Connecticut State Archaeologist
Office of State Archaeology
Connecticut State Museum of Natural History
Connecticut Archaeology Center Phone: 860-486-5248 Address: Office of State Archaeology
2019 Hillside Rd. Unit 1023
Storrs, CT 06269-1023
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe values and supports archaeological research on a scale that has rar... more The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe values and supports archaeological research on a scale that has rarely been duplicated elsewhere in Indian country, with the possible exception of the Navajo and Zuni archaeological programs. This chapter outlines the numerous historical and contemporary actors that have led to the development of the archaeology program at Mashantucket and the tribe's ongoing support of archaeological and historical research. Coauthored with Kevin A. McBride. In Cross Cultural Collaboration, Native Peoples and Archaeology in the Northeastern United States, edited by Jordan Kerber, pp. 265-280. University of Nebraska Press.
State-mandated archaeological investigations associated with urban renewal in downtown Hartford l... more State-mandated archaeological investigations associated with urban renewal in downtown Hartford led
to the development of a mechanistic model for Holocene floodplain sedimentation in central Connecticut.
Our model is based on: historic flood hydrometeorology and geomorphologic mapping; the
lithologic, magnetic, pollen, and archaeological stratigraphy exposed in sixteen deep boreholes and 24
hydraulic push cores; the chronology provided by sixteen AMS radiocarbon ages, and diagnostic historic
artifacts ranging from 10,030 cal BP to the present. We conclude that the alluvial stratigraphy in this part
of the lowland resulted from bottom-up changes in hydraulic ponding at a bedrock outlet, rather than
from top-down responses of the watershed to changes in climate, vegetation or human activity. Our
model provides a geologically based time-space framework for the distribution of known archaeological
sites, and carries implications for future research.
The Massachusetts Archaeological Society Newsletter Vol. 39(1) Fall-Winter, pp. 3-6., 2012
The Early Archaic Edgewood Apartments Site is situated on a glacial outwash plain adjacent to a 3... more The Early Archaic Edgewood Apartments Site is situated on a glacial outwash plain adjacent to a 38-acre wetland in Plainville, Massachusetts. Artifacts from the site consist overwhelmingly of quartz lithic-reduction materials distributed in two loci. Archaeological excavation has established that the site is predominantly a “Gulf of Maine Archaic Tradition” activity area. The two radiocarbon dates from the site, 8830+/-40 and 8600+/-40 rcBP, are similar to others associated with this tradition in southern New England.
Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut Vol 67, 2005
The Mashantucket Pequot reservation is one of the best-researched archaeological landscapes in Ne... more The Mashantucket Pequot reservation is one of the best-researched archaeological landscapes in New England. Cooperation between the Tribe and archaeologists has been positive and ongoing since the early 1980s. Initial work on the Reservation was focused on ethnohistorical research and the documentation of Pequot homesteads as well as important historical sites such as Mystic Fort. At this time archaeological work focused on extensive reconnaissance surveys. With the success of Foxwoods and the expansion of the Tribal land base, reservation development increased at a rapid pace and tribal archaeology shifted to Cultural Resource Management efforts. This resulted in notable increase in data recovery excavations of threatened sites. With the establishment of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, data recovery efforts have continued under a more formalized organization that increases cooperation between Tribal departments.
Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are of particular importance in the Northeast ... more Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are of particular importance in the Northeast because they reflect a period of change from an earlier adaptation to a boreal environment to one focused on the resources of the temperate forest. Even slight changes in the subsistence base can have profound implications for hunter-gatherer social organization, group composition, and patterns of seasonal mobility. An early Holocene archaeological site (the Hidden Creek site) has recently been excavated in Ledyard, Connecticut. This site provides valuable information concerning human lifeways during this poorly understood period of time. The focus of this dissertation is the effect of environmental change on hunter-gatherer populations in the Northeast between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago. Changes in the Northeast's environment between the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods would have had profound effects on the subsistence economy, hunter-gatherer social organization, and ultimately on the archaeological record of northeastern North America. Studies of human ecology and the paleoclimatic record are used to anticipate patterns in settlement, subsistence, group organization, and mobility. These expectations are then compared and contrasted to the archaeological record. Special emphasis is given to the Late Paleoindian Period through a detailed analysis of the Hidden Creek site. This site was occupied during the transition from a Paleoindian to Archaic pattern of life in the Northeast, and its better understanding may shed light on both of these periods. While the recovered artifacts provide a rare opportunity to view the material culture of these people, the significance of the finds lies in their potential to inform us about past human lifeways and about the human species in general. The northeastern Native Americans of 11,000 to 8,000 years ago proved flexible and adaptive in the face of a rapidly shifting resource base. A detailed analysis of the archaeological material of this time period, investigation of the record of climate and vegetation change, and a careful assessment of models of human ecology illuminates the human capacity to respond to such significant environmental change.
Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 yea... more Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 years ago in the MSA. The increased use of beads at this time likely reflects a heightened desire to send social signals and the presence of an increasingly competitive social landscape. In fact, the emphasis on prestige-seeking may be the one thing that most separates us from our archaic cousins such as the Neanderthals and gave us a competitive advantage over these populations outside of Africa. Finally, the LSA may simply mark the social integration of most sub-populations across Africa. As such it may have little to do with the development of specific modern cognitive abilities.
This paper utilizes recent advantages in Social Network Analysis software to examine differences ... more This paper utilizes recent advantages in Social Network Analysis software to examine differences in the structures (topology) of Algonquian and Iroquois social networks. These social networks were modeled in a simplified manner by looking at just two core variables that define connections between actors in the society: kinship and political organization. The actors consist not of individuals, but of core family units that have both political and kinship relations with other family units. The models examine 4,096 actor family units representing approximately 33,000 individuals. This number is arbitrary, but likely represents the coastal population of Native southern New England, and perhaps three-fourths the population of the League of the Iroquois. After establishing the general characteristics of these networks, I model the effects of population loss on their structural integrity by randomly removing a proportion of families from each. The results of the Social Network Analysis strongly suggest that the underlying political and kinship organizations of these two societies resulted in significant differences in their ability to maintain cohesiveness in the face of population loss.
An important result of this study is the recognition that at some time, under a system of endogam... more An important result of this study is the recognition that at some time, under a system of endogamous elite marriage and as marriage restrictions are increased (as the definition of who qualifies as an elite is narrowed), some point will be reached where the commoners control the majority of the economy. If at this point their own kinship network is well enough integrated, the commoners may elect to remove themselves from the elite-controlled network at little organizational cost. A similar balance of elite vs. commoner control of the economy may underlie the dynamics of many traditional chiefdom-level organizations. The network study presented here may provide at least a partial explanation of the observed fragility of such systems in the archaeological record.
Understanding the spatial distribution of artifacts across a site underlies the interpretation of... more Understanding the spatial distribution of artifacts across a site underlies the interpretation of past human activity. Another aspect of spatial analysis is to assess the relationship between different types or classes of artifacts or ecofacts across a site. Such assessments may, for example, be aimed at correlating the density distribution of different lithic raw materials to provide evidence for the contemporaneity of knapping activity, or at better understanding relationships between the disposal patterns of ceramics and food refuse. While complex methods are available for the calculation of three-dimensional spatial correlation, most require specialized statistical or GIS software. This paper proposes a relatively simple exploratory data analysis approach to establishing a measure of three-dimensional spatial correlation between classes of artifacts that can be calculated with any spreadsheet program.
The Fort at Mashantucket is a King Philip’s War-era archaeological site on the Mashantucket Pequo... more The Fort at Mashantucket is a King Philip’s War-era archaeological site on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Evidence from European clay pipe fragments and a wax stag seal associated with the reign of King Charles II indicate a short period of occupation between about 1670 and 1680. The domestic artifacts and food remains, like the fort’s architecture, reflect a syncretic blend of Native and European influences in daily life.
This paper describes two small Middle Archaic upland sites. While one clearly represents a very b... more This paper describes two small Middle Archaic upland sites. While one clearly represents a very brief episode of focused tool repair, based on the density of artifacts recovered, the other might be taken to represent a longer-term residential camp. Analysis of these two sites instead suggests that both likely represent briefly occupied logistical hunting stations or field camps (sensu Binford 1980). These sites raise questions about the functional variability of small Middle Archaic site types and about the broader settlement and subsistence systems in which they played a part.
Historical archaeology offers an avenue to enter the lives of past individuals and to view the wo... more Historical archaeology offers an avenue to enter the lives of past individuals and to view the world through their perspective. The study of archaeological material can inspire a visceral response to the past, often at a very personal level. Artifacts are by definition human-made objects, and every one has passed through a series of human hands that have often left their personal mark. Archaeology not only increases our empathy with past individuals in a way that most textbooks cannot, it literally brings the past to us in our hands.
In this essay, I emphasize the importance of five specific aspects of New England prehistory in t... more In this essay, I emphasize the importance of five specific aspects of New England prehistory in the hopes that they may form the basis of future Social Studies Curricula. My main point is that the archaeology of our own region has the potential to be used in an active way to teach primary and secondary school students fundamental concepts regarding human social history. Using local archaeological data as a basis for these curricula has the added advantage of teaching students about the deep past in their own region and of raising awareness about local archaeology and its potential significance. In the long run, this may help to increase a preservation ethic that will insure the archaeological record is spared continued destruction associated with suburban sprawl.
This is a tale of three features. They are not especially complex or otherwise interesting featu... more This is a tale of three features. They are not especially complex or otherwise interesting features, but their excavation over a short span of time from two adjacent sites raised a number of important questions, most of which remain poorly answered. [:] These relatively large, deep, ovate features marked by their strong-brown (“red”) sediments, were encountered during mitigation excavations of an area called the Lake of Isles in North Stonington, Connecticut, an 800-acre landscape being developed into 2 18-hole golf courses associated with nearby Foxwoods Casino. In chronological order, AMS dates indicate that they date to 8260+/-50, 7910+/-40 and 5510+/-40, radiocarbon years BP. They thus fall into the Early Archaic and Middle Archaic periods. In the field, two of these features were treated as possible burials and were therefore only partially investigated. The other, partially impacted by a septic line, was presumed to represent a Woodland period storage feature. An interpretation that we were forced to reassess when an Early Archaic date was returned on a hazelnut shell fragment. I propose that it is likely that all three of these features represent human burials, with no trace of human remains. This supposition has been influenced by Dianna Doucette's excavations at the Annasnappet Pond site, which produced similar features, some of which were quite clearly burials.
I limit this discussion to the use of scientific technologies in archaeology with which I have ha... more I limit this discussion to the use of scientific technologies in archaeology with which I have had some degree of at least indirect exposure. I also limit myself to methods pertinent to the archaeology of New England. These include X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Neutron Activation analyses for use in materials sourcing, thermoluminescence dating, the use of scanning electron microscopy in plant identification, and sub-bottom profiling and related methods used in the discovery of inundated archaeological landscapes. I wrap up with a short exposition regarding science and the social scientist.
Two recently discovered sites on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in Connecticut document the ... more Two recently discovered sites on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in Connecticut document the effects of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition on the region’s early hunter-gatherer population. The adjacent sites lie along the margins of a glacial lake basin that today holds the Great Cedar Swamp (Figure 6.1). Both sites share approximate elevations, distance to fresh running water, and proximity to the wetland. Both rest within deep sandy soils deposited during the retreat of glacial ice ca. 15,000 years ago. The sites differ markedly, however, in size, duration of occupation, raw material use, and degree of reoccupation. We propose that these differences reflect divergent foraging strategies—each an effective response to the unique ecologic conditions prevailing at the time of occupation.
Recent identifications of charred vegetative plant tissues from prehistoric sites at the Mashantu... more Recent identifications of charred vegetative plant tissues from prehistoric sites at the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation are likely to change our understanding of Native foodways in southern New England. Twenty-two radiocarbon-dated samples have been examined from Paleoindian through Late Woodland period features (ca. 9,000 to 900 years ago). All examined hearth features from the Reservation contain identifiable carbonized parenchymatous tissues. The most common among these are those of cattail, water plantain, water lily and bulrush. This new data suggests that wetland plants played a consistent and significant role in the diet of the Native population of southern New England.
Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of …, Jan 1, 1999
This paper briefly examines the state-wide record of Middle Archaic sites in Connecticut as repre... more This paper briefly examines the state-wide record of Middle Archaic sites in Connecticut as represented in the records of the Office of the State Archaeologist. This summary is followed by a more detailed look at Middle Archaic sites recently excavated on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Three sites are examined in terms of assemblage content and artifact distribution. Middle Archaic sites at Mashantucket appear to represent short-term hunting and butchering oriented camps. While they may represent family-sized residential camps, it is plausible that most of the Middle Archaic sites at Mashantucket functioned as logistical support camps for larger residential base camps located elsewhere. The general lack of archaeological data for the period between 7,000 and 5,000 BP is noted. Possible causes of the apparent hiatus are discussed, as are ways of locating sites dating to this period.
Humans are intimately enveloped by both ecological and economical systems, both of which are link... more Humans are intimately enveloped by both ecological and economical systems, both of which are linked to one another at deep levels. Human social organization itself can be described as a complex, adaptive system in which numerous agents act for their personal gain, but where all such actions result in system permutations as a result of interdependencies and conflicting constraints (e.g. Kauffman 252-271). Complexity theory, and in particular the study of complex adaptive systems, is poised to shed light on patterns of human behavior, especially where the environments in which we live are undergoing rapid change. For these reasons I examine how viewing prehistoric hunter-gatherers as adaptive agents within a multi-tiered complex system may advance our understanding of the prehistory of the Northeast at the close of the last Ice Age.
This article presents a summary of the Late Paleoindian component at the Hidden Creek site (72-16... more This article presents a summary of the Late Paleoindian component at the Hidden Creek site (72-163), including site geology, paleo-environmental reconstruction, artifact counts, descriptions of artifact attributes and spatial patterning. Preliminary analysis of the debitagefrom this site is also discussed. Temporally diagnostic attributes of the lithic artifacts place the Hidden Creek site at the end of the Paleoindian tradition. It is demonstrated that the fluted point knapping technology continued to be used, apparently into the early Holocene, to produce non-fluted, lanceolate projectile points. The southeastern location of this site in the Northeast distinguishes it from most comparable sites in the region.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe values and supports archaeological research on a scale that has rar... more The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe values and supports archaeological research on a scale that has rarely been duplicated elsewhere in Indian country, with the possible exception of the Navajo and Zuni archaeological programs. This chapter outlines the numerous historical and contemporary actors that have led to the development of the archaeology program at Mashantucket and the tribe's ongoing support of archaeological and historical research. Coauthored with Kevin A. McBride. In Cross Cultural Collaboration, Native Peoples and Archaeology in the Northeastern United States, edited by Jordan Kerber, pp. 265-280. University of Nebraska Press.
State-mandated archaeological investigations associated with urban renewal in downtown Hartford l... more State-mandated archaeological investigations associated with urban renewal in downtown Hartford led
to the development of a mechanistic model for Holocene floodplain sedimentation in central Connecticut.
Our model is based on: historic flood hydrometeorology and geomorphologic mapping; the
lithologic, magnetic, pollen, and archaeological stratigraphy exposed in sixteen deep boreholes and 24
hydraulic push cores; the chronology provided by sixteen AMS radiocarbon ages, and diagnostic historic
artifacts ranging from 10,030 cal BP to the present. We conclude that the alluvial stratigraphy in this part
of the lowland resulted from bottom-up changes in hydraulic ponding at a bedrock outlet, rather than
from top-down responses of the watershed to changes in climate, vegetation or human activity. Our
model provides a geologically based time-space framework for the distribution of known archaeological
sites, and carries implications for future research.
The Massachusetts Archaeological Society Newsletter Vol. 39(1) Fall-Winter, pp. 3-6., 2012
The Early Archaic Edgewood Apartments Site is situated on a glacial outwash plain adjacent to a 3... more The Early Archaic Edgewood Apartments Site is situated on a glacial outwash plain adjacent to a 38-acre wetland in Plainville, Massachusetts. Artifacts from the site consist overwhelmingly of quartz lithic-reduction materials distributed in two loci. Archaeological excavation has established that the site is predominantly a “Gulf of Maine Archaic Tradition” activity area. The two radiocarbon dates from the site, 8830+/-40 and 8600+/-40 rcBP, are similar to others associated with this tradition in southern New England.
Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut Vol 67, 2005
The Mashantucket Pequot reservation is one of the best-researched archaeological landscapes in Ne... more The Mashantucket Pequot reservation is one of the best-researched archaeological landscapes in New England. Cooperation between the Tribe and archaeologists has been positive and ongoing since the early 1980s. Initial work on the Reservation was focused on ethnohistorical research and the documentation of Pequot homesteads as well as important historical sites such as Mystic Fort. At this time archaeological work focused on extensive reconnaissance surveys. With the success of Foxwoods and the expansion of the Tribal land base, reservation development increased at a rapid pace and tribal archaeology shifted to Cultural Resource Management efforts. This resulted in notable increase in data recovery excavations of threatened sites. With the establishment of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, data recovery efforts have continued under a more formalized organization that increases cooperation between Tribal departments.
Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are of particular importance in the Northeast ... more Paleoindian and Early Archaic archaeological sites are of particular importance in the Northeast because they reflect a period of change from an earlier adaptation to a boreal environment to one focused on the resources of the temperate forest. Even slight changes in the subsistence base can have profound implications for hunter-gatherer social organization, group composition, and patterns of seasonal mobility. An early Holocene archaeological site (the Hidden Creek site) has recently been excavated in Ledyard, Connecticut. This site provides valuable information concerning human lifeways during this poorly understood period of time. The focus of this dissertation is the effect of environmental change on hunter-gatherer populations in the Northeast between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago. Changes in the Northeast's environment between the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods would have had profound effects on the subsistence economy, hunter-gatherer social organization, and ultimately on the archaeological record of northeastern North America. Studies of human ecology and the paleoclimatic record are used to anticipate patterns in settlement, subsistence, group organization, and mobility. These expectations are then compared and contrasted to the archaeological record. Special emphasis is given to the Late Paleoindian Period through a detailed analysis of the Hidden Creek site. This site was occupied during the transition from a Paleoindian to Archaic pattern of life in the Northeast, and its better understanding may shed light on both of these periods. While the recovered artifacts provide a rare opportunity to view the material culture of these people, the significance of the finds lies in their potential to inform us about past human lifeways and about the human species in general. The northeastern Native Americans of 11,000 to 8,000 years ago proved flexible and adaptive in the face of a rapidly shifting resource base. A detailed analysis of the archaeological material of this time period, investigation of the record of climate and vegetation change, and a careful assessment of models of human ecology illuminates the human capacity to respond to such significant environmental change.
Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 yea... more Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 years ago in the MSA. The increased use of beads at this time likely reflects a heightened desire to send social signals and the presence of an increasingly competitive social landscape. In fact, the emphasis on prestige-seeking may be the one thing that most separates us from our archaic cousins such as the Neanderthals and gave us a competitive advantage over these populations outside of Africa. Finally, the LSA may simply mark the social integration of most sub-populations across Africa. As such it may have little to do with the development of specific modern cognitive abilities.
This paper utilizes recent advantages in Social Network Analysis software to examine differences ... more This paper utilizes recent advantages in Social Network Analysis software to examine differences in the structures (topology) of Algonquian and Iroquois social networks. These social networks were modeled in a simplified manner by looking at just two core variables that define connections between actors in the society: kinship and political organization. The actors consist not of individuals, but of core family units that have both political and kinship relations with other family units. The models examine 4,096 actor family units representing approximately 33,000 individuals. This number is arbitrary, but likely represents the coastal population of Native southern New England, and perhaps three-fourths the population of the League of the Iroquois. After establishing the general characteristics of these networks, I model the effects of population loss on their structural integrity by randomly removing a proportion of families from each. The results of the Social Network Analysis strongly suggest that the underlying political and kinship organizations of these two societies resulted in significant differences in their ability to maintain cohesiveness in the face of population loss.
An important result of this study is the recognition that at some time, under a system of endogam... more An important result of this study is the recognition that at some time, under a system of endogamous elite marriage and as marriage restrictions are increased (as the definition of who qualifies as an elite is narrowed), some point will be reached where the commoners control the majority of the economy. If at this point their own kinship network is well enough integrated, the commoners may elect to remove themselves from the elite-controlled network at little organizational cost. A similar balance of elite vs. commoner control of the economy may underlie the dynamics of many traditional chiefdom-level organizations. The network study presented here may provide at least a partial explanation of the observed fragility of such systems in the archaeological record.
Understanding the spatial distribution of artifacts across a site underlies the interpretation of... more Understanding the spatial distribution of artifacts across a site underlies the interpretation of past human activity. Another aspect of spatial analysis is to assess the relationship between different types or classes of artifacts or ecofacts across a site. Such assessments may, for example, be aimed at correlating the density distribution of different lithic raw materials to provide evidence for the contemporaneity of knapping activity, or at better understanding relationships between the disposal patterns of ceramics and food refuse. While complex methods are available for the calculation of three-dimensional spatial correlation, most require specialized statistical or GIS software. This paper proposes a relatively simple exploratory data analysis approach to establishing a measure of three-dimensional spatial correlation between classes of artifacts that can be calculated with any spreadsheet program.
The Fort at Mashantucket is a King Philip’s War-era archaeological site on the Mashantucket Pequo... more The Fort at Mashantucket is a King Philip’s War-era archaeological site on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Evidence from European clay pipe fragments and a wax stag seal associated with the reign of King Charles II indicate a short period of occupation between about 1670 and 1680. The domestic artifacts and food remains, like the fort’s architecture, reflect a syncretic blend of Native and European influences in daily life.
This paper describes two small Middle Archaic upland sites. While one clearly represents a very b... more This paper describes two small Middle Archaic upland sites. While one clearly represents a very brief episode of focused tool repair, based on the density of artifacts recovered, the other might be taken to represent a longer-term residential camp. Analysis of these two sites instead suggests that both likely represent briefly occupied logistical hunting stations or field camps (sensu Binford 1980). These sites raise questions about the functional variability of small Middle Archaic site types and about the broader settlement and subsistence systems in which they played a part.
Historical archaeology offers an avenue to enter the lives of past individuals and to view the wo... more Historical archaeology offers an avenue to enter the lives of past individuals and to view the world through their perspective. The study of archaeological material can inspire a visceral response to the past, often at a very personal level. Artifacts are by definition human-made objects, and every one has passed through a series of human hands that have often left their personal mark. Archaeology not only increases our empathy with past individuals in a way that most textbooks cannot, it literally brings the past to us in our hands.
In this essay, I emphasize the importance of five specific aspects of New England prehistory in t... more In this essay, I emphasize the importance of five specific aspects of New England prehistory in the hopes that they may form the basis of future Social Studies Curricula. My main point is that the archaeology of our own region has the potential to be used in an active way to teach primary and secondary school students fundamental concepts regarding human social history. Using local archaeological data as a basis for these curricula has the added advantage of teaching students about the deep past in their own region and of raising awareness about local archaeology and its potential significance. In the long run, this may help to increase a preservation ethic that will insure the archaeological record is spared continued destruction associated with suburban sprawl.
This is a tale of three features. They are not especially complex or otherwise interesting featu... more This is a tale of three features. They are not especially complex or otherwise interesting features, but their excavation over a short span of time from two adjacent sites raised a number of important questions, most of which remain poorly answered. [:] These relatively large, deep, ovate features marked by their strong-brown (“red”) sediments, were encountered during mitigation excavations of an area called the Lake of Isles in North Stonington, Connecticut, an 800-acre landscape being developed into 2 18-hole golf courses associated with nearby Foxwoods Casino. In chronological order, AMS dates indicate that they date to 8260+/-50, 7910+/-40 and 5510+/-40, radiocarbon years BP. They thus fall into the Early Archaic and Middle Archaic periods. In the field, two of these features were treated as possible burials and were therefore only partially investigated. The other, partially impacted by a septic line, was presumed to represent a Woodland period storage feature. An interpretation that we were forced to reassess when an Early Archaic date was returned on a hazelnut shell fragment. I propose that it is likely that all three of these features represent human burials, with no trace of human remains. This supposition has been influenced by Dianna Doucette's excavations at the Annasnappet Pond site, which produced similar features, some of which were quite clearly burials.
I limit this discussion to the use of scientific technologies in archaeology with which I have ha... more I limit this discussion to the use of scientific technologies in archaeology with which I have had some degree of at least indirect exposure. I also limit myself to methods pertinent to the archaeology of New England. These include X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Neutron Activation analyses for use in materials sourcing, thermoluminescence dating, the use of scanning electron microscopy in plant identification, and sub-bottom profiling and related methods used in the discovery of inundated archaeological landscapes. I wrap up with a short exposition regarding science and the social scientist.
Two recently discovered sites on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in Connecticut document the ... more Two recently discovered sites on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in Connecticut document the effects of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition on the region’s early hunter-gatherer population. The adjacent sites lie along the margins of a glacial lake basin that today holds the Great Cedar Swamp (Figure 6.1). Both sites share approximate elevations, distance to fresh running water, and proximity to the wetland. Both rest within deep sandy soils deposited during the retreat of glacial ice ca. 15,000 years ago. The sites differ markedly, however, in size, duration of occupation, raw material use, and degree of reoccupation. We propose that these differences reflect divergent foraging strategies—each an effective response to the unique ecologic conditions prevailing at the time of occupation.
Recent identifications of charred vegetative plant tissues from prehistoric sites at the Mashantu... more Recent identifications of charred vegetative plant tissues from prehistoric sites at the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation are likely to change our understanding of Native foodways in southern New England. Twenty-two radiocarbon-dated samples have been examined from Paleoindian through Late Woodland period features (ca. 9,000 to 900 years ago). All examined hearth features from the Reservation contain identifiable carbonized parenchymatous tissues. The most common among these are those of cattail, water plantain, water lily and bulrush. This new data suggests that wetland plants played a consistent and significant role in the diet of the Native population of southern New England.
Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of …, Jan 1, 1999
This paper briefly examines the state-wide record of Middle Archaic sites in Connecticut as repre... more This paper briefly examines the state-wide record of Middle Archaic sites in Connecticut as represented in the records of the Office of the State Archaeologist. This summary is followed by a more detailed look at Middle Archaic sites recently excavated on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Three sites are examined in terms of assemblage content and artifact distribution. Middle Archaic sites at Mashantucket appear to represent short-term hunting and butchering oriented camps. While they may represent family-sized residential camps, it is plausible that most of the Middle Archaic sites at Mashantucket functioned as logistical support camps for larger residential base camps located elsewhere. The general lack of archaeological data for the period between 7,000 and 5,000 BP is noted. Possible causes of the apparent hiatus are discussed, as are ways of locating sites dating to this period.
Humans are intimately enveloped by both ecological and economical systems, both of which are link... more Humans are intimately enveloped by both ecological and economical systems, both of which are linked to one another at deep levels. Human social organization itself can be described as a complex, adaptive system in which numerous agents act for their personal gain, but where all such actions result in system permutations as a result of interdependencies and conflicting constraints (e.g. Kauffman 252-271). Complexity theory, and in particular the study of complex adaptive systems, is poised to shed light on patterns of human behavior, especially where the environments in which we live are undergoing rapid change. For these reasons I examine how viewing prehistoric hunter-gatherers as adaptive agents within a multi-tiered complex system may advance our understanding of the prehistory of the Northeast at the close of the last Ice Age.
This article presents a summary of the Late Paleoindian component at the Hidden Creek site (72-16... more This article presents a summary of the Late Paleoindian component at the Hidden Creek site (72-163), including site geology, paleo-environmental reconstruction, artifact counts, descriptions of artifact attributes and spatial patterning. Preliminary analysis of the debitagefrom this site is also discussed. Temporally diagnostic attributes of the lithic artifacts place the Hidden Creek site at the end of the Paleoindian tradition. It is demonstrated that the fluted point knapping technology continued to be used, apparently into the early Holocene, to produce non-fluted, lanceolate projectile points. The southeastern location of this site in the Northeast distinguishes it from most comparable sites in the region.
American archaeologists are increasingly expected to take part in consultation with Native Americ... more American archaeologists are increasingly expected to take part in consultation with Native American tribes. While some consultation measures occur under state or local regulations, most are initiated during the NHPA Section 106 process associated with federally-funded undertakings. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has published a thirty-two page handbook to guide federal agencies in the consultation process as mandated under federal statutes. While aimed at federal agency employees, this guide provides information that all archaeologists and THPO staff should be familiar with. This talk summarizes the main points of the handbook and asks how we can use the consultation process to go beyond the letter of the law toward more community-based research goals.
This paper utilizes recent advantages in Social Network Analysis software to examine differences ... more This paper utilizes recent advantages in Social Network Analysis software to examine differences in the structures (topology) of Algonquian and Iroquois social networks. These social networks were modeled in a simplified manner by looking at just two core variables that define connections between actors in the society: kinship and political organization. The actors consist not of individuals, but of core family units that have both political and kinship relations with other family units. The models examine 4,096 actor family units representing approximately 33,000 individuals. This number is arbitrary, but likely represents the coastal population of Native southern New England, and perhaps three-fourths the population of the League of the Iroquois. After establishing the general characteristics of these networks, I model the effects of population loss on their structural integrity by randomly removing a proportion of families from each. The results of the Social Network Analysis strongly suggest that the underlying political and kinship organizations of these two societies resulted in significant differences in their ability to maintain cohesiveness in the face of population loss.
Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 yea... more Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 years ago in the MSA. The increased use of beads at this time likely reflects a heightened desire to send social signals and the presence of an increasingly competitive social landscape. In fact, the emphasis on prestige-seeking may be the one thing that most separates us from our archaic cousins such as the Neanderthals and gave us a competitive advantage over these populations outside of Africa. Finally, the LSA may simply mark the social integration of most sub-populations across Africa. As such it may have little to do with the development of specific modern cognitive abilities.
This is a tale of three features. They are not especially complex or otherwise interesting featu... more This is a tale of three features. They are not especially complex or otherwise interesting features, but their excavation over a short span of time from two adjacent sites raised a number of important questions, most of which remain poorly answered. These relatively large, deep, ovate features marked by their strong-brown (“red”) sediments, were encountered during mitigation excavations of an area called the Lake of Isles in North Stonington, Connecticut, an 800-acre landscape being developed into 2 18-hole golf courses associated with nearby Foxwoods Casino. In chronological order, AMS dates indicate that they date to 8260+/-50, 7910+/-40 and 5510+/-40, radiocarbon years BP. They thus fall into the Early Archaic and Middle Archaic periods. In the field, two of these features were treated as possible burials and were therefore only partially investigated. The other, partially impacted by a septic line, was presumed to represent a Woodland period storage feature. An interpretation that we were forced to reassess when an Early Archaic date was returned on a hazelnut shell fragment. I propose that it is likely that all three of these features represent human burials, with no trace of human remains. This supposition has been influenced by Dianna Doucette's excavations at the Annasnappet Pond site, which produced similar features, some of which were quite clearly burials.
Eight variables were examined to test commonly accepted anecdotal concepts regarding prehistoric ... more Eight variables were examined to test commonly accepted anecdotal concepts regarding prehistoric site selection criteria utilizing sound statistical principles that provided measurable degrees of a variable’s significance. This was considered a first step to developing a meaningful predictive model based on environmental variables.
A paper presented at the 45th Annual Northeastern Anthropological Association, Lake Placid, NY - 2005
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Papers by Brian Jones
Coauthored with Kevin A. McBride.
In Cross Cultural Collaboration, Native Peoples and Archaeology in the Northeastern United States, edited by Jordan Kerber, pp. 265-280. University of Nebraska Press.
to the development of a mechanistic model for Holocene floodplain sedimentation in central Connecticut.
Our model is based on: historic flood hydrometeorology and geomorphologic mapping; the
lithologic, magnetic, pollen, and archaeological stratigraphy exposed in sixteen deep boreholes and 24
hydraulic push cores; the chronology provided by sixteen AMS radiocarbon ages, and diagnostic historic
artifacts ranging from 10,030 cal BP to the present. We conclude that the alluvial stratigraphy in this part
of the lowland resulted from bottom-up changes in hydraulic ponding at a bedrock outlet, rather than
from top-down responses of the watershed to changes in climate, vegetation or human activity. Our
model provides a geologically based time-space framework for the distribution of known archaeological
sites, and carries implications for future research.
The focus of this dissertation is the effect of environmental change on hunter-gatherer populations in the Northeast between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago. Changes in the Northeast's environment between the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods would have had profound effects on the subsistence economy, hunter-gatherer social organization, and ultimately on the archaeological record of northeastern North America. Studies of human ecology and the paleoclimatic record are used to anticipate patterns in settlement, subsistence, group organization, and mobility. These expectations are then compared and contrasted to the archaeological record. Special emphasis is given to the Late Paleoindian Period through a detailed analysis of the Hidden Creek site. This site was occupied during the transition from a Paleoindian to Archaic pattern of life in the Northeast, and its better understanding may shed light on both of these periods.
While the recovered artifacts provide a rare opportunity to view the material culture of these people, the significance of the finds lies in their potential to inform us about past human lifeways and about the human species in general. The northeastern Native Americans of 11,000 to 8,000 years ago proved flexible and adaptive in the face of a rapidly shifting resource base. A detailed analysis of the archaeological material of this time period, investigation of the record of climate and vegetation change, and a careful assessment of models of human ecology illuminates the human capacity to respond to such significant environmental change.
Coauthored with Kevin A. McBride.
In Cross Cultural Collaboration, Native Peoples and Archaeology in the Northeastern United States, edited by Jordan Kerber, pp. 265-280. University of Nebraska Press.
to the development of a mechanistic model for Holocene floodplain sedimentation in central Connecticut.
Our model is based on: historic flood hydrometeorology and geomorphologic mapping; the
lithologic, magnetic, pollen, and archaeological stratigraphy exposed in sixteen deep boreholes and 24
hydraulic push cores; the chronology provided by sixteen AMS radiocarbon ages, and diagnostic historic
artifacts ranging from 10,030 cal BP to the present. We conclude that the alluvial stratigraphy in this part
of the lowland resulted from bottom-up changes in hydraulic ponding at a bedrock outlet, rather than
from top-down responses of the watershed to changes in climate, vegetation or human activity. Our
model provides a geologically based time-space framework for the distribution of known archaeological
sites, and carries implications for future research.
The focus of this dissertation is the effect of environmental change on hunter-gatherer populations in the Northeast between 11,000 and 8,000 years ago. Changes in the Northeast's environment between the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene periods would have had profound effects on the subsistence economy, hunter-gatherer social organization, and ultimately on the archaeological record of northeastern North America. Studies of human ecology and the paleoclimatic record are used to anticipate patterns in settlement, subsistence, group organization, and mobility. These expectations are then compared and contrasted to the archaeological record. Special emphasis is given to the Late Paleoindian Period through a detailed analysis of the Hidden Creek site. This site was occupied during the transition from a Paleoindian to Archaic pattern of life in the Northeast, and its better understanding may shed light on both of these periods.
While the recovered artifacts provide a rare opportunity to view the material culture of these people, the significance of the finds lies in their potential to inform us about past human lifeways and about the human species in general. The northeastern Native Americans of 11,000 to 8,000 years ago proved flexible and adaptive in the face of a rapidly shifting resource base. A detailed analysis of the archaeological material of this time period, investigation of the record of climate and vegetation change, and a careful assessment of models of human ecology illuminates the human capacity to respond to such significant environmental change.
A paper presented at the 45th Annual Northeastern Anthropological Association, Lake Placid, NY - 2005