USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 4
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 4
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
deposits were laid down and this was known as the Cretaceous period. In the Long Island Zone, Cretaceous clays appeared at the same time.
There seems to be little or no evidence of Eocene deposits on Long Island. At the close of the Eocene epoch, there was a tilting of the land and the Coastal Plain was depressed, enabling the Ocean to advance across the Eocene and Cretaceous deposits towards the West. Likewise Long Island shows no evidence of the Oligocene, Miocene or Pliocene epochs. Here again it is a Geological theory that the deposition of these periods took place while Long Island was sub- merged. The earliest of the Long Island Glacial deposits are assumed to have occurred during the Pleistocene period.
Chapter II The Archaeology of Long Island NAT. E. BOOTH*
L ONG ISLAND lies off the coast of New England, extending 130 miles northeasterly to a point opposite New London, Conn. In outline it strongly resembles a fish, with its head lying opposite New York City and the two forks of the tail terminating on the South Fork at Montauk Point and on the North Fork at Orient Point. The climate is agreeable, being tempered by breezes blowing from the surrounding waters which undoubtedly filled the needs of the ancient inhabitants. The dwellings were probably of wattlework, the walls of the lodges plastered with mud or clay and the roofs formed of hides or thatch. Verrazano, who sailed along the coast in 1524, reported having seen similar structures.
On the inner or bay side of both forks there are numerous creeks and small bays, upon the shores of which, always with a southern exposure and facing the water, the aboriginal inhabitants had their villages and camps. There are the remains of 45 village sites known on the North Fork and 20 on the South Fork.
The Incorporated Long Island Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association, which has been active in conducting scien- tific investigations of these sites, particularly on Shelter Island and on the two eastern forks, has recovered a vast amount of material for examination and study, all of which has been catalogued and accurate records kept. The most extensive of these sites is in "The Old Field" and the Dr. Emerson site is as large. Both are in Southold Town.
"The Old Field" site lies on the shore of Southold Bay, extend- ing 600 feet northerly from the bluff. The width is approximately 100 feet and the shell spread extends to 18 inches at its greatest depth. A few pits were excavated beyond the main deposit. There is no historical data relating to the aboriginal inhabitants and no white contact material has been recovered from the site. It evidently was cleared and cultivated by the Indians upon the arrival of the first white settlers in 1640. It is referred to in the town records as The Old Field during the first 100 years after the settlement of the town. Undoubtedly the whites found the land suitable for their requirements and banished the inhabitants to some other location.
Situated near salt water sea food, the principal diet of the Indian in this area, the site is in proximity to fresh water and con- venient to deposits of clay, of which they made their pottery. The
* Editor's Note .- The author of this chapter is vice president of The Incorporated Long Island Chapter, New York State Archaeological Association, and a member of the Custer Institute of Research. He has, over a period of years, participated in the scientific achieve- ments of these organizations and has personally made a number of important contributions in this field.
L. I .- I-2
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Old Field comprises approximately 60 acres and has been under cultivation for upward of 300 years. Comparatively few artifacts of stone were recovered from excavation and they are of the same type as those from the surface. The shell deposit was probably much deeper before cultivation. Due to its extent and the number of artifacts found, a description of this site will suffice for the others examined on eastern Long Island.
The Old Field site contained 161 pits and one ossuary of five skeletons. The Dr. Emerson site held 169 pits from which many interesting artifacts were recovered. From The Old Field site were excavated pot sherds representing parts of 337 separately identifiable pottery vessels, 12 of which have been restored. There were 138 artifacts of stone, 23 whole and fragmentary tobacco pipes of clay, 106 objects of worked bone, 10 of shell, 3 of vegetal matter, 1 of steatite and 12 skeletal remains. There are 1854 artifacts from the surface, all showing similar work to the techniques below the surface, making a total of 2489 objects from this site, excluding all pot sherds excepting rim pieces.
The pit yielding the greatest amount of worked material was No. 39, from which 39 worked objects were obtained, not including pot sherds. This is a typical pit site, the pits varying in depth from 21/2 to 6 feet and the diameter from 3 to 10 feet. Some were blended into others; in one instance there were four together, which appeared as the links of a chain. In vertical section the pits are bowl shaped.
The chief food of the Indians in this area was composed of shell fish of various kinds, with vast quantities of oysters predominating. Also identified are clams, both round and long varieties, mussel, razor clams, quarter deck, scallops, snails, jingle shell, blue crab, whelk, and various others which were used in quantities. The deer was used extensively as food, the bones being split to obtain the marrow and the skull was broken to extract the brain. Other animals identified and used as food included bear, elk, red fox, raccoon, wolf, beaver, muskrat, woodchuck and others. Fin fish were an item of food, among which were sturgeon, sting ray, cunners, sea robin, porgies, shark, skate and spined dog-fish. The pits also yielded charred hickory nuts, squash seed, kernels of corn and bits of wood. Undoubtedly most vegetal matter has decayed, due to climatic conditions.
The pits were excavated by the ancient inhabitants for culinary use. The food was prepared by building fires in the pits and the food was roasted or cooked in the pits. After using for a period, possibly to kill the odor a layer of earth was spread over the surface and the procedure continued. Some pits contained four or five such layers. A number of pits contained stone hearths which were formed by placing cobbles and boulders over the surface of the layers of earth.
These village sites all contained pits of varying sizes. Those in The Old Field site varied between two to ten feet in diameter and two and one-half to six feet in depth. During use the pit was gradually filled with oyster shells, bones, charcoal and other refuse
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THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF LONG ISLAND
material and a new pit was put into use. A few were filled with clean oyster shells and two held shells of the knobbed whelk. These had been punctured, through which holes the meat was obtained.
The stone objects exhibit good craftsmanship in working them and they are numerous. The arrow points and other chipped objects are principally of quartz pebbles and boulders from the beaches and many are fine examples of the chipping art. Most are of the straight stem and the triangular type but all forms are represented. The barb is relatively rare. Many points are of varied colored quartz. Many, of different varieties of stone, likely were obtained by barter with other tribes. Paint stones, not the so-called cups, are numerous. They are of hematite and limonite, with fewer black ones of graphite. Indian artifacts have come to the surface in dredging operations con- ducted by oyster boats in Gardiner's and Peconic bays, among which are two grooved axes, the larger one weighing 11 pounds, an adz, a cyclindrical pestle, net sinkers and various other objects. The larger axe was at a depth of 50 feet.
Artifacts of bone and antler are mostly of good execution. Fish hooks, harpoons, awls and needles prevail. Beads of bone and perforated vertebrae and other items occur. One fish hook is out- standing for its comparative size and fine finish. The length is 31/4 inches and the diameter 1/8 inch for its entire length. Harpoons are equipped with long deep barbs on one side. The type with barbs on each side is not present. Arrow points of bone and antler occur in the pits.
Objects of shell are not numerous. A number of spoons and cups made from the carapace of the turtle have been recovered and also a few plastrons, with numerous drilled holes, possibly used as game devices or as rattles. Sea shells abound throughout, but the aborigines seem not to have made use of them to any extent in forming their artifacts. One knobbed pendant made from the thick portion of round clam shell was found on the surface.
Indian burials are occasionally encountered in the feast pits on village sites on the North Fork. Twelve were uncovered in The Old Field, seven in pits and five in a mass burial. Fifteen were found on the Emerson site. Five were exposed on the Founders Landing site and others existed on various sites. Two clay pipes, one harpoon of antler, two pendants of stone, one of long clam shell and a fragmentary needle made from the spine of a sting-ray comprised the worked material from these pit burials. It is suggested that these interments were made when the ground was frozen and other graves could not be dug. In one burial the head rested upon two skimmer clam shells.
Sixty-five years ago two small pottery vessels were taken from an Indian cemetery in Southold. Two ossuaries were uncovered, one at Orient and one at Aquebogue, each containing ten burials, which had been thrown in promiscuously. There were no accompanying materials. In the pit burials there appeared to be no ceremonial interments. the bodies having been placed without regard to position. Approximately one-half were in a flexed position and others in various
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
positions. Dog burials occur both in village sites and nearby. Usually the skull is missing, but two complete skeletons have been uncovered.
On the shores of the creeks on the North Fork and at Three Mile Harbor there are found sections of large tree trunks which have been hollowed out and sunk in the sand to form the walls of springs. Those at Three Mile Harbor have been identified as of cherry and came probably from Gardiners Island.
Five caches of implements have been uncovered on the North Fork. No. 1 at Southold, consisted of 27 yellow jasper points in various stages of manufacture, varying from complete implements to flakes ready for chipping to a finish. In the center, on the bottom, was a fine blade of yellowish jasper measuring 7 inches long, 3 inches in width and the thickness was 3/8 inches.
Uncovered when cultivating a garden, at South Harbor in Southold, No. 2 comprised 52 large blades of chert, varying in length from 3 to 61/2 inches with a thickness averaging 1/4 inch. Many were very well finished. This cache came to light when a hole was dug in which to bury waste tin cans.
No. 3 was exposed when high tides washed away the bluff at Mattituck. It was first discovered by young boys who appropriated a few, but it is believed all were recovered. 26 large jasper blades were contained in this cache.
No. 4 was uncovered at Mattituck. It contained five roller pestles, four of which were destroyed by boys. One of steatite containing the head of a beaver was saved.
No. 5 was exposed at Southold. Two roller pestles rested on the yellow subsoil beneath the surface of a lawn, not far from a large village site. They were lying in close proximity at a depth of 16 inches and were 12 inches in length.
The aboriginal people in this area were adepts in working clay and stone and many artifacts of bone display fine taste in forming them. The pottery is of excellent quality and is always tempered with crushed shell or rarely with crushed sand. It is well fired and usually bears decoration about the neck and rim. Large vessels predominate.
The technique employed in forming a vessel was first to form a nucleus at the bottom and place successive layers of clay, working- around the walls of the vessel. These layers were flattened and were from 2 to 4 inches in length and approximately 11/4 inches in width. After placing in position they were amalgamated with the layer below. The interior was finished by trailing a scallop or mussel shell over the surface. The exterior, from the shoulder down, was scarified with the same variety of shells or, in a few instances, probably, by the frayed end of a stick of wood.
The concepts of the potter were applied with skill and the decora- tion applied by trailing or impressing with a tool made from a section of mussel or scallop shell. Occasionaly the embellishment was accomplished by the punctate method, with the finger nail or by impressing a small meshed net or twisted cord into the fresh clay. Vessels quite frequently exhibit woven fabric markings entirely over the exterior surface. These vessels are not otherwise decorated.
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THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF LONG ISLAND
Decoration made by hitching the tool along the surface occurs quite frequently. Capacity of vessels varies from 1/12 pint to 32 quarts, the larger sizes predominating. The true incision technique is nonexistent.
From a large amount of material and data at hand we may picture a typical clay vessel of the New York Algonquian coastal provenience. It would appear symmetrical in outline and bear decora- tion applied by trailing or hitching a tool of shell over the surface, between the rim and the shoulder. The neck would be constricted
Port Washington and Cow Bay From Mill Pond Road, about 1875
and the rim everted or flaring, bearing decorative markings on the top of the flattened surface and on the neck from the rim down to shoulder. The vessel would be built up by the layer method, the walls worked down comparatively thin and scarified over the lower portion with a tool of shell. The body would gradually taper to a conoidal base. The interior would show no decoration, but marks of the finishing tool would be quite prominent. On the upper surface of the exterior the color would be more or less a mottled reddish brown and black, fading to pale reddish brown on the lower portion and bottom. Though the vessels vary in size the average is approxi- mately 11 inches in height and 10 inches in diameter. The firing resulted in making a product medium hard. Crushed shell was the tempering material.
At Orient is a large site which yielded many objects of pottery, bone and stone. From this site was taken an unfinished vessel of clay. There is a step of interruption in process of formation of the vessel, showing where the layer of clay should have been placed to complete the vessel. The upper portion of the vessel has not been completed.
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Another was a large sherd which has been amalgamated on the interior, but the layers on the outside are plainly shown. The third is a nucleus from which a vessel was formed. Other sites were explored at Orient, Hashamomock, Southold village, Cutchogue, Matti- tuck, Aquebogue and Jamesport, from which much interesting material was recovered.
THE ORIENT FOCUS
During the past nine years four unique sites have been excavated, three on the North Fork and one on the South Fork. Great interest was manifested in the work by those who participated in their exploration. Each site consisted of a large pit in which objects had been cached and then, apparently, the people abandoned them. Two sites were at Orient, one on Shinnecock Hills and one at Jamesport. A description of the latter will suffice for the others as all were of the same culture and yielded like material.
The pit at Jamesport, roughly oval, measured in length 39 feet, the width 27 feet and the maximum depth 8 feet 6 inches. On the northeast there was an extension 22 by 12 feet and 22 inches in depth. The larger pit held 31 caches, 9 deposits of red pigment of approxi- mately one bushel each, 7 hearths, 3 deposits of ash and there were 11 deposits of steatite vessels. There were two inclosures of stone. The hearths held fine gray ash and small fragments of bone, some of which have been identified as human. The character of these deposits indicates that they were brought in and deposited on the hearths, rather than that a cremation took place there. The caches contained finely rubbed paint stones of hematite and graphite, celts, crude humpback adzes, grooved axes, arrow points, knives or spears, drills, worked paint cups, gorgets and various other objects, including steatite vessels.
Cache 24 held 8 points and 1 scaper of white quartz and true fishtail type. Also there was one fragmentary point of flint, type indeterminate. These were lying bunched, together with the points to the south. Nine inches above was a deposit of pyrites which had disintegrated and seeped downward through the deposit of points, staining them a permanent bright yellow. Pyrites were found in all caches. A large steatite vessel was taken from a depth of 8 feet 6 inches, the greatest depth reached in excavation. The largest vessel, with a capacity of 27 quarts is 1/2 inch in thickness throughout and, as in the other vessels, it is a good example of working with steatite. Most of the chipped and polished objects are of fine to good execution, but the humpback adzes and celts are very crude.
The chief characteristics of these deposit sites are the inclusion of vessels of steatite and the true fishtail type of chipped implement. These are not known to exist in other areas of this country, but they occur here in quantity, in the deposits. The impression prevails that the people who dug the large deposit pits and cached their material therein were transients, as no village or camp sites of similar culture are known. The only surface finds analogous to the material which these mysterious people cached in the deposit pits consist of a few fishtail points and odd fragments of steatite. Among approxi- mately 12,000 points there are 75 of this type.
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THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF LONG ISLAND
If a village site pertaining to this culture should be discovered and thoroughly explored, it would doubtless clarify many of the problems connected with these deposits. Due to the absence of village or camp sites and the paucity of surface finds, one is forced to the conclusion that the localities were visited temporarily, the pits excavated, the material cached, ceremonial rites performed, the excava- tion filled and the people moved on to locations unknown on the surface at present. No evidence of a permanent occupancy exists, as traces of fire, the presence of food bones, sherds, shellfish remains or other significant manifestations. A total of 495 worked objects were recovered from this deposit. Included there are parts of 45 separate steatite vessels, 15 of which have been restored. Five in a whole condition were included.
Until further research, the culture of these four deposit sites has been tentatively assigned to a pre-pottery-making people. This assumption seems borne out by the fact that but a few small frag- ments of pottery were found in the first three sites and by the recovery at Jamesport of practically the entire circumference of the rim and the upper part of the body of a clay vessel with a lug or handle placed on either side of the vessel, a prevailing feature of the steatite vessels which were found in the deposits. These lugs are entirely unknown on aboriginal Long Island pottery and apparently indicate a transition from the forming of steatite vessels to that of fabricating them of clay. Ritchie tentatively assigns these deposits to the Orient foci of the early coastal aspect, northeastern phase of the woodland pattern for eastern Long Island.
THE SOUTH FORK
Twenty sites have been explored by Long Island Chapter on the South Fork of Long Island. At Three Mile Harbor the largest amount of material found in this section was uncovered. This was of the same type as that found on the North Fork, excepting skimmer clam shells which do not occur in the latter section. Tobacco pipes and net sinkers are not numerous. At Noyac were found turtle shell cups, mortars, pottery, numerous artifacts of bone and other material usually pertaining to these sites. The longest bone awl so far found measures 71/2 inches.
This site yielded a cache of antler chipping tools and other artifacts which are believed to be unique on Long Island. Included were 4 chipping tools of antler and 1 of bone, a harpoon of antler, 1 awl of bone and 1 bone knife. These were all bundled and pointed southwest. Immediately adjacent were a fragmentary pottery vessel, a long roller pestle and a celt. At Montauk was a site containing a large amount of sturgeon scales and bones. A pit at Westhampton Beachı was filled with skimmer clam shells.
A burial was uncovered at the Jessups Neck site. It was not a mass burial. At Three Mile Harbor there was a large pit containing five burials, two adults, two infants and a bundle of long bones. Numerous artifacts have come to light throughout this section, among which is a pipe of steatite. The hole through the stem has been
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
continued on through the bottom of the bowl and a steatite plug closes the hole at the bowl end.
Some years since a staff member of the Museum of the American Indian and the writer excavated an historic cemetery at Pantigo, Easthampton. The material recovered included white trade articles, pewter ware, brass kettles and other trade material. A glass bottle contained the name of Wobetum. Thirty-eight burials were uncovered. Some years since white contact burials were uncovered at East Moriches. Among the material contained was a string of wampum and trade beads. At Westhampton Beach there was a deposit of large points, beautifully chipped, an earthen vessel, a superb example of grooved axe, wampum, flat disc beads of bone and a fine large celt. The grooved axe shows fine flecking over the entire surface, including the bit. The other exhibits a fine degree of skill in chipping. The entire material, except the wampum, is foreign to Long Island and may represent a ceremonial occasion.
Some years since a steam shovel accidentally disturbed an historic burial at Montauk and exposed a skeleton, most of which was destroyed. From the grave were recovered parts of brass kettles, 75 long shell beads, 25 so-called long shell beads of L shape, and 5,000 wampum beads, several of which were made of glass. Wampum occurs in historic, but none occurs in pre-contact burials. Other wampum has been found at East Moriches. A burial site was found at Sag Harbor, from which interesting material was obtained. The pottery, though not as plentiful as on the North Fork, is of the same general character and type.
THE WESTERN SECTION
It is believed that no extensive archaeological investigations of a scientific and detailed character have been carried out on the western part of the island. Sites have been examined at Matinnecock and Dosoris Pond by Harrington and Parker. An earthern vessel was exposed at Port Washington and other sites were Baker Hill, Aqueduct, North Beach, Whitestone and Grantville by Carlisle L. Smith. A large historic site was located at Fort Neck, Massapequa, but it was dug over by numerous persons and it is believed that no accurate records were kept. A reputed Indian fort is nearby. It is reported that a cache of points was unearthed at Woodside.
Many years ago a skeleton was exposed near Nissequogue in one arm of which an arrow point was embedded in the bone. Two Indian copper axes were dredged from a creek at Amityville and numerous surface finds have been made in this section. Several historic Indian cemeteries are known to have been excavated in various localities. At Wading River a collection of surface finds has been gathered. This material was gathered in the immediate vicinity of a village site. The western section was more accessible to the Iroquois and their influence on the inhabitants is shown by their artifacts, especially in ceramics.
Comparatively few artifacts are found in the central section of the island. It should be stated here that our Chapter has made no extensive investigation of the western sections of Long Island.
CHAPTER III
Discoveries and Early Settlement
C APTAIN HENRY HUDSON, an English navigator sailing under the flag of the Netherlands for Dutch interests, is generally credited with the discovery of Long Island in the year 1609. There are sources, however, which grant this distinction to one Giovanni da Verrazano (spelled also Verrazzano), a Florentine explorer employed by the French. Among these sources, which place Verrazano's dis- covery in 1524, is the University of the State of New York which in 1916, recognizing the controversy which had long existed among historians, issued a pamphlet entitled "Verrazano's Voyage Along the Atlantic Coast of North America, 1524".
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