Based on many archaeological studies in Wisconsin, it is estimated that Wisconsin was inhabited by people nearly 12,000 years ago who hunted prehistoric animals like mammoths and mastodons.

The primitive cultures of the Wisconsin Great River Road developed and evolved to leave behind many artifacts and monuments to the past-- not the least of which were the great mounds of grand designs and shapes of animals. Now Wisconsin archaeologists research these ancient cultures as well as the not so ancient cultures of the first explorers and traders that came to settle along the Wisconsin Great River Road.

Designs in the Rock

The Wisconsin Great River Road runs through an area called the Driftless Area because it was not covered by glaciers during the last ice age. Because of this, many exposed rocks gave ancient inhabitants of the area an opportunity to create rock art that is still being discovered today. In caves and outcroppings, petroglyphs and pictographs have been found as displays of a way of life long forgotten. Designs of animals and people are left behind in the rocks for archaeologists to study.

Displays and Museums

Archaeological displays can be found in many local museums. Visitors can view mound groups and village sites at Wyalusing State Park, Diamond Bluff, La Crosse, Prairie du Chien, along Lake Pepin, and at Trempealeau in Perrot State Park. In the city of La Crosse on the Great River Road, archaeological enthusiasts can visit displays at the Riverside Museum that catalogue the earliest times in Wisconsin to the present.

The Archaeology Center of the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse offers a closer look at artifacts from recent investigations as well as detailed information about archaeology in Wisconsin. As the headquarters for the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center, the University of LaCrosse Archaeology Center offers visitors an opportunity to view displays explaining techniques and prehistory.