Archaeologists Find Gaming Die, Netherlands Pipe at Colonial Michilimackinac Excavation

This story first appeared in the August 11, 2023, Mackinac Island Town Crier print edition

For archaeologists working at the excavation sites at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, a project currently in its 65th season, it is getting increasingly rare to find something new they haven’t already found at a different site as they work to uncover the secrets of the once-demolished fort. But, according to Dr. Lynn Evans, the curator of archaeology with the Mackinac State Historic Parks, that doesn’t mean they don’t discover exciting new finds every year. Since 2007, they have been working on House E, part of the Southeast Row House, and this summer the most notable finds include a bone or ivory gaming die, some buttons and sequins, ceramic shards belonging to an ointment pot, and pieces of a marked white clay smoking pipe that can be traced back to the Netherlands.

“It is a very good reminder that Michilimackinac was part of an international worldwide trade network,” Dr. Evans said of the pipe.

There are six archaeologists working on the site this year, including Dr. Evans, field supervisor Beth Kerton-Schmit, Francesca Silverman, Andrew Tallman, Kasey Smith, and Keith Klipfel. One member of the team is assigned to act as the interpreter each day, interacting with guests and answering any questions they might have. People always want to know what the archaeologists are looking for and what they have found. Dr. Evans said people usually ask about dinosaurs, even though there have never been any dinosaur fossils found in Michigan.

Kasey Smith, in the front right corner, with Andrew Tallman and Keith Klipfel in the back right corner work at the site of House E. Dr. Lynn Evans, the curator of archaeology with the Mackinac State Historic Parks, works out of view in one of the house’s cellars. 

The archaeology project began in 1959 and is one of the longest projects of its kind in North America. For every building you see reconstructed at the fort in Mackinaw City, Dr. Evans said, they have excavated the site first. The existing buildings are roughly two-thirds of what they have left.

“This is just where we are in the middle of an incredibly long, ongoing project,” she said. Even though they may not be finding specific artifacts for the first time, it is still exciting when they do find artifacts. For example, the gaming die found at the beginning of this season is the second one found at this site, Dr. Evans said. She found the first. And they have only found about half a dozen die ever, so the fact that two came from this house is unique.

Andrew Tallman (left) and Keith Klipfel are both in their first season working on the site. Mr. Tallman is from Cheboygan and grew up visiting the site, while Mr. Klipfel is from California.

House E was always lived in by fur traders – first, a French trader, Charles Henri Desjardins de Rupallay de Gonneville, and later, an unknown British trader. They may not know his name, Dr. Evans said, but over the past 16 summers, they have learned a lot about him. He was probably successful, and they know that for a couple of reasons. For instance, the house has two cellars instead of one, which is unusual. They have also found evidence of domesticated meat, high-status ceramics, and ornate adornments, like fancy buckles and buttons. All these elements lead to the picture of a successful, fashionable merchant.

Another defining feature of House E is a large 20th-century tree in the corner, which has disturbed the house and unfortunately makes it difficult sometimes to work around, Dr. Evans said. In addition to the interesting artifacts they have found so far this year, they are also finding interesting architectural features, and one of their goals for the summer is to better identify the north wall of the house. They are also working on an ongoing goal to reach the bottom of both cellars of the house, which they probably won’t get done this year, Dr. Evans said.

Archaeology tells us things that weren’t written down in history, Dr. Evans said, like how people probably worked outside the house on a porch, which makes sense because the lighting was probably better. Dr. Evans worked her first summer at the site right next to the current excavation site at House D, which hasn’t yet been reconstructed. She was working on finding dissertation topics while attending the University of Pennsylvania. Having been from Cincinnati, she knew she wanted to come back to the Midwest. She got a seasonal position at Colonial Michilimackinac and began working in 1989 before later becoming the curator of archaeology. She has worked at different sites with the Mackinac State Historic Parks throughout the years and is now back working just a few feet from where she started.

“In this little 50-foot area, I’ve spent a huge chunk of summers of my life,” Dr. Evans said.

She said it is a privilege to be part of something so big, something that won’t be completed within any of the crew’s careers.

Mr. Klipfel, a retired military man from San Diego with field experience in the historic rancho areas of California, is in his first season at the site, and is working with much different soil types here than out West. One of the most exciting things he has found has been sequins, he said, something he didn’t expect to find.

Ms. Smith, also in her first season working at the site, recently graduated from Michigan State University, and had professors with experience in the area. One of her favorite parts of the work is that she will never know everything, she said. She has been working in one of the squares at the site with the 20th-century tree stump, and recently took out a wood feature and found a stone pipe bowl underneath it. It may have been broken while it was being made, she said, because it was plain rather than decorative.

Mr. Tallman, from Cheboygan, grew up visiting Colonial Michilimackinac and the archaeological site and said it was one of the things that first sparked his interest in archaeology. Now that he is working there in his first season, he is happy to be part of the story being made and gain more knowledge about the fort. One of his most memorable finds was a piece of porcelain, probably from a plate or a bowl, with a “tremendous blue decoration” that started out as a flake and just kept getting bigger. The square he works on also has part of a tree trunk, which he said keeps his life interesting. For many of the archaeologists, the work is so much more than just excavating an old building.

“[It’s about] remembering that there were people here previously because a lot of people get so involved in the science aspects of it,” Ms. Smith said, “that they tend to forget that those were humans, too.”

For Mr. Tallman, archaeology is a deeply personal way to learn about history, more so than any report can relate. There were people who ate, slept, and lived their lives here, and learning more about them helps us understand our own history.

“It’s important because a lot of people don’t realize how much history takes place in their local area,” Mr. Tallman said. “These are deeply personal connections just lost to time.”

After the artifacts, like the recently found die and pipe, are discovered, they go into a bag with basic identifying information, including the level and type of soil where they were found, and get assigned a number. Artifacts then go to the lab to be cleaned and are cataloged throughout the winter. From there, they are stored in a storage facility, with the more interesting items put on display, or sometimes loaned out across Michigan, Wisconsin, and even Canada.

When a crew is done excavating a site, the site gets lined and filled in, and the reports are written up: a technical report for archaeologists, and an internal report saying where the house was, what it looked like, and what they know about it, Dr. Evans said. The latter gets sent to an architect who comes to build the reconstruction if they don’t do it themselves. While that is happening, the archaeologists move on to the next site. This is one thing Dr. Evans likes so much about the work at Colonial Michilimackinac – getting to see the sites come to life.

“The results of the work are animated,” Dr. Evans said, referring to the reconstructions. “And that’s really fun.”

The archaeology season started May 30 and continued seven days a week throughout the summer. The season ends Saturday, August 19. They never know what they will find, and there is really no way to know what will happen each day. But for Dr. Evans and the crew, that’s part of what makes the work interesting.

“The great thing about it is you can’t say, ‘We expect to find a pocketknife or we expect to find this kind of ceramic,’ or whatever, because you just don’t know,” Dr. Evans said. “And that’s the beautiful thing. So, stay tuned.”