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, . 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 , 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. Ceremonial burials, contexts in Westborough, probably fragments from the stone pipe industry. Steatite large ceremonial blades, steatite apparently did not cross eastwards over the watershed from neighboring Grafton bowls, and most of the unusual into Westborough during the Transitional Archaic. goods are entirely absent from Stone bowls do not obviously relate to elites, so we ought to ask the ques­ Westborough sites. Compkx village tion, what made them useful for river-dwellers but not for the uplanders? organization appears also to be Presumably they are somehow related to food - either for cooking or long-term absent from Westborough, though storage. Quantities of charred wild seeds - of Chenopodium sp. (lambsquarters) present in at least one location in and Amaranthus sp. (pigweed) - have been recovered from Transitional Archaic Middleborough. The use of exotic sites in the floodplain. While we consider these plants to be stone materials for diagnostic points weeds and pull them out of our gardens, they grow well in soft soils and produce is twice as frequent in abundant seeds which contain complete protein in late summer. They may be har­ Middleborough as it is in vested easily and efficiently by foraging groups, but they are rather tasteless foods Westborough. which are best consumed in a mush or gruel with other flavors. This gruel could also last longer than the usual suite of foraged foods ifkept in large containers away All of this suggests that we from pests, and stored foods could have helped to sustain populations over the sea­ may define the traits listed above as sons when other foods were scarce, allowing for the stabilization of the food supply, belonging to a category of "special" which usually leads to quick population growth. objects and activities which was pre­ sent at concentrated locations in This suggests that the collection and bulk processing of seeds may have Middleborough but absent or rare in been a reason for using steatite bowls. Societies on the transition between foraging Westborough during the Transitional and horticulture developed seed collecting as an intermediate strategy in several Archaic. It is not unreasonable to well-documented cases in the Middle East and Mesoamerica. In those locations, conclude that many of these traits increasing populations made a shift from day-to-day foraging to intensive collecting are associated with elites, since exotic necessary - and population increase is one possible reason for changes in political organization from egalitarian to inegali­ tarian systems. The number of radiocar­ We should not bon dated sites from about 4500 to 2500 think of Middleborough as years ago in southern New England the end-point in this process; increased tenfold, and the average loca­ trade probably continued up tion ofsites within their drainages moved the Taunton River and steadily upstream, suggesting a gradual across into the North River filling up of the available territorial space. and Weymouth Fore and Back Rivers to Boston Harbor, and then up the However there is one problem coast. Some of this material with this argument in connection with may have then moved the use of steatite bowls. In New upstream along the England the places where the seed plants and its trib­ Possible Transmission grow wild in abundance and the places Routes for Steatite utaries, to a well-document­ ed center at Mansion Inn in whete steatite is available arc usually not Wayland. the same. In order to make this seed-col­ lecting and s.torage strategy work in the region, collectors in the lowlands eithcr would have to dispatch task groups to objects are used by elites selectively dist3nr steatite sources, or to develop trade connections with the uplanders. In the in many parts of the world to smaller·tribal territories which seem to characterize the 'Ti'ansitional Archaic, the lat­ demonstrate their status .difference ter solution might have been the only option. The regulation of trade betwcen from the rest of society. By contrast, groups is yet another reason to change to a political structure run by so-called "big there is also a category of men". The trade in exotic stones for use in lowland burial ceremonies also suggests Transitional Archaic artifacts which this type of reorganization. were similarly distributed in the two towns, including projectile points The next question which needs to be addressed is, what did the lowlanders and ground stone tools. These may have to offer the uplanders in retu rn for steatite? Traditionally in these situations, be interpreted as utilitarian objects participation in complex ceremonies and some access to' high-status goods are that would not be associated with offered. There is some evidence that such exchanges did take place in southern eI ite status. Worcester County, as a burial site in Millbury, just across the watershed from Westborough, contains the complete set of "special" traits, even including a copper However, there is something knife blade derived from far-ofT Lake Superior. However, another resource that can rather peculiar about this set of dif­ be traded in from the lowlands is stone; specifically, the Boston basin stones that are ferences, and it hinges upon the common in both Middleborough and Westborough. Prior to the Transitional presence or absence of steatite bowls. Archaic period, there is some evidence that stone exchange was already taking The best-known steatite quarries in place between the two areas. Specifically, there are similar proportions of

J2. Bridgnvaur R,v;,w '.....4'*'P" '4

Westborough quartzite in sites in the Blue Hills and Blue fore not in a position to benefit from this activity economi­ Hills felsite in Westborough sites. Quartzite is also present cally, either by' trade ofstatus goods and ceremonies, or the in Middleborough assemblages during this earlier phase, but new foodstuffs. The model would rredier that they were it was hardly used at all in the Transitional Archaic. This involved in the actual extraction 0 steatite, which was a suggests a possible reason for the absence of"special" goods labor-intensive and potentially hazardous undertaking. in Westborough during this phase: they In other parts of the world, the lacked steatite, and the quartzite was no inception of elites and economic strategies longer in demand. based on exploitation was often folloWed This, then, is the argument for the by rapid growth into complex societies sus­ center-periphery model in the Transitional tained by an agricultural economy. This Archaic. Middleborough was dearly a cen­ dearly did not nappen at this point in New ter area, gifted with a mild climate and England prehistory, so we must consider a abundant water resources, and river flood second alternative: col~. The succeed­ plains that could conceivably hav been ing Early Woodland period (2500 - 1500 Used for gathering wild seed plants. In the years ago) saw a dramatic reduction in both developing social inequality of the the complexity and ~uc:ncy.ofceremoni­ Transitional Archaic, some of its residents al burial practices in the ~on. With a few in these favored arbs enjoyed the privileg exceptions, burials from thIS time up to the associated with center centers: enhanced first century of European contact were status, special, exotic artifacts, and sptcial plain and accompanied hy few if any spe­ treatment after death. There are also sites cial grave goods. Trade in exotic stones was in Middleborough without burial materials leveled out across the region as compared or special goods, but these were located at a to the preceding period. The regional greater distance from the rivers or ponds, materials which were so important to the and these may have been part ofthe center Transitional Archaic continued to be pro­ periphery: geographically and economically duced at the same rate in Middleborough tied to the center- but not enjoying its privileges ofstatus. but were much diminished in Westborough. Steatite pro­ Sites in the uplands related to the steatite extraction duction appears to have ceased after about 700 B.C.. ~t industry, es~ially those at which ceremonial burials are for smoking pipes. In addition, the average location ofsites found, may be characterized as periphery centers. Their within drainages and the absolute re-number ofradiocarbon inhabitants supplied the wealthier lowlanders with the fin­ dated sites decreased markedly throuJhout the region ished products ofsteatite needed for their economy, and in. arou'nd 2600 years ago. Some authors think this indicates a return may have received enou~ of the benefits to be able population collapse to concentrated coastal settlements. But to host an occasional ceremonial. Middleborough sites continued in the traditional center However, Westborough, at the extreme southwest­ areas, very similar to the Transitional Archaic settlement ern limit ofthe Merrimack drainage, ~ived little ifany of patterns. Most ofthe Westborough sites ofthis phase appear this material and remained on the outskirts ofthe Periphery. to be multi-seasonal camps with high proportions offocal With essentially nothing to offer the lowlands ofeconomic stones, including inferior granites. The sites were closer to importance, it became a place of cultural conservatism for the centers of the lake basins, and in general have an the rest ofprehistory. Whatever relationship the Transitional inward-looking character. This evidence does not su~rt Archaic inhabitants of Westborough may have had with· the theory of a population collapse, but a shift in the ida­ their immediate neighbors to the southwest, it was not a tionship between uplands and lowlands from dependency to relationship between e