Scott Anfinson is an Interdisciplinary Archaeological Studies Faculty member at the University of Minnesota, a State Historic Preservation Office Archaeologist and a native son of southwestern Minnesota. Anfinson has concentrated his archaeological studies in southwestern Minnesota, north-central Iowa and southeastern South Dakota.
His work has included the Koronis Indian Mound (the third largest in Minnesota), investigating the effect that the highway relocation would have on the Indian mounds near Paynesville and defining the archaeological regions in Minnesota. Anfinson has defined nine archaeological resource regions and twenty-one sub-regions in Minnesota; these are determined by variation in climate, vegetation and topography across the state.
Anfinson is an incredible archaeologist and author. One example of Anfinson's work is a comprehensive overview of the people who inhabited the Prairie Lakes Region of the northeastern Plains before the arrival of European explorers. In this discussion, Anfinson describes the environmental changes that occurred during the pre-contact millennia and then the impact on the human, animal, and plant cultures of the region. Mark Dudzik, a former Minnesota State Archaeologist, was so impressed he stated, "Anfinson’s work has resulted in a comprehensive and sorely needed overview of the prehistory of southwestern Minnesota, clearly documenting the Plains character of the region’s peoples and environment. This excellent volume is an essential resource for students of Plains culture and Minnesota archaeology." This statement makes it very clear that Scott Anfinson is a great asset to Minnesota archaeology. Scott Anfinson is currently the State Archaeologist of Minnesota.
Scott Anfinson: scott.anfinson@mnhs.org
Written By: Brian Wild