Bridgewater State University Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Journals and Campus Publications Society 10-1989 Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, Vol. 50, No. 2 Massachusetts Archaeological Society Follow this and additional works at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/bmas Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Copyright © 1989 Massachusetts Archaeological Society This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. BULLETIN OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 50 NUMBER 2 OCTOBER 1989 50TH ~NNIVERSARY CONTENTS LOOKING BACKWARD ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY History of the Cape Cod Chapter . Alice Dobbyn, Barbara Waters, Lesley Sage and Marilyn Crary 37 Cohannet Chapter . Philip Brady 40 W. Elmer Ekblaw Chapter . Mary Haaker 42 MassasOlt Chapter .Russell Holmes 48 ~fi:i~,;~::~(~~/";:;;.-;;X;~:th River Chapter History .Curtiss Hoffman 50 istory of the Norwottuck Chapter . Jane A. McGahan 52 Shawkemo Chapter Elizabeth A. Little 54 A Brief History of the South Shore Chapter . Curtiss Hoffman 56 The Bulletin: A Personal Honor Roll from the First Thirty Volumes . Dena F. Dincauze 59 The Massachusetts Archaeological Society Museum: Past, Present and Future of the Robbins Museum of Archaeology. James Wait 61 Middleborough Origins . Maurice Robbins 65 Dr. Lombard Carter Jones: Physician and Indian Votary George Sweet Gibb 67 Maurice Robbins: An Uncommon Man . Michael Touloumtzis 70 Awards and Recognition to Maurice Robbins October 1986 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States Congress and City of Attleboro 71 Preservation Awards to Barbara E. Luedtke and Elizabeth A. Little 1~88 .Massachusetts Historical Commission 73 Presidents of the Society, 1939-1989 39 Editors of the Bulletin. 1939-1989 60 The Contributors 75 Notes to Contributors 76 THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, Inc. P. O. Box 700, Middleborough, Massachusetts 02346 MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. OFFICERS President: ...... .. Ruth Warfield, 13 Lee St., Worcester MA 01602 First Vice President: .......... James H. Wait, 93 Cheever St., Milton MA 02186 Second Vice President: Janice M. Weeks, 12 Long Ave., Greenfield MA 01301 Corresponding Secretary: ...... Lesley H. Sage, 33 West Rd., 2B, Orleans MA 02653 Recording Secretary: ....... Curtiss Hoffman, 58 Hilldale Rd., Ashland MA 02653 Financial Secretary: .. .. .. Lillian Harding, 143 Fisher St., Westboro MA 01583 Treasurer: ................. Marilyn Crary, Box 427, Eastham MA 02642 Membership Secretary:. ..... Maryanne MacLeod, Swett Hill Rd., Sterling MA 01564 Editor: .............. Elizabeth A. Little, 37 Conant Rd., Lincoln MA 01773 Museum Director: Thomas Lux, 45 Nisbet St., Providence RI 02906 Archivist: Ralph Bates, 42 Leonard St., Bridgewater MA 02324 MHC Representative: . Dena Dincauze, Anthropology Dept., UMass, Amherst MA 01003 Trustees: 1987-89: Frederica Dimmick, Brady Fitts, A. James Mott, George Stillson 1988-90: Charles R. Bartels, Roger Gregg, John F. Healey, Dr. Maurice Robbins The Society is funded in part by the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, a state agency. The BULLETIN OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY is published semiannually, with each volume beginning in April. Institutional subscriptions are $20; individual memberships in the Society are $10 and include a subscription to the Bulletin. Information on special rates for family members, seniors, students, etc., is available from the Membership Secretary. Order back issues of the Bulletin from the Museum Director. Massachusetts Archaeological Society, P. O. Box 700, Middleborough, MA 02703. Manuscripts and communications for the Bulletin may be sent to: Elizabeth A. Little, Editor, Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society 37 Conant Road, Lincoln MA 01773 (617-259-9397 or 617-228-4381) <:::.-'''') 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. ©2011 Massachusetts Archaeological Society. VOLUME 50, NUMBER 2 37 LOOKING BACKWARD: ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOCIETY HISTORY OF THE CAPE COD CHAPTER Alice Dobbyn, Barbara Waters, Lesley Sage and Marilyn Crary Before the Cape Cod Chapter was formed in 1963, a Sippican group, which included some Cape Cod people, met in Marion, Mass. Frank Kremp lived in Marion and along with Viggo Petersen founded the Sippican Chapter. When the Sippican Chapter moved its headquarters to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Cape Cod members stopped going. There is one record of a July II, 1940 meeting to form a Cape Cod Chapter in New Bedford, but no report of additional meetings in the MAS archives. The Cape Cod Chapter: In the winter of 1963 a small group of people met and formed the Cape Cod Chapter of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. The meeting place was the Harwich Recreation Building and the attendees came in response to an item in the Cape Cod Times. At this first meeting William Marion was elected Director; Ruth Brown, Secretary; and Alice Dobbyn, Treasurer. John Gaston of Osterville was a very active early member. He found and established the first chapter dig in Cotuit, the Baxter Neck area. Several artifacts were found. John also located that same year a site in South Orleans called the Peggy Ford Site. He assigned squares and again several artifacts were found, most in a stream on the property. A new site on Arey's Pond in South Orleans was found with the help of Frank Kremp. A few surface artifacts were found, but the high visibility of the area made it a poor choice for an excavation. All the sites described here had been extensively potholed, a common problem with many sites on Cape Cod. Ernie Tesson, another early member, located a shell midden called the Daniel's Site, in Wellfleet. Squares were allocated, but nearby summer cottages made digging a public matter and this site was closed. In 1974 Doug Brunell, a former president of the Chapter, made arrangements for the Chapter to excavate the Chatham RCA Site. Doug had worked for RCA and was able to arrange a contract with the owners of the land. Guy Mellgren was elected dig director. Guy had many years' experience with excavations. With help from John Gaston the Chapter cleared an area and laid out squares. This excavation was carried on for three years and was the impetus to attract many new members. At the end, Marie Eteson, Marilyn Crary, and Micky Chase studied the materials and wrote a report that appeared in the April 1978 issue of the Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society (Eteson, Crary and Chase 1978). It was the Cape Cod Chapter's first real published report. Among the important artifacts was a deer bone pendant. Copyright 1989 Alice Dobbyn, Barbara Waters, Leslie Sage and Marilyn Crary 38 BULLETIN OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY During the summer of 1979, Jim Cahoon and Beth Nelson directed a survey excavation at the Achilles Site in Chatham. Marie Eteson analysed artifacts from the Hayward's Portanimicut Site and published her results in the April 1982 Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society (Eteson 1982). Thermoluminescent dating of a single potsherd from this site resulted in a TL Date of 434.7 ± 43 years BP (1982) and was reported in the October 1985 Bulletin (Eteson 1985). In 1980 John Gaston arranged with Colonel Butler permi"ssion for the Chapter to excavate on his land in Osterville. Marie Eteson was dig director for Phase I and George Stillson for Phase II. Analysis of artifacts and soil became part of the Chapter's efforts after the suspension of fieldwork. Two carbon dates have been obtained from charcoal samples: 855 ± 135 yrs BP and 905 ± 135 yrs BP. An Artifact Collections Survey was initiated by Marie Eteson in 1980 and chapter members joined in the analysis of artifacts from personal collections of local Cape Codders. A presentation of this endeavor was made at the MAS annual meeting in October 1980 by Marie Eteson, Marilyn Crary and Barbara Waters (with a special critique contributed by Lesley Sage). In 1981 one of our members, Barbara S. Waters, became Director of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History on 6A in Brewster. She encouraged the Chapter to assist in cataloging the Museum's extensive Rennie Collection. Members also assisted with the Ryder's Cove field class conducted and reported on by Museum Staff Archaeologist Fred Dunford (Dunford 1986). Chapter members have been among volunteers for a number of projects conducted by professional archaeologists: the Oak Ridge mitigation study for the Town of Orleans by Lenny Loparto, George Stillson and Fred Dunford in collaboration with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History; the Bass River field survey for the Dennis Historical Society by George Stillson (see pottery discussion [Stillson 1986]); a mitigation study by the National Park Service archaeologists at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham (McManamon 1984). After many years of meeting at the Harwich Recreation Building, in 1983 the Chapter removed to the Museum in Brewster where an archaeological data base has been initiated (Pyle 1988), and where we continue our schedule of lectures and workshops on the first Saturday of. the month from October to