New Study of Prehistoric Sites along the Patuxent River

Today's blog comes to us from recent intern, Stacy Poulos.  Stacy has been helping us assemble data for our new grant studying the prehistory of the Patuxent River drainage.  Since she did such a great job during her internship, we decided we couldn't let her go and hired her to assist our architectural historian, Darian Schwab.  Welcome aboard, Stacy!

As many archaeologically-inclined friends of Lost Towns know, the Project has been delving deep into the prehistoric past of Maryland. The stratigraphy of Pig Point is redefining our understanding of prehistoric chronology, while the Middle Woodland study of the past few years has illuminated the richness of Anne Arundel County’s prehistoric heritage. Past studies show that one of Maryland’s main arteries of prehistoric civilization and trade is along the Patuxent River. With a grant from the Maryland Historical Trust, the Lost Towns Project is creating a spatial database of prehistoric settlements in the Patuxent watershed that will enable us to approach questions about environmental choices, artifact distributions, trade networks, and the spatial relationship of different kinds of sites. Furthermore, such a Geographic Information System will allow us to determine which sites warrant further study or need preservation efforts.

We are not restricting our study to the Anne Arundel County side of the Patuxent drainage. In order to get a more complete representation of the area, we are jumping over county boundaries and incorporating a number of Prince Georges County sites as well. In Anne Arundel County alone, there are 198 prehistoric sites along the Patuxent drainage! Out of a large pool of recorded sites from both counties, we have selected about 10 sites to be included in the database.

Our research into our first test case brought home the fact that further study often leads to further questions about the past – not just the past from thousands of years ago, but the past from just 50 years ago! To gather information about each site, we have to revisit the previous studies that were conducted. Our first test case revealed that an excavation from 1968 had left behind no records and the artifacts were missing! As we hunted through old letters, avocational archaeologists’ notebooks, donated collections, county storage, and the Maryland Archaeological Conservancy, it became clear that we also need to do archaeology of past archaeological research. This study is revealing not only the rich prehistoric past of Maryland, but the oral traditions and networks among past archaeologists. As we continue forward with the project, we are excited to find more about our prehistoric and our recent past.

Stacy created this map to show the Patuxent drainage and the sites we are studying for the new grant 

Third Season Closing of Pig Point

Written by Stephanie Sperling, LTP Archaeologist



Al digs through the deep, sandy soils looking for a stratigraphic change.
  Notice the dark Woodland period horizons above the sandy
Archaic levels below.



After a productive and exciting 2011 dig season, we wrapped up fieldwork at Pig Point for the year.  Even though temperatures are still rather mild, it is difficult to dig into the deep, sandy blocks under the best of circumstances.  And the freeze/thaw cycle is a killer on the unit walls, sometimes resulting in total collapse.  So after nearly six feet of excavation in the newest block, it was time to close up and backfill.

The block was located next to an ancient spring that was used by the Native peoples at Pig Point.  This area of the site was later heavily utilized by the 18th century town residents, and we found deep post holes and a possible privy in the vicinity.  Despite the historic period disturbance, we found relatively intact prehistoric strata from the Late Woodland through the Late Archaic periods (ranging from about A.D. 1300 – 3500 B.C.).  Interestingly, we did not find any good diagnostic artifacts or features underneath the Late Archaic horizons, which is different from other parts of the site.  The sandy soils kept getting deeper and we saw no stratigraphic changes.  It seems likely that the spring must have been faster flowing during the Early and Middle Archaic, eroding this portion of the hill.    

We have plenty of lab work to keep us busy for the winter months.  Keep checking the blog for artifact updates or stop by the lab and see for yourself what we found last season!

Unique Find at London Town

Earlier this month, a unique 3 cent coin was discovered at London Town.  Volunteer Erika Franz and her daughter were there for this find and later did some very thorough research on the coin.  Erika posted her research on her blog, "Brush Off the Dust!  History Now!"  Check it out here: http://erikafranz.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-discovery-of-mom-and-daughter-volunteer-archaeologists/

We love our volunteers!

Autumn at Pig Point

Written by Stephanie Sperling, LTP Archaeologist

We are in the process of wrapping up the 2011 Pig Point field season after a rough September.  Back to back hurricanes and over 23 inches (!) of rain caused serious damage to the site, resulting in slumped walls and major clean up time.  Before the floods, we excavated the new Upper Block units through 15 levels and finished nearly five feet below the ground surface.  We were FINALLY hitting non-cultural horizons about one foot beneath a hearth that radiocarbon dated to over 9,000 years old.  No diagnostic artifacts were found in these levels, but several pieces of debitage suggest that we may actually have intact Paleoindian horizons at the site.  We'll keep looking for those levels in 2012.

In the meantime, Shawn has been excavating four new Lower Block units.  He made it through the Woodland period midden and has recently been investigating thick Late Archaic horizons that are filled with projectile points.  This assemblage will make an interesting comparison with the Archaic triangles and Piscataways found during the 2009 season (check out Al, Jessie, and Shawn's paper about this topic here: http://www.losttownsproject.org/publications/articles/Triangle%20points%20-%20Luckenbach,%20Grow,%20and%20Sharpe.pdf).  Two weeks ago, he discovered several large quartz rocks set in a pit that may date to the Middle Archaic time period.  One of the stones weighed at least 25 lbs and was surrounded by hammerstones and quartz debitage.  Quartz cobbles like this can be found within a day's journey of Pig Point but not on the sandy bluff itself.  We think this might be local material hauled to Pig Point by the Middle Archaic residents to use as an on-site quartz quarry!  This could also partially explain the pounds and pounds of quartz debitage found in Middle Archaic horizons across the site. 

Quartz cobbles during excavation



Quartz cobbles partially exposed (we paused excavation between
arbitrary levels)







New excavation block showing prehistoric
and historic features



At the end of the season, we opened up a block of six new units near an ancient spring that was most likely used by the prehistoric residents of the site.  We found more of the Woodland period midden and several hearths and post hole features, along with large Townsend pot breaks, in the Late Woodland horizons.  This area of the site was also used by the colonial residents of Pig Point as their main thoroughfare to the Patuxent River.  Called Blue Shirt Road, this swale was used for nearly 200 years by people making their way to the bustling wharf and town in the lowlying area of the site.  Subsequently, we have found several historic period levels and a number of colonial artifacts near the edge of the road.  This is interesting because we have excavated relatively little left during the town period, which lasted from the early 18th century through the early 20th century.

Erin excavating Townsend pottery found in the new excavation block

Stop by the lab this winter and check out some of the amazing things we found in 2011.  We are up to over 250,000 artifacts after three field seasons! 

-Steph (and our newest Lost Towns Project staff member, Sam!  He even has his own trowel!  Thanks, Erin)

Monocacy Battlefield and Best Farm field trip

Written by Suzanne Duvall, Lost Towns Project intern. 

During my internship, Lauren Schiszik, internship coordinator, organized two field trips. I was only able to go to one of them: Monocacy Battlefield in Frederick. After a tour of the battlefield we went to the Best Farm, and toured a slave village that is currently being excavated by archaeologists with the National Park Service.

I know that Monocacy Battlefield isn’t as famous as nearby Gettysburg or Antietam, but if not for this battle, the South may have risen and overcome the North during the Civil War. The Confederacy was trying to overtake Washington, D.C., approaching from north of Frederick, MD. Union troops intercepted at the Monocacy River outside of Frederick. The Confederate Army were able to push back the Northern troops and win the battle of Monocacy. But in the end, the North really won, because the Battle of Monocacy slowed the Confederate troops long enough to get enforcements to protect Washington, D.C., stopping the Confederacy’s plan to overtake the Capitol.

Interns Madelyn Santa (above) and Alex Zerphy (below) both try out being a young soldier in Monocacy's Visitor Center.

After we learned the history of the battle and driven around the battlefield, we took a tour of the Best Farm slave village. The National Park Service archaeologists at Monocacy Battlefield are finishing up another summer season excavating the site, and graciously gave us an in-depth tour of the slave village and the Best Farmhouse. Best Farm is located on what is now Monocacy Battlefield, though it predates the battlegrounds by over 100 years. It was interesting because it was very different from any other plantation built in the 1700s in Frederick.

Interns take a break on the front steps of the Best Farmhouse.

Best Farm is what remains of a much larger plantation owned by the Vincendière family, who had been sugar plantation owners in the Caribbean. During the late 1700’s there were slave riots in Haiti and they fled the country to protect themselves. When they arrived in Maryland they modeled their new plantation, L'Hermitage, off of their plantation in Haiti. The Manor House design was different from typical homes in this part of Maryland, because the family designed it to look like their home in Haiti. That meant that the Manor House had tall ceilings and big windows. Maryland, as we all know, has hot summers and cold winters, and the Vincendières design for the house did not protect them from the weather, but made winters very cold and summers very hot. 

Another difference from typical Maryland plantations was that the slave quarters were placed in front of the Manor House for all to see, along a road. Generally in Maryland in the 1700s, slave quarters were located behind the house, or by the fields. The Vincendières could view the slave quarters at all times from their house, making sure that their slaves knew they were being watched both by their owners. The Vincendières didn’t want their slaves to riots. Immigration records from that time indicate that plantation owners coming from the Caribbean couldn’t bring more than 10-12 slaves into America. Since slaves in the Caribbean were rioting, Americans didn’t want their slaves to get the same notions. So they controlled the immigration numbers, in hopes of controlling the slaves. The Vincendière family brought the maximum number of slaves into America with them.

However, the Vincendieres didn’t waste their time purchasing new slaves once they settled in Frederick. The plantation records show that there were around 100 slaves, yet there was no known commercial trade at the plantation. That means that the family really only needed 20-30 slaves to handle the crops grown on that plantation, not 100 slaves. The archaeologists are making discoveries that might explain the reason for the large amount of slaves owned by the family. However, what is known is that the slaves were treated horribly, based on written records. 

Kate Birmingham, NPS archaeologist, gives us a tour of the slave village. Note the overseer's house in the distance.

We were taken on a tour of the slave village, where we saw the remains of a few of the quarters, including the stone hearth of one of the five slave buildings. While the slave village was under direct watch of the Plantation owners, recent excavations show that the communal kitchen area was located behind the slave’s quarters, out of view from the Vincendières. This shows that the slaves were trying to take any piece of their lives back from their owners. This revelation was a glimpse into the lives of the slaves, and the lives they endured.

All in all it was a day full of exciting war stories, and an interesting history of the Best Farm. The battle at Monocacy changed the course of the Civil War, and the Vincendière’s are a mystery to archaeologists trying to uncover their life in the late 1700’s.

Learn more about the excavations of the Best Farm Slave Village here.

Exciting News from Pig Point!

This summer at Pig Point, LTP intern Elizabeth Fuhr worked in the Upper Block and got to spend some time digging a feature that is the source of some incredibly exciting news! Liz authored the post below:

In July, a small feature at Pig Point (18AN50) was excavated. This feature, now known as Feature 178, was found intruding into Stratum 12 in Unit 70. It was found to contain ash and charcoal. The charcoal was sent to a lab to be carbon dated and we recently received the results. The charcoal dates back to BC 7340 - 7070, over 9000 years ago! This dates this feature back to the Early Archaic.

Radiocarbon dating is a technique utilized by many archaeologists. This technique involves measuring the loss of the isotope Carbon-14. This isotope accumulates during the life of organisms. At death, the isotope will decay at a constant rate; in which the half life is 5730 years. By measuring the amount of the isotope left within the organism, the age of the organism can be found.

Elizabeth Fuhr holds a projectile point that she found
on site! 

This is not only the oldest date from good context we have from Pig Point, but it is also the oldest date from good context in the state of Maryland. The difference between a good and bad context is determined by the location in which the material is located. A good location has direct cultural connections: the carbonized material is found in an intact feature and the feature hasn't been disturbed by animals or other similar things. Older carbon-14 dates exist in Maryland, but not with direct cultural associations like Feature 178.

A Kirk Palmer point was found about 15 feet away from the feature, and temporally coincides very well with Feature 178. This point was found on top of heavy gravel while Feature 178 intruded into the gravel.

This new date is wonderful news for Pig Point, the Lost Towns Project, and archaeology in Maryland!

Interns Blog: Piscataway Drill

For this blog, intern Stephanie Baldwin writes about an artifact that caught her eye in the field...

Piscataway Drill (rose quartz) – Late Archaic Period

Drill modified from a Piscataway point.

I chose to write about the Piscataway Drill that was found July 12, 2011 at Pig Point (18AN50) in Feature 11 Stratum G of Unit 51. Although I was working in Unit 80, not the feature that this point was found, the beauty of this point found at the same site sparked my interest in Late Archaic projectile points. This drill is made of a beautiful rose quartz. At the bottom of the drill there is a darker hue of rose/pink, and it gradually lightens into a light rose/pink at the tip.

This drill/knife could have possibly been made as a projectile point and re-sharpened into a drill or had been originally made as a drill. Although the tip of the drill/knife is broken off, it is evident to see that it has a drill shape to it. The term Piscataway [Stemmed] Points was coined by Stephenson, et al. in 1963. In the book Material Culture from Prehistoric Virginia, Wm Jack Hranicky explains the basic description of the Piscataway Points: “Stemmed; it is a small-to-medium, long and narrow point with contracting and pointed stems. Bases are usually pointed but rounded bases do occur” (614). This points date to the Late Archaic Period (3500 B.C. – 1000 B.C.).

A recent paper written by Al Luckenbach, Jessie Grow, and Shawn Sharpe explains some very interesting findings associated with Piscataway [Stemmed] Points. This paper describes the stratigraphy and chronology of the Pig Point site and discusses the regional implications of the results obtained for Piscataway and triangular points (Luckenbach et al.: 3). While triangle points are commonly associated with the Late Woodland period (A.D. 900 – A.D. 1650), triangle points at Pig Point are being found in situ and associated with Piscataway points from the Archaic period. This indicates that triangle points were used in at least two different periods of prehistory.    

Originally the beauty of this point caught my eye, but now the history behind this point makes it so much more fascinating! It proves what archaeologists' say, “It’s not what you find, but what you find out.”

Death of a Digloo



Shawn and Erin take a break from excavating to help take down the Digloo frame.

 Written by Lauren Schiszik, LTP Staff

It's the end of an era at London Town. Yesterday, the Rumney's Tavern Digloo (translation: igloo that we dig in) was dismantled. After more than a decade of sheltering the earthen cellar-hole of Rumney's Tavern, it was taken down in preparation for bigger and better things. The Rumney/West Tavern will be reconstructed in the same manner as the Lord Mayor's Tenement and the Carpenter's Shop at London Town.  Before we do that, however, we need to excavate more postholes to figure out what exactly the footprint of the building should be. Some of the postholes were inaccessible because the digloo frame was on top of them! Now that it's gone, we can excavate and analyze the postholes and determine the chronology of building constructions, additions, and demolitions related to Rumney's. It's going to be a busy field season at London Town - and it doesn't look quite the same. Come check it out! 

Archaeology through the Eyes of an Intern

Written by Jillie Drutz, Lost Towns Intern


I’ve been studying it for two years, never having picked up a trowel and itching to finally get out in the field and really learn the art of archaeology. My love and fright of anthropology propelled me to do this internship with the Lost Towns Project. After spending two days in the field at Pig Point and one day at the archaeology lab in Londontown, I found out that it was nothing like what I expected. Nonetheless, it was still amazing and I was right about one thing: the history came alive.

At Pig Point, the wonderful archaeologists and volunteers patiently taught me the basics. I learned how to dry and water screen for artifacts, excavate a unit, and fill out a provenience card by measuring and recording elevation, and analyzing artifact content and soil. In the world of archaeology, the most important thing is context (location, location, location of course). While taking all of the meticulous recordings and measurements and carefully troweling the unit, it was difficult to understand exactly why this was important. It wasn’t until we finished excavating a specific stratigraphic layer of a unit, that I realized that stratum was destroyed. Those meticulous measurements preserved the material history.

Kicking off the Summer Field Season

Written by staff member Lauren Schiszik, Internship Coordinator

This past week, we had a great start to the summer field season, with an orientation for our summer archaeology interns on Thursday, June 2, and our Saturday Dig Day at London Town on June 4. While we don't have the record-breaking 17 interns that we had last summer, we are still in the double-digits with 14 interns. The majority are doing archaeology, two are doing historic preservation, and one is doing historical research. The students bring a broad range of backgrounds and interests, and range from high school to college graduates. We are happy to host all of them and are looking forward to a productive and educational summer!



Dr. Al teaches interns about archaeology in Anne Arundel County
at the intern orientation.



This season, we are trying something new. Interns will be writing weekly blogs, so that readers can get a fresh perspective on our excavations. Look for the first intern blog entry next week!

We're focusing our excavations this summer on Pig Point and Rumney's Tavern at London Town, and would love to have volunteers come and join us! Alternatively, you can take the "armchair archaeologist" approach and read about our finds here throughout the summer from the comfort of your air-conditioned office or home. 

Cheers,

Lauren

Middle Woodland III Report Finished!

Written by staff member Stephanie Sperling:

As many of you know, I've spent the better part of 2011 working on the final report for the Pig Point site.  I'm happy to say that the report is finished and has been sent to the Maryland Historical Trust (our grantor) for comments.  Thank you to everyone who helped!  I couldn't have completed it without you.  Thanks especially to volunteer Pat Melville who put together the most comprehensive historical summary of Pig Point ever written.  Pat worked for the Maryland Archives for many years, and I am so grateful that she used her extensive research skills to summarize countless land records, wills, and court proceedings into an accessible narrative.  Thank you!  

While the Town period of Pig Point lasted for nearly 300 years, our excavations have centered on the thousands of years of prehistoric occupation (or the Native American occupation that happened before contact with Europeans).  That was also the main focus of my report.  Based on the artifact assemblage and the seven feet (!) of intact stratigraphy, we can certainly state that people have been living at Pig Point for about 10,000 years.  Incredible!  Anyone is welcome to read the report, but for those of you without the time for a 200+ page document, I'll sum up a few of the more interesting points here.



A reconstruction of a Woodland period house at Pig Point



First, I should say that nearly every prehistoric period in the mid-Atlantic region is well represented at Pig Point.  Archaeologists break down the millennia of prehistoric time into different periods based on changing artifacts and lifeways.  For example, the Archaic period extends from about 7500 B.C. – 1000 B.C. and was a time of hunting and gathering after the last Ice Age.  People adapted to a changing climate by utilizing every part of the landscape during different seasons, and gradually they became more sedentary.  Thousands of projectile points and stone tools were left behind that tell us about the different activities taking place during this long time period.  The appearance of clay pottery marks the beginning of the Woodland period (from 1000 B.C. – A.D. 1650), when people settled down for much of the year in base camps or villages.  Eventually, agriculture developed and the villages became larger as the population grew.



Excavation of the 8,000 year old pits found
beneath the Woodland midden



Pig Point saw heavy occupation during both the Archaic and the Woodland periods.  It has always been an appealing place to live!  The rich resources of Jug Bay can still be harvested all year long (fish and shellfish, mammals and birds, marsh plants and nearby forest species), and countless freshwater springs provide a constant source of drinking water.  Last year, we excavated several features that informed us about what people were eating over the millennia.  For instance, we found two hearths dating to over 8,000 years ago that still contained hickory nut shells and white perch scales.  The charcoal found in these ancient firepits was successfully radiocarbon dated, producing the oldest dates ever in Anne Arundel County!  We also excavated more of the remarkable Woodland period midden (or an area of cooking and working stratified over 3,000 years), where we found tens of thousands of bones and shells from dozens of species.  We now know that by about A.D. 1200, the people of Pig Point were growing corn to supplement their diets.

 

A selection of artifacts from Pig Point: From top to bottom - Woodland period pot sherd; Projectile points made of non-local stone; a selection of bone tools; three incised gorgets




We have found over 200,000 artifacts from the site, ranging from animal bones to projectile points to beautifully decorated pottery, pipes, and adornments.  Some of the bones were worked into tools used for needles or soft hammers or were used for adornments (like canine teeth with holes drilled for necklaces).  The projectile points span 10,000 years and are made of both local and exotic stone (like Ohio chalcedony and Pennsylvania jasper).  Some of the clay pot sherds have exquisite decoration, as do several of the pipe fragments.  And a number of gorget fragments (a type of rectangular stone pendant) were marked with geometric lines by someone thousands of years ago.

If you would like to know more about the Pig Point site, please contact us and we’ll be happy to share more of our remarkable findings.  But the best way to learn about the site is to volunteer in the field or the lab.  We’re back in the field every Tuesday and Friday, come out to this beautiful site and join us sometime!

-Steph   

I love getting dirty in a feature!

           

Back in the field at Pig Point



It's been a long winter cooped up in the lab, so last Friday we made our first spring trip back to the field at Pig Point.  Since we still have to contend with freeze/thaw, we don't want to dig any unit too deep.  Otherwise, the sandy walls will literally slump and collapse!  Instead, we went over to the Glendening Nature Preserve to check out some depressions on the hill overlooking the site.  We were curious if these could be remains of a prehistoric activity or something stemming from the historic use of the area (extending back at least 350 years).  We found out they were likely created by the sand and gravel mining that took place in this area in the 20th century - not exactly the exciting archaeological find we were hoping for, but at least now we know! 



The test trench dug in the Glendening Preserve



Considering we didn't find anything in the trench, we decided to bury a volunteer!  I don't think we backfilled over him.  Hmm, better go back and check...

                                                                                                                                      We also took the first tentative steps toward excavating another block in the core of the site, although we only got through the upper historic fill horizons.  The discovery of three projectile points spanning the Woodland period has us very excited for what remains underneath!

We'll be back in the field occasionally throughout March, so call the lab at 410-222-1318 if you'd like to come out and volunteer.

ALSO - the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference (MAAC) is coming up next weekend, March 18-20.  Jessie and I will be participating in a Lithic Technology Workshop on Friday, and Al and Lauren are giving papers on Saturday (Al will be talking about the 2010 Pig Point findings and Lauren will be talking about our project researching the effects of sea level rise on archaeological sites).  If you're interested in attending, here's the website for more info: http://www.maacmidatlanticarchaeology.org/

Hope to see you soon!

-Steph