(ABC 6 News) — It is quite the quest in Mower County as many pick up their shovels and magnifying glasses in search of artifacts.

The search is part of a partnership with the county’s historical society and Hamline University for a year of archaeological research.

Now, the mission is on to find artifacts and evidence of Native American activities over thousands of years.

82 archaeological sites already exist in Mower County with some dating back to the 1940s.

Local landowners and collectors are lending a helping hand for researchers trying to understand what has happened there in the last 12,000 years.

Researchers recently learned about a collection hidden away in an attic that now sits at the historical society in Adams.

The Hamline field work will continue through next spring.