Ancient human remains unearthed at proposed Kohler golf course site in Wisconsin

The rapidly eroding Lake Michigan shoreline is also raising questions about the future of the controversial project adjacent to Kohler-Andrae State Park

Posted: May 22, 2021 12:01 AM
Updated: May 20, 2021 9:11 PM by Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

By Jim Malewitz
Wisconsin Watch

Archeologists have unearthed human remains of Native Americans who lived up to 2,500 years ago during excavations of the Sheboygan County site along Lake Michigan where Kohler Co. wants to build an 18-hole golf course.

A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee team in 2018 and 2019 inadvertently encountered fragments of human bone and teeth from at least seven locations beneath the privately-owned wetlands and forest where Kohler Co. envisions its third championship facility in Wisconsin, according to documents obtained by Wisconsin Watch. The disturbance came while recovering tens of thousands of ceramics, tools and other artifacts at the 247-acre site during a study required under federal historic preservation law, according to a 2019 report.

The human remains and most of the artifacts belong to Woodland-era Native Americans who lived between 500 B.C. and 1200 A.D., according to Jennifer Haas, director of UW-Milwaukee Archaeological Research Laboratory Center. The team is still analyzing the burial sites, Haas said in an email, but it did not encounter any definable graves that might trigger additional development restrictions under state burial protection law.

Archaeologists did not examine the multiple Native American burial mounds on the Kohler Co. property that were outside of the proposed golf course, Haas said. The 36,000-employee company — which is known for its bathroom and kitchen fixtures but also manages resorts and golf destinations — vows to leave the mounds undisturbed and offer public access.

More:
https://www.channel3000.com/ancient-human-remains-unearthed-at-proposed-kohler-golf-course-site-in-wisconsin/