Edited by LUCIANNE LAVIN Editor's Corner •••••••••••...•.••.•.•.•••...•.•...••
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BULLETIN OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CONNECTICUT NUMBER 54 1991 Edited by LUCIANNE LAVIN CONTENTS Edi tor's Corner •••••••••••....•.••.•.•.•••.....•.•...••...•.••••....•.....••••.....•• l The Excavation of a Human Burial Along the Thames River, Southeastern Connecticut HAROLD D. JULI and MARC A. KELLEY •....••.•...•......••.•...••...•.•••.•.....••.•..•.. 3 Two Prehistoric Human Skeletal Remains from the Morgan Site, Rocky Hill, Connecticut NICHOLAS F. BELLANTONI. •..•.••••......••.••..•.............••......••.•.•..........• 13 Retrospective on Respect ELIZABETH S. BAXTER •....•..•..•..••....•.•......••......•••....••..•.....•........•• 21 The Persistence of Memory: Neville and Stark Points in Southern New England CURTISS HOFFMAN ...••.•...•.•..•.•.....••......•••....•••...•••••....•.•.....•.••••. 23 A Deer Antler Pipe from Eastern Connecticut JOSEPH PARKOS •.••...•......••....•..•....••••.....•..•....•.....••.••.....•........• 55 The Salmon River Rock Shelter FRED W. GUDRIAN ...•.•••.•.••••...•.••....•.•....•...•.....••......•...•.••.•......•. 57 The Functional Uses of Eastern Connecticut Quartzite PETER PAGOULATOS ............•.•....••.•.....••.•...••.•...•••.............••.•...... 65 The M. R. Site, A Preliminary Report JOSEPH PARKOS .•••.....•••.......•...••..•...••.......•..............•.......•.•..•.. 77 Plant Macrofossil Identification As A Method Toward Archaeo-Environmental Reconstruction LUCINDA MCWEENEY •.......•••.....••....••.........•.......•......••...••..••....•••.. 87 The Contributors •..•.....•.......•..•...••••..•...•......•....•.........••.....•.••. 99 Cover Illustration: Deer antler pipe from East Haddam, Connecticut. Pen and ink drawing by Marina Mozzi. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CONNECTICUT, P.O. BOX 386, BETHLEHEM, CT 06751 EDITOR'S CORNER This issue of the Bulletin is a Connecticut volume in the literal sense of the word. Eight of the nine articles deal with Connecticut prehistory. The papers by Bellantoni, Baxter, Juli and Kelley concern American Indian burials in the Connecticut and Thames River valleys. Bellantoni's interpretation of the two Late Woodlandburials at the Morgan site in Rocky Hill, and Juli and Kelley's analysis of an early contact period grave at the Arboretum Burial site in NewLondon are fine examples of how careful analyses of skeletal material and grave matrix can provide important information about the health, economicactiv- ities, settlement pattern and ideological aspects of the corpse and his social group. Baxter's article is a sensitive eyewitness account of the reburial of the Morgan individuals at the site of their original recovery, the first such event in which Connecticut archaeologists were participants. The papers by Gudrian and Parkos are good old fashioned site reports, chock full of artifact descriptions and counts, tables and photographs. They are the building blocks of our regional chronologies and cultural reconstructions. I would like to see a lot more of these reports in our Bulletin! Pagoulatos' contribution is a much needed replicative study of retouch and edge alteration patterns on bifaces manufactured from a Connecticut quartzite formation. Such work is necessary if we wish to interpret prehistoric behavioral patterns through the study of their artifactual remains. McWeeney'spaper demonstrates how the study of plant macrofossils can provide information on the physical environment of archaeological sites as well as cultural activities that occurred within these sites. She discusses important archaeological techniques for the recovery and preservation of plant remains that should be memorizedand practiced by anyone engaging in subsurface archaeo- logical investigations. Hoffman's article concerns the longevity of Neville and Stark projectile points. It is the only paper in the volume concerned mainly with extra- Connecticut materials. Because Neville and Stark components are distributed throughout the Northeast, including Connecticut, Hoffman'shypotheses regarding point continuity are relevant to our area, and I urge readers of this Bulletin to meet his challenge on point typology and forward their answers to me (see address on the inside front cover). 1 THE EXCAVATIONOF A HUMANBURIALALONGTHE THAMESRIVER, SOUTHEASTERNCONNECTICUT HAROLDD. JULI DEPARTMENTOF ANTHROPOLOGY CONNECTICUTCOLLEGE MARCA. KELLEY DEPARTMENTOF ANTHROPOLOGY UNIVERSITYOF MINNESOTA ABSTRACT During the course of construction a dalaged (90% recovery) hUlan burial was discovered along the west shore of the Thales River on property owned by Connecticut Coll~ge. The excavation yielded the relains of a single individual in flexed position within a shell lidden site. Grave goods consisted only of a broken lithic blade adjacent to the patella. Physical anthropological analysis indicated that the individual was a robust adult tale who suffered frol several dental conditions as well as pul.onary tuberculosis. A radiocarbon date A.D. 1620 ±70 was obtained for this burial. INTRODUCTION In March, 1981 Connecticut College began construction of a soccer field adjacent to the Connecticut Arboretum's eastern section along the Thames River in Southeastern Connecticut (Figures 1,2). During grading, workmen noticed a deer antler protruding from a large bulldozer pile created in site preparation. The antler was associated with a large concentration of shell, along with some scattered animal bone. One of us (Juli) was notified and conducted an investigation of the area to determine whether a prehistoric site had been inadvertently disturbed during construction. Upon examination it was evident that the bulldozer had indeed uncovered and destroyed a Native American archaeo- logical site. The site was deposited in several large backdirt piles, offering no opportunity for systematic study. However, careful surface inspection adjacent to the piles, along with shovel testing, revealed the remains of an Indian interment below the main shell occupation component. The excavation and study of this articulated human skeleton is the subject of this report. SITE ANDBURIALCONTEXT The site is situated approximately 50 meters (150 feet) south of a small stream which empties into the Thames River, after flowing down the west side of the estuary valley from the heights above. During an earlier survey of selected shore areas within the Thames River Valley (Juli 1981), it became evident that in every instance where a stream enters the river, a prehistoric site can be found in the immediate vicinity. Along the Thames River these sites are very often shell middens. The actual position of such sites relative to the stream's point of entry into the river varies within the estuary as a consequence of several factors, including local topography, the size of the prehistoric social unit, seasonality and period of occupation. Clearly, this midden and its 3 4 CONNECTICUT ARCHAEOLOGY BULLETIN, Volume 54, 1991 * 'E .~....Q) "' (IJ s: ..... 0 c .~..CIS ;:l I:Il e ....;:l ..Q) 0 .0.. ....« 0 r:: .~....0 CIS .§ "00 .~r:: ~ 0 .0 (IJ .... ;:l o .~.... o Q) r:: r:: 0 0 ..r:: ....III II ~ .0.... ;:l I- 0 o (IJ W Z ..... Z III 0 o .. .~~ "" THAMES RIVER BURIAL 5 MAMACOKE "SLAND ~ ..,. """.ht ~ (lIf" +f-t-.I. • AI ,IOAO .:::-f- 1040 - ..""", THAMES N RIVER scale 1'-650' _ .. \ toO ! ! r i CO ...... (.ICU. <eulot --------- Figure 2. Connecticut Arboretum Eastern Section, NewLondon County, Connecticut. 6 CONNECTICUT ARCHAEOLOGY BULLETIN, Volume54, 1991 associated burial duplicated the local pattern of stream site position within the Thames estuary (Juli 1981). River/stream location obviously exploited two contiguous elements--the fresh water supplied by the stream, and immediateaccess to economicresources and transport provided by the river. Although technically fresh, at the location near Long Island Sound Thames River water is not potable due to high salt con- tent. Brackishness decreases as one moves north along this 13 kilometer (7.8 mile) estuary. As the soccer field site, approximately 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the coast, the water is very salty. The site itself incorporated remains of at least two activities, exploi- tation of riverine oyster beds and human burial. To the extent that the visible remains after disturbance accurately reflect actual prehistoric distributions, it may be hypothesized that the site's upper level consisted almost exclusively of a dense deposit (75 cm) or 30 inches of the common Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), with additional small percentages of clam, mussel and scallop. The main body of the midden was approximately 50 meters (150 ft) long and 20 meters (60 ft) wide. Several smaller midden concentrations two to three meters (ca. six to nine feet) in diameter were noticed as the bulldozer scraped the field, indicating the possibility of a dispersed pattern of settlement or refuse accumulation over an area of approximately 3000 square meters (ca. 9,000 square feet). Unfortunately, all habitation and refuse areas were destroyed during construction, and systematic excavation was impossible. Several hours were spent shoveling and screening selected areas and bulldozer piles, but other than the recovery of shell and animal bone fragments, the work had disappointing results. We will never have detailed information about the cultural deposit at this site. In the site's northern area nearest the stream, surface observation and shovel testing produced several broken human skull fragments. As far as could be determined, the bulldozer made several passes to a maximumdepth of approx- imately one meter (ca.