Ancient remains discovered at site of highway reconstruction

CREATED Jul. 21, 2012

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LA CROSSE, Wis. - As crews prepare to put $4.6 million into a new Highway 35 in the LaCrosse area, they're finding something very old. 

Archaeologists say ancient remains, possibly of Native Americans, have been discovered buried beaneath the roadway.

Scientists from the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center have found nearly two dozen likely skeletal fragments.

They've also found food and garbage pits, cooking hearths tools and other artifacts, believed to be from the Oneota nation who inhabited the Onalaska area between about 1300 and 1600 AD.