SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Submerged Evidence of Early Human Occupation in the New York Bight A Dissertation Presented by Daria Elizabeth Merwin to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (Archaeology) Stony Brook University August 2010 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Daria Elizabeth Merwin We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. David J. Bernstein, Ph.D., Advisor Associate Professor, Anthropological Sciences John J. Shea, Ph.D., Chairperson of Defense Associate Professor, Anthropological Sciences Elizabeth C. Stone, Ph.D. Professor, Anthropological Sciences Nina M. Versaggi, Ph.D. Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Submerged Evidence of Early Human Occupation in the New York Bight by Daria Elizabeth Merwin Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (Archaeology) Stony Brook University 2010 Large expanses of the continental shelf in eastern North America were dry during the last glacial maximum, about 20,000 years ago. Subsequently, Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene climatic warming melted glaciers and caused global sea level rise, flooding portions of the shelf and countless archaeological sites. Importantly, archaeological reconstructions of human subsistence and settlement patterns prior to the establishment of the modern coastline are incomplete without a consideration of the whole landscape once available to prehistoric peoples and now partially under water. This dissertation addresses Early to Mid-Holocene (Archaic period) hunter- gatherer occupation of the coastal plain, both subaerial and now submerged, in and adjacent to the New York Bight coastal province, stretching between southern New Jersey to the eastern end of Long Island, New York. The Hudson River slices through the apex of the New York Bight. Its banks have been the focus of human activity beginning approximately 12,000 years ago, and the archaeological potential of the estuary and surrounding lands is great. However, a portion of the prehistoric human record in the lower Hudson River is virtually invisible using traditional archaeological methods, as sea level rise has inundated portions of river valley on the continental shelf that likely witnessed prehistoric occupation. This dissertation proposes that the coastal plain and its river valleys in the Mid- Atlantic, specifically the New York Bight and the Hudson, were utilized by prehistoric iii peoples throughout the entire Holocene, but significant evidence of this occupation is now under water due to post-glacial sea level rise. Cultural continuity is also proposed for the lengthy Holocene, and the traditional regional chronology (Paleoindian, Archaic, and Woodland periods) and its implications for marked economic, demographic, and social change is challenged. Data from known Archaic period archaeological sites located on the subaerial coastal plain in the New York Bight are used to reconstruct settlement patterns and to determine high probability areas for underwater prehistoric sites. Analysis of a recently discovered submerged archaeological assemblage known as the Corcione collection and results of new underwater field work in the Hudson River Valley (offshore Sandy Hook and in Croton Bay) are discussed in the context of the terrestrial record. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES.................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES...................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................x INTRODUCTION .......................................................1 A Very Brief History of Underwater Archaeology........................1 Archaeology of Drowned Landforms ..................................3 Underwater Archaeology in the New York Bight .........................4 PREHISTORIC CONTEXT OF THE NEW YORK BIGHT REGION..............7 Environmental Setting .............................................10 Post-Glacial Environment ....................................10 Culture History and Chronology .....................................19 Issues in Archaic Period Archaeology.................................31 Settlement Patterns in the Archaic Period ........................31 Subsistence and the Origins of Aquatic Adaptations................36 SUBMERGED PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES...................39 Site Formation Processes...........................................39 Reported Underwater Finds.........................................42 RESEARCH IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT..................................51 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ...............................51 Methods ..................................................52 Results...................................................55 Discussion of the GIS-Based Modeling..........................58 Underwater Site Patterning and Archaeological Sensitivity Assessment................................................60 Sandy Hook and the Corcione Collection ..............................61 History of the Artifact Finds ..................................65 The Artifact Assemblage.....................................67 Discussion ................................................75 Offshore Fieldwork ...............................................76 Methods ..................................................76 Results...................................................84 Croton Bay Fieldwork.............................................86 Methods ..................................................90 Results...................................................93 v DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ......................................97 Future Directions................................................105 REFERENCES .......................................................108 APPENDICES........................................................138 Appendix A: Terrestrial Archaeological Sites in the New York Bight with Archaic Period Components ....................................................139 Appendix B: Corcione Collection Artifact Inventory..........................143 Appendix C: Offshore Sandy Hook Field Survey Summary .....................170 Appendix D: Analysis of a Faunal Specimen Recovered from Offshore Sandy Hook . 172 Appendix E: Croton Bay Beach Surface Finds, Beach Shovel Test Pit, and Submerged Test Pit Inventory............................................178 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of the New York Bight study area .......................6 Figure 2. Projectile point chronology for the New York Bight region (Mid- Atlantic/southern New England)................................9 Figure 3. Map of the New York Bight showing the approximate southern limit of the Wisconsin ice sheet and the exposed portion of the continental shelf at the end of the last glacial maximum ..........................11 Figure 4. Sea level curves for the New York Bight ........................17 Figure 5. Generalized shorelines in the New York Bight, 4000 to 14,000 years ago......................................................18 Figure 6. Terrestrial archaeological sites in the New York Bight region described in the text.................................................21 Figure 7. Location of submerged prehistoric sites described in the text.........43 Figure 8. Detail of archaeological sites around the New York Bight ...........54 Figure 9. Arthur Kill quadrangle showing the location of archaeological sites, and histograms of site distribution by elevation, slope, and aspect ........56 Figure 10. One kilometer radii around Staten Island sites showing the proximity of water sources..............................................57 Figure 11. Approximate coastlines in the New York Bight for the last 14,000 years, showing areas of low, moderate, and high potential for the presence of submerged prehistoric archaeological sites.......................59 Figure 12. Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and surrounding landscape features .......63 Figure 13. Map of northeastern New Jersey showing the location of the Corcione beach finds and the offshore borrow area from which they were dredged...................................................66 Figure 14. Sample of projectile points in the Corcione collection ..............70 Figure 15. Additional projectile points from the Corcione collection ...........70 vii Figure 16. Sample of bifacial tools in the Corcione collection.................71 Figure 17. Two very large bifaces from the Corcione collection ...............71 Figure 18. Sample of flakes of various raw materials from the Corcione collection 72 Figure 19. Survey area off Sandy Hook, showing one hectare test blocks ........77 Figure 20. Example of daily dive log kept for underwater survey offshore Sandy Hook.....................................................79 Figure 21. Typical survey pattern for each one hectare block examined off Sandy Hook.....................................................80 Figure 22. Underwater navigation using compass ..........................81 Figure 23.