibliography, and edited the final report. Research historians Jill Schnaiberg and Matt Ashba conducted additional historical research, prepared the historic context, identified areas in need of further research, and developed recommendations for additional interpretive programs. Project Archaeologist Trent DeBoer edited and revised the geological and prehistoric contexts, consulted with individuals at the Midwest Archeological Center, and conducted research at the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist and at Effigy Mounds National Monument. Graphic Artist Casey Fagin created the graphic layout and design of the final report.