Laurel complex

Laurel complex
Map showing areas of predominance of different archaeological complexes of the era
The Laurel complex and other cultures in the Hopewellian sphere
Geographical rangeUpper Midwest, central Canada
PeriodWoodland
Followed byBlackduck tradition
Defined byLloyd Wilford

The Laurel complex or Laurel tradition is an archaeological culture which was present in what is now southern Quebec, southern and northwestern Ontario and east-central Manitoba in Canada, and northern Michigan, northwestern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota in the United States. They were the first pottery using people of Ontario north of the Trent–Severn Waterway. The complex is named after the former unincorporated community of Laurel, Minnesota. It was first defined by Lloyd Wilford in 1941.[1]