History is an incredible thing, and to learn about it is fascinating! And kids, do you know one way that we can find out all about history? Through archaeology! Luckily for you, you can get closer to it than you might have thought at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village in South Dakota!
In fact, this area is the ONLY archaeological site that is open to the public in the entire state!
Let’s go back in time a little. Did you know that LONG before there was a Corn Palace, and centuries before there was a mill, and before those French fur traders arrived in the area, there was in fact a small village of around 200 people.
We will never know the name of the village, but we do know that on the baks of a creek that the village overlooked grew beans, squash, corn, and other produce! Pretty cool how we can know that isn’t it?
Well, that’s all down to archaeologists, and at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, they come down each summer and excavate, looking to learn more about those first settlers who lived on the Northern Plains.
All of those families who visit can actually watch these archaeologists uncover artifacts in front of your very eyes! Don’t worry about the heat…because you’ll be in the comfort of the Thomsen Memorial Museum, where you can also check out a reconstructed lodge, as well as a lot of the (wait for it…) 1.5 MILLION artifacts that have been found across the years – including a bison skeleton!
Keep an eye out for those kids activities too, including the “Kids Dig” and the Lakota Games on Ice!
Enjoy!
If you are in town for a day, it’s definitely worth the visit. I actually learned quite a bit, but was only disappointed that there is no time line. All of the artifacts are scattered, and though the civilization only lasted an estimate of less than two hundred years, I think as an archaeologist dig site, a little more information which helps us understand how the people progressed would be helpful. It’s scattered a bit as it is. The video should focus more on the people and less on the project as well. I think most of us are much more interested in understanding ancient civilization when we visit, than we are in archaeologists of today.
We received a personal tour but only because we went early morning, they open at 8 which is really great. The staff are knowledgeable and very ready to answer a question. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the work that has gone in to making this dig site open to the public