Walk Through Time: 11,000 years of people in the Northeast

“This presentation is based on the above-named book.”

The Northeast: ca.22,000 to 18,000 BP

• Wisconsinian ice sheet

• Ice – over 1 mile thick in Eastern MA

• Land depressed by weight of ice

• Water bound in ice form

• Sea level 200 ft lower

ca.18,000 to 13,000 BP

by 15,000 BP by 14,000 BP by 13,000 BP

• Environment changing with the recession of the glaciers.• Glacial lakes: Lake Hitchcock, Lake Taunton, Lake Cape

Cod, etc.

ca.13,000 to 12,000 BP

• Ice melting – water level rising and land rebounding

• Champlain Sea• Land form – Tundra

treeless plains north of MA, forest to the south, mainly pine, spruce

Mammoths and Mastodons

• Mammoths – Grazers, up to 14 feet tall and 8 tons

• Mastodons – Browsers, up to 9 feet tall and 5 tons

• Modern elephant – up to 13 feet tall

and 7 tons Mammoth Mastodon

Photograph from the Mammoth TrumpetAngus, Nebraska (1931) – 14 feet

Paleo: ca.13,000 to 9,000 BP

• Oldest known site in the Northeast: in northern Maine ca. 12,700 BP

• Small bands, 10 to 15 people, frequently moving their camps

• Preference for high quality stone from exotic sources

Paleo dwelling

Adkins Site - Maine

An Important Paleo Site

Paleo Tools

Early Archaic: ca. 9,000 – 8,000 BP

• Environment still evolving

• Hotter and drier than today

• Sites typically are found by navigable bodies of water

A new weapon – the Atl - Atl

Early Archaic Tools

Middle Archaic: ca. 8,000 – 6,000 BP

• Vegetation similar to today

• Seasonal camps revisited

• Widespread populations in this area for the first time

• Fishing tools more prominent

Middle Archaic Seasonal Life

Middle Archaic Tools

Food Animals ca. 8,000 BP

Late Archaic: ca. 6,000 – 3,700 BP

• Climactic optimum• Population increase in

the Northeast with greater dispersal

• Larger camp sizes• Quartz much more

prominent in tool manufacturing

Boylston Street Fish Weir

ca. 5000 – 3000 BP 40,000 to 60,000 stakes

Late Archaic Tools

Transitional Archaic: ca. 3,700 – 2,700 BP

• New cultural influences in the Northeast

• Ceremonialism increases

• Environmental fluctuations

• Ceramic & steatite bowls used during the period

Steatite - Soapstone

Transitional Archaic Tools

Early Woodland: ca. 2,700 – 2,000 BP

• Probable population decline, fewer sites

• Environmental conditions less erratic

• Coastline stabilizes• Less ceremonialism• Small Stemmed

points continue (from the Late Archaic)

Early Woodland Tools

Middle Woodland: ca. 2,000 – 1,200 BP

• Introduction of the bow and arrow

• Population increase• Trade networks for

exotic tool stone (jasper, hornfels, etc.)

• Decorated pottery

Middle Woodland Tools

Late Woodland: ca. 1,200 – 500 BP

• Agriculture fuels population growth, density highest since Late Archaic

• Modern tribal groups, some at the chiefdom level, appear

• Tribal territories form in river basins

• Less variety in point types

Wigwams (wetus)

Agriculture

The Three Sisters (Maize, Beans, and Squash)

Late Woodland Tools

Contact: 1498 – 1619 A.D.

• 1524 Verrazano spends 2 weeks in Narragansett Bay

• Epidemics:– 1616 to 1619– 1633– 90% mortality in

Southeastern MASamuel de Champlain 1605 Map

of Plymouth / Duxbury Harbor

Contact Period Artifacts

OUR PURPOSE

To stimulate the study of archaeology and Native American cultural history, especially in Massachusetts, and serve as a bond between students of archaeology. To foster public understanding through educational programs To promote scientific research, careful, well-directed archaeological activity and the conservation of sites, data, and artifactsTo seek to prevent the collection of specimens for commercial purposes.

Facts

Founded in 1939

Excavated landmark sites such as Bull Brook, Titicut and Wapanucket

Built an impressive collection of over 150,000 artifacts spanning 11,000 years of history

Educational Programs

School groups

Scouts

Adults– Programs designed to

instruct people in the lifeways of the first Americans.

Lectures

Annual and Semi-Annual Meeting Speakers Program

Seasonal Lecture Series– Professional and

avocational archaeologists discuss current topics in the study of the history of the first people of New England.

Publications Books and Pamphlets

Chapters

Plymouth

Worcester

Greenfield Andover

The Robbins Museum of Archaeology

Dedicated to the Native Cultures of New England

The Museum

4,550 square feet of display space

More than 4,500 artifacts on display, some are over 10,000 years old

Native American portrait gallery

Research library

Gift shop

The Doyle Collection of Native American Dolls

Diorama of a 4,400 year old Native American Village

Mishoon

Walk Through Time 11,000 years of people in the Northeast

Massachusetts Archaeological SocietyRobbins Museum of Archaeology

17 Jackson StreetP.O. Box 700

Middleborough, MA 02346

Telephone #508-947-9005e-mail: info@massarchaeology.org

Website: www.massarchaeology.org

Museum Hours:Wednesday: 10:00AM - 4:00PMSaturday: 10:00AM – 2:00PM