“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: [email protected]
Website: www.massarchaeology.org
Museum Hours:Wednesday: 10:00AM - 4:00PMSaturday: 10:00AM – 2:00PM
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