Patterns of Trade in Prehistoric New England Curtiss Hoffman Bridgewater State College, [email protected]

Bridgewater Review Volume 13 | Issue 1 Article 6 Jan-1994 A Tale of Two Boroughs: Patterns of Trade in Prehistoric New England Curtiss Hoffman Bridgewater State College, [email protected] Recommended Citation Hoffman, Curtiss (1994). A Tale of Two Boroughs: Patterns of Trade in Prehistoric New England. Bridgewater Review, 13(1), 10-13. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol13/iss1/6 This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. TALE Of oBOROUGHS "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was ith these words, actions ofNative peoples today. the age of foolish Charles Dicke~s The data I have used to test this model derives from ness ... it was the W opens his exploration regional archaeological studies I have directed in two towns spring of hope, it of social inequalities in late in eastern Massachusetts, Middleborough and Westborough. was the winter of 19th century western Europe. Much of this work has been done by students in the Public The subject of social inequality Archaeology Concentration at Bridgewater, taking intern despair." and its consequences for ships and directed studies over the past 10 years. As a result, human cultures is only now few towns in the region have been as thoroughly studied at beginning to receive due atten the town level, and the striking contrast between upland tion in American archaeology. and lowland locations is well illustrated by the two relatively While archaeologists would have little trouble in recognizing complete data sets. While the current state of analysis is its traces in the material culture of 19th century France or descriptive rather than statistically quantitative, it still pro England, or even in their North American colonies, readers vides a reasonably clear picture. The use of statistics in might be surprised to learn that inegalitarian social struc archaeology, as in all the social sciences, should not be tures were also present in prehistoric New World contexts. undertaken until the researcher is well acquainted with the In New England, the beginnings of inequality are as old as nature of the sampling universe; that point has yet to be the period local archaeologists call the Transitional Archaic, reached in this study. from about 4000 to 2500 years ago. Even more surprising, Middleborough is located on the coastal plain, and it looks as if the kind of dichotomous relationships Dickens is drained by the Taunton, Weweantic, and Sippican Rivers. portrayed disappeared after this period, to be replaced by a The Nemasket River, which runs from the Lakeville Ponds more simplistic social order. This development has poten through the center of the town, is a major tributary of the tially profound implications for our understanding of Taunton River, which forms the town's northern boundary. human behavior. Most of the terrain is relatively flat, with some large basins In order to approach this subject, I have adopted a currently occupied by swamps, punctuated by low hills. theoretical perspective known as structuralism, in which Most of the archaeological fieldwork has concentrated on social customs such as burial rituals are viewed as evidence Assawompsett Pond and the rivers, but our concentrated of structural conflicts within the society. Specifically, I have inventory of public and private artifact collections in 1991 explored the relationships between lowlands and uplands in 92 identified a total of 166 sites scattered throughout the southern New England in terms of a center-periphery town, 22 of which have been excavated with reasonably model. In this model, some favored areas (centers) attract good records. The inventory currently includes 5337 arti larger settlements and qecome political and economic cen facts. ters of influence, while other areas (peripheries) are less Westborough is located at the eastern edge of the favored, have smaller populations, and are susceptible to Worcester Plateau, and contains the headwaters of the being exploited by the centers. Moreover, both center and Sudbury, Assabet, and Blackstone Rivers. The land area of periphery have their own local centers and peripheries. This the modern town is marked by three large former lake model is a prescription for social inequality, because it sets basins surrounded by moderate slopes which act as water up tensions between the advantaged centers and the disad sheds between the drainage systems. Most archaeological vantaged peripheries, usually at the expense of the latter. I work has concentrated on the fringes of the lake basins, also argue that the solution to this social tension developed resulting in a sample of74 sites, 28 ofwhich have been field by the New England Native Americans amounted to a rejec tested, and a sample of6002 artifacts. tion of the political and economic importance of centers. Archaeologists generally agree that the following This philosophical position persisted at least until the time criteria mark Transitional Archaic sites: of European contact, and still colors the perceptions and 1) Radiocarbon dates in the range of 4000 - 2500 By Curtiss Hoffman 10. Bridg=aJtr &vj~w years ago; ceremonial blades, 20 ofwhich are of exotic 2) Relatively large, stone materials. Burials at other sites appear stemmed spear points or to be less complex, but 5 are associated with lance points (the arrow had ceremonial blades, which also occur as iso not yet been introduced) of lated finds. Nineteen unusual objects various subtypes; found in association with burials at Wapanucket include whale tail and 3) Certain ground other pendants, petroglyphs, and '#""?","1C'ff~~;t71;\\ stone tools, including clum magic stones. Nineteen of these sy plummets, gouges,"celts, have also been found at other full-grooved axes, winged or locations, mostly along the whaletail shaped spear Nemasket and Taunton thrower weights and pestles; Rivers. Complex village structure is well document- 4) Bowls carved out ed at Wapanucket, where '\',c~ of soft stones, particularly three circular dwelling steatite (soapstone) or chlo complexes were delineated rite; on the basis of post mold 5) The use of large patterns. Each circle contained slabs, either as anvils/nut a larger central structure which cracking stones or for the was the repository for burials. lining ofpits; Finally, exotic stones from New 6) Cremation buri York sources used for the manu- als with associated deposits facture of diagnostic of red ochre powder and Transitional Archaic points large ceremonial blades and ceremonial blades are made of stone derived from 26% of the total. distant sources; 7) Unusual items Percentages for ceremo such as "magic stones", pen nial points are much dants, and petroglyphs . higher, 59%. Stones (carved artistic represen ta from Boston Basin quar tions) ; ries accounted for an addi 8) Evidence of tional 64% of the points. complex village structure; 9) Evidence of Sixteen out ot the 31 sites with trade, both intra- and inter any of these nine traits have multiple regional in scope. traits, though Wapanucket is the only site at References used in (he illustrations supplied by We have found all which all have been found, due to the William S Fowler of the Massachuserrs ArcheologICal Soc/ely nine of these criteria associ greater area exposed by exca ated with sites in v-ation. structure also appears to be absent, although Middleborough. Six of the a single large dwelling of the size found at Wapanucket has eight radiocarbon dates Four radiocarbon been recovered at the Charlestown Meadows site. Trade was from the Wapanucket 8 site dates from Westborough fall mostly intra-regional; 62% of diagnostic Transitional on Assawompsett Pond fall within the stipulated range. Archaic points were made from Boston Basin lithics, while within the desired range. A Spear and lance points of only 13% are of exotic materials. 10 ofthe 16 sites WIth any total of 144 spear and lance Transitional Archaic types of these traits had more than one trait represented, though points of Transitional are less than a third as com Charlestown Meadows was the only one to display all 6 of Archaic types and 114 mon as in Middleborough the traits present at Westborough sites, once again probably ground stone tools have (45). Ground stone tools are due to the greater exposure. been found. Stone bowls also less common, 37 items There are several ways in which the data sets from and bowl fragments are less in all. Twenty-one slabs used these two towns are similar. For example, Boston Basin fel common (19). Five slabs for anvils have been recov sites and argillites were used to make points in very similar used as anvils are reported; ered, but none are from cere proportions, and exotic lithics were found at a similar per slabs were found in ceremo monial contexts. Steatite centage of sites. All the subtypes of spearpoints were also nial burials at Wap~nucket bowls, red ochre burials, cer found in both towns. This suggests a measure of continuity only, but in great ab'un emonial blades, and most of between the two areas. dance. These burials are the unusual items are alto However, emphasizing these similarities would complex cremations accom gether absent from obscure the significant differences between the two towns. panied by red ochre and Westborough sites of this The number of ground stone tools is higher in grave goods, including 33 phase. Complex village Middleborough, but they constitute a much smaller per- Bridgtwaur RtvitW II. centage of the total found than in the region are located in the Blackstone drainage in northern Rhode Island and Westborough. Anvil slabs are more southern Massachusetts. While steatite from these sources moved down the river common in Westborough, but cere and across the coastal plain to Middleborough and other locations during the monial siabs are found only in Transitional Archaic period, only,! few scraps have ever been found in much later Middleborough.

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