PHASE I and II GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION of the RIVERSIDE PROJECT AREA
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PHASE I and II GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RIVERSIDE PROJECT AREA VOLUME 1: BACKGROUND, RESEARCH DESIGN, RESULTS, and CONCLUSIONS Prepared for: The Dermot Company, Inc. 729 7th Avenue, 15th Floor New York, NY 10019 Prepared by: Geoarcheology Research Associates 92 Main Street, Suite 207 Yonkers, NY 10701 Joseph Schuldenrein, Ph.D., R.P.A. Principal Investigator John A. Turck, Ph.D. Eva Hulse, Ph.D., R.P.A. Kevin Wiley, Ph.D., R.P.A. Rebecca Yamin, Ph.D., R.P.A. Joe Mazzariello, B.A. Acacia Berry, B.A. and Zenobie S. Garrett, Ph.D, R.P.A., editor With contributions by Diana Choi, Randa Harris, Julie Richko Labate, Molly Miranker, Jessica Vayo, and Rona Winter-Livneh February 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Numerous city, state, and federal organizations contributed to the successful performance of the Riverside 2 project. The authors wish to thank, in particular, Mr. Drew Spitler of Dermott, Inc. for supporting and overseeing the cultural resources effort at Riverside 2 project over the course of GRA’s efforts (2012-2015). Without his singular support the project would not have proceeded as smoothly as it did. Mr. Parker Terrill and Mr. Mark Sangiorgi, both formerly of Dermot, served as liaisons between GRA and the client during the critical field phases of the work. Mr. Sangiorgi's interest in and appreciation of the work as well as his understanding of the compliance process allowed us to proceed with the transition from excavation to analysis and report writing phases with minimum difficulty. Ms. Amanda Sutphin, chief archaeologist for the New York City Landmarks Commission, was pivotal in the early negotiation phases of the Scope of Work, in facilitating contacts between the client and contractor, and in explaining the protocols and regulatory aspects of the work. Her efforts resulted in an expeditious and efficient performance of the key tasks attendant to project completion. Ms. Bethany Klein of AECOM was responsible for co-ordinating the general schedules for the archaeological team and construction personnel. The heavy equipment excavators were uniquely helpful in keying construction activities to the unique needs of the archaeological team. They allowed GRA to synchronize archaeological tasks to specific construction deadlines. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME 1 Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................. vi MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 Organization of the Report ................................................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND and LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 18 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 Environment ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Background Research ........................................................................................................................................ 20 Census Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 32 1870 Federal Census Analysis............................................................................................................................ 36 1880 Federal Census Analysis............................................................................................................................ 37 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN and METHODS .................................................................................... 68 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 68 Theoretical Context ............................................................................................................................................ 68 Research Domains and Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 68 Field Methods: Phase IB Geoarchaeological Testing .......................................................................................... 69 Field Methods: Phase II Monitoring and Testing ................................................................................................ 69 Laboratory Methods and Artifact Processing ...................................................................................................... 71 Analytical Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 71 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS................................................................................................................................. 83 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 83 Phase IB ............................................................................................................................................................ 83 Phase II .............................................................................................................................................................. 83 Sensitive Area 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 84 Sensitive Area 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 85 Cultural Materials by Depositional Unit ............................................................................................................. 86 Stratigraphic Sequence in the Project Area ......................................................................................................... 97 Final Stratigraphic Sequence .............................................................................................................................. 99 Summary ......................................................................................................................................................... 103 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION......................................................................................................................... 199 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 199 Prehistoric Environments and the Near Absence of an Archaeological Record ................................................. 199 Riverside 2: Potential Prehistoric Site and Aboriginal Landscape ..................................................................... 200 Landfills: Rethinking Contexts of Integrity and Stratigraphy for 21st Century Archaeology ............................. 201 Interpretations of the Landfill Complexes at Riverside 2 .................................................................................. 203 New York City and Nineteenth Century Waste Management ........................................................................... 203 Fill Analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 204 People and Artifacts: Connecting the Census Data to the Cultural Material in the Fill ...................................... 207 Summary ......................................................................................................................................................... 209 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................... 230 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 232 iii VOLUME 2 APPENDICES Page A SOCIOECONOMIC INDEX ............................................................................................................... 1 B BORINGS ........................................................................................................................................... 7 C ARTIFACT INVENTORY