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Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, Vol. 6, No BULLETIN OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY VOL.VI NO.4 JULY,1945 CONTENTS The Oaklawn 8oapstone Quarry. Gera.ld C. Dunn ••.•••••.•..•.••••.......... .. 49 A Chronology and Classlflcation of Connecticut Valley Projectile Points. William S. Fowler ••••••••••••••••••.•• •• 53 The Norwottuck Complex. WUllam S. Powler •. ....•.•................. .• 58 Motifs of Ceramic Design in Massachusetts: A Proposed Plan of Research. William S. Fowler •••••••.•••••••••• •• 64 PUBLISHED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Douglas 8. 8Jers, Bditor, Box'll, Andover, Mas-.chusetts Winthrop F. Barden, Secretary-Treasurer, 198 South Main Street, Attleboro, Mas-.chusetts THE' eLEt/HIT c. M~WElL l!r:RARY STATE COl!.EGi BRIDGEWATER, MASSACHU~~TT~ This journal and its contents may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. ©2010 Massachusetts Archaeological Society. THE OAKLAWN SOAPSTONE QUARRY Gerald C. Dunn As a number of reports have been pub­ now hard to determine for there only re­ lished on the findings made at several mains exposed what appears to be a small steatite quarries in Massachusetts by mem­ part of the original outcrop. Blanks have bers of the Massachusetts Archaeological been removed and there are two bowl blanks Society, it may be well to make a report on which have been started but never removed. the quarry located on the farm of Herman Johnson in Cranston, Rhode Island. Before The location of the quarry is on the going into detail relative to this quarry, north slope of a hill which rises sharply which from now on will be referred to as back of the farm buildings a distance of the Oaklawn Quarry, the designation pre­ one-half mile. It is situated three and a viously used by others, we will call half miles from the Pawtuxet River, five attention to an old report relative to the miles from ProviC __ ce Bay and nine miles location of steatite in Rhode Island. from Greenwich Bay . A considerable Indian population is known to have lived The first reference is on pages 80 81 in these areas. Many camp sites in the and 111 of the "Geology of Rhode Island,1 vicinity of these bays and rivers have by Charles T. Jack8on, M.D., published in furnished broken bowls, pipes and pipe 1840. A map showing the location of these blanks made of steatite, presumably from deposits is included with his report. The this or nearby steatite quarries. following quotation from page 81 explains as well now as it did 100 years ago the The Oaklawn Quarry has been known to minerals we might expect to find and the collectors for some . time. Messrs. Congdon composition of these steatite deposits. and Hawksley of Rhode Island reported "Limestone also occurs on the Almy farm now their findings some years ago to Maurice belonging to Mr. William Jenkins. I ex­ Robbins of Attleboro and exhibited mater­ amined the bed and found it to consist of ial found there. Mr. David Straight, of the granular and compact varieties of lime­ East Greenwich, has been there,as many stone, included in hornblende rock, assO­ others doubtless have. ciated as usual with frequent beds of chlorite slate, soapstone and serpentine." It is reported that talc taken from Further, "The towns of Cumberland, Smith­ Oaklawn Quarry about 100 years ago brought field and Johnston have hornblende and tal­ a high price in New York. cose rock which occur only in beds included with other rocks in these towns. It is Our first visit to this site was made very limited in extent. Pure apple green with Maurice Robbins and Earle Bryant, talc occurs in Smi thfield and Johnston." both members of the Warren K. Moorehead Chapter in the spring of 1943. Since that The steatite quarry located at Ochee time the work has been done by R.O. Bale Spring in Johnston and the Manton Quarry in of Greenwood, R.I. and the writer . Providence are well known and have been re­ ferred to by various writers in recent The slope where the quarry is located times. A quarry is also vaguely mentioned is covered with maple, grey birch, and in the vicinity of Westerly, but inquiries scrub oak. It has been cleared and un­ thus far have failed to locate this and doubtedly used as a pasture some 15 years early histories do not mention it. The ago. An area of about 10,000 sQUare feet Manton Quarry is in Providence,off Atwells is covered with hundreds of pieces of Avenue. Indications are that the area used steatite of all sizes. It has been so as a quarry by the Indians was relatively moved about by relic hunters that it is small. The Ochee (or Johnston) Quarry on impossible to tell where it was originally the Hartford Pike has been reported on 'by placed. How much was on the surface and F.W. Putnam (Reports of the Peabody Museum how much below the surface would be guess of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. II, p.274- work. 276). Charles C. Willoughby, in his "Antiquities of the New England Indians," The quarry hole itself is not ex­ quotes Putnam's account of the site. tensive, being some 60 feet by 20 and about 5 feet deep in the deepest part. The formation of the Oak lawn Quarry on This quarry hole is at the northwest side the Johnson Farm (Hillside Farm) in Cranston of the debris-covered area. It is our would indicate that steatite was quarried belief that from this excavation white from only a relatively small area. Whether men removed steatite for commercial use it was in a ledge or banded formation is and that broken pieces and miscellaneous 49 50 MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY: BULLETIN debris were used to fill in the road lead­ abundance of broken dishes, pipe blanks, ing from the quarry to the farm at' the foot etc., that would allow us to identify that. of the hill. To confirm this last state­ spot as the place where broken and re­ ment, we find steatite fragments the entire jected material was dumped. We removed len~th of the road; a broken rim and other many pieces of steatite and similar rock fragments which have been picked up and so large that it was all one man could do which show evidence of having been worked, to move them alone. Hundreds of fragments, bear out this assumption. A drill-hole in varying in diameter from an inch or two to steatite, a broken drill and hand hammer that of a croquet ball were found. Many indicate the use of white mens tools to re­ Showed evidence of having been worked while move steatite. It is our belief Indians others appeared to be pieces broken off in did not make this excavation,at least not the process of reducing a large blank to a to the extent it now covers. smaller and more usable size. Forms that .ere definitely recognizable included We have concluded that the Indians blanks for bowls, dishes, platform and worked on outcroppings near the surface and elbow pipes, broken rims of bowls and excavation bears this out. With this back­ nearly completed dishes. Many pipe blanks ground one can see the difficulty of carry­ were well along in the process of manu­ ing on a careful research job such as re­ facture. Lugs broken from dishes were ported by other members working on sites found in great numbers; they varied from that have not been badly disturbed. crude rough forms to beautifully smoothed ones. These apparently broke off easily. Reports are that this area was dug If we were to dig over the entire area it over with clam hoes to bring to the surface is doubtful·if we would be any better off, material which could be reached by this for enough has been found to give us infor­ method. Because the site had been thus mation about the form and size of objects disturbed it was necessary to begin our made here. search for material left by ancient quarry­ men at a lower level. From all descriptions, Oaklawn re­ sembles the Dolly Bond Quarry as reported A trench was started on the east side by Ripley P. Bullen in the October 1940 of the excavated area and carried a dis­ issue of the Bulletin of the Massachusetts tance of 80 feet. Ae the trench progressed, Archaeological Society. Because of this, it was very evident that we were working a similar outline and comparisons will be in not only the original area occupied by followed. the Indians, but that the upper part was material thrown out from the excavation Quarry tools and piled up along the sides. All this disturbance indicated little chance of re­ Nothing has been found that corres­ cording much of value in respect to origin­ ponds to the nicks reported from other al location of material,.etc. Therefore, quarries. There were no grooved or flaked this report will be one of imagination implements. Fifteen pieces of gneiss plus findings that tend to indicate certain which we found may possibly have been used truths. as nicks. They fit the hand well, but they show no effect of working, and do not At the northern end of the excavation seem hard enough for this use. are the remains of part of the steatite outcrop. It is' approximately 20 feet long Eleven large battered stones, possibly by 5 feet by 4 feet in height. On the used as hammer stones, were found.
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