CHAPTER THREE
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
The environmental context of a given area, including its geology, topography, hydrology, and natural
resources, plays a significant role in determining the nature of human activity that took place within it
over time. This chapter presents an overview of the environmental history of southern New England
with specific reference to the Urban Ring project area in the Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea,
Everett, Medford, and Somerville areas, proceeding from macro-level considerations, such as the effects
of glacial activity in the Northeast, to site-specific conditions.
Geomorphology and Geology
The Urban Ring project area is situated
within the New England Coastal Lowland
physiographic region of southern New
England, within the major geologic
formation known as the Boston Basin
(Figure 3-1 )(Fenneman 1938). The Boston
Basin is a downfaulted body of sedimentary
and volcanic rock flanked to the north, south,
and west by granitic rock. This bedrock
configuration resulted in a lowland basin
surrounded by a range of hills. The Boston
Basin is bounded to the north by the
Middlesex Fells and to the south by the
Neponset River (Billings 1976; Kaye 1976).
The original topography ofthe Boston Basin
is largely the result of glacial activity (Kaye
1976). Successive advances and retreats of
ice sheets eroded the softer bedrock of the
basin and dropped a series of outwash
deposits. The retreat of the Wisconsin
glaciation, roughly 14,000 years ago,
deposited a thick sedimentary blanket oftill,
outwash sands and gravels, and glaciomarine
clays and silts, some of which formed
prominent drumlins across the landscape.
Drumlins are defined as smooth elliptical
hills composed of gravels that are generally
30
PAL Report No. 1396.01
NEW
PHYSIOGRAPHIC
SOIL
ENGLAND
REGIONS AND MAJOR
GROUPS
I
gro,OO water pod.ol
~
qrey-brown podlal
~
IlthosOl1 (hWTld)
'"
...J
hoM colored podlal
II)
brown poozol
o
____
o
boundary ot physiographic section
50
100
I50km
:U._U.
o
50
100m!
PAl. 199J
Figure 3-1. Physiographic zones of New England showing
the approximate location of the Urban Ring Corridor
(source: Fenneman 1938).
Environmental Context
elongated in shape with the long axis considered indicative of the direction of ice flow. Within the
Boston Basin, however, drumlin shape varies greatly. This along with other evidence indicates that
glacial ice flowed into the area from various directions, ranging from the southwest to the east (Kaye
1976).
Distinct drumlins rise 100-200 feet above the plain to the west before dropping to sea level to the east,
where the surviving drumlins and moraines remain slightly above sea level to form the Boston Harbor
Islands. Many of the drumlins were leveled for materials to fill low-lying areas, but some are still
visible throughout the Basin today as low rounded hills including Beacon, Breeds, and Bunker hills in
Boston and Charlestown.
The bedrock underlying the project is part of the Milford-Dedham Tectonic Zone, a lithotectonic
subdivision consisting of upper Proterozoic quartzite, volcanic, and plutonic rocks extending across
the Boston region, southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and into northern Rhode Island (Zen et al.
1983). The bedrock is typically oriented from the southwest to the northeast, following the tectonic
plate. A secondary system of north-south faults enabled watercourses such as the Malden, Mystic, and
Aberjona rivers to flow out of the Middlesex Fells. The granites, gneisses, dolomites, and felsites are
visible in exposed ledges in the Blue Hills and the Middlesex Fells. In different areas, these rocks may
be intruded by granites, metamorphosed to gneiss, or overlain and cut by rocks from other zones.
Two major rock classifications are recorded for the Boston area: Cambridge and Braintree Argillite and
the Roxbury Conglomerate. The Cambridge and Braintree Argillite underlies most of the Boston area,
Chelsea, and Everett and consists of gray argillite, some quartzite, and small amounts of sandstone and
conglomerate deeply buried under glacial outwash deposits (Clapp 1902). The argillite was an important
lithic raw material for the manufacture of chipped-stone tools by pre-contact period Native American
populations in the northern Boston Basin and several river drainages to the west. During the post­
contact period the argillite along with slate was used for building material (foundation stone, roofmg
slate) and gravestones. Quarries operated during the Colonial Period (1675-1775) were located nearby
in Medford and Somerville (MHC 1981 d). Between the Boston Basin and the Blue Hills is the Roxbury
Conglomerate called "puddingstone." Though difficult to quarry, the Roxbury Conglomerate was used
as a building material.
Glaciation also influenced the coastline and drainages in the Boston Area. Rising sea levels, local
topography, and crustal rebound produced a flooded landscape. The retreat of the glacier also created
a network of swamps and kettle ponds, while the rising sea levels turned formerly freshwater rivers into
wide tidal estuaries such as the lower Charles and Mystic rivers.
Hydrology
The Urban Ring project area is located within the Charles and Mystic river drainages (Figure 3-2). The
project area lies primarily within the Charles River watershed. Beginning in Hopkinton, the Charles
River meanders for 80 miles and drains 308 square miles in 35 municipalities before emptying into
Boston Harbor (CRWA 2007). The river is generally divided into three subregions: the rural upper
basin, the suburban lakes or middle region, and the urban lower region. The project area is within the
lower basin, where the Charles River converges with another major watershed, the Mystic River at the
PAL Report No. 1396.01
31
Chapter Three
VERl\IO:'iT
r"-" "-'----,,"--'-'1'----._-_.
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Deerfield
),.)
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drainage hasin
'nshun
DRANAGE BASIi'\S OF MASSACHUSETTS
.0
C~~1~0 iiiiiiiiil2!!0~!J30~~-t0.!
mi
Figure 3-2. Map of drainage basins of Massachusetts showing the approximate location of the Urban
Ring Corridor.
western portion of Boston Harbor. The urban lower basin is fOlmed by the tidal estuary of the Charles,
and extends 8 miles upstream from Boston Harbor to Watertown Square. This section of river was
subject to the ebb and flow of the tides until the completion of the Charles River Dam near the harbor
in the early 1900s. Almost the entire length of the estuary was characterized by salt marshes until the
early post-contact period.
The Mystic River drains Everett, Chelsea, Medford and parts of Somerville of the project area. The
Mystic River has a total length of 17 miles and meanders northwest to southeast. The headwaters ofthe
system begin in Reading and form the Abeljona River, which flows into the Upper Mystic Lake in
Winchester. The Mystic River flows from the Lower Mystic Lake through Arlington, Medford,
Somerville, Everett, Charlestown, Chelsea, and East Boston before emptying into Boston Harbor (MRWA
2007). The Mystic River drains approximately 66 square miles. Tributary streams of the Mystic River
include Little River/Alewife Brook and Mill Brook. The Little River flows out of Little Pond in an
east/southeast direction, becoming Alewife Brook at the Belmont/Arlington town line. Alewife Brook
flows north for a distance of about 2 miles before joining the Mystic River. In the post-contact period
prior to construction of dams and other obstructions, the confluence of Alewife Brook and the Mystic
River was at the upper limits of tidallestuarine conditions in the Mystic drainage.
32
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Environmental Context
Soils
The generalized surficial geology map of the Boston area identifies three general soil types: glacial
tills; sand gravels overlying coastal plain deposits; and silt, sand, clay, and organic materials (Figure 3­
3). The more specific soil classifications indicate that the Urban Ring occupies soils classified as
Udorthents-Urban Lands. These are very deep, nearly level to moderately steep, loamy and sandy soils
that have been altered.
The classification of urban land is so large that several subclasses are defined. Most of the project
corridor occupies urban lands built upon wet substratum. These are typically areas that, prior to the
1700s, were small islands surrounded by bays, estuaries, tidal marshes, river floodplains, harbors, and
swamp.
The creations of made lands through cutting down of hills and filling low-lying areas is the most
dominant force resulting in the current topography of the Boston area. Substantial portions of Boston
are composed of landfill, including major sections of East Boston, South Boston, and Cambridge.
Landfill operations have occurred through much ofthe history of Boston and are a tangible result ofthe
historical development (Figure 3-4). Initial episodes of fill consisting of rubbish were small-scale
operations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Later, large-scale operations to create residential
areas occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and often incorporated "clean fill" imported
from outside the area.
Description of Communities within the Project Corridor
Boston
The City of Boston is located along the eastern shore of Massachusetts.. It is a sprawling, irregularly
shaped city, bordered by many smaller towns. On the north, Boston is flanked by Watertown, Cambridge,
Somerville, Everett, Revere, and Chelsea. To the east of Boston is the Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast
the city is bordered by Quincy and Milton, and on the southwest by Dedham and Needham. On the
west, Boston borders Newton and Brookline. Most of the western boundary of Boston is shared with
Brookline, of which the city surrounds almost 75 percent. The topography of the city is generally flat,·
with only a few scattered hills rising above 100 feet and none more than 300 feet above sea level. Much
of the present land of the city consists of tidal flats that have been filled over the past four hundred
years. Three of the highest elevations in the city were cut down over the same period, providing some
of the material for these fills. The city is drained by the stream systems of the Neponset River at its
southern border, the Muddy River on its west, and by the Charles River to the north (MHC 1981a).
AUston
The neighborhood of Allston in Boston was originally part of the separate town of North Brighton. It
comprises the 4 square mile eastern portion ofAllston/Brighton, which occupies the northwest lobe of
the City of Boston between the town of Brookline to the south and the wide curve of the Charles River
to the north and northeast. The majority of the neighborhood lands that now occupy Allston/Brighton
were originally dominated by tidal estuary marshlands. The tidal estuary setting of the area existed
PAL Report No. 1396.01
33
Chapter Three
N
ESSEX
0
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7.,.;-,
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+ - 42'20'
[J-Qt
Massachusetts
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Bay
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/
-42'10'
j
70'50'
LEGEND
Scale 1: 253,440
0
2
3
1
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I
0
4
I, I
I
1
4 Miles
I
I
8 Km
I
I
~
~
~
~
Glacial till.
Sand and Gravel.
Sill, sand, clay and organic material.
Glacial till overlying Coastal Plain deposits.
Sand and gravel overlying Coastal Plain deposits.
Figure 3-3. Generalized surficial geology map, Norfolk and Suffolk Counties, Massachusetts showing
the approximate location of the Urban Ring Corridor.
34
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Environmental Context
N
o
t
1/2 Mile
!
Land filled to
1990's shoreline
1600's Marsh
Figure 3-4. Graphic depiction of fill episodes around Boston with the approximate location of the Urban
Ring Corridor (source: Muir 2000).
well into the nineteenth century and filling has been ongoing through the twentieth and early twenty
first century, primarily as a result of industrial developments and Harvard University's business school
and athletic facilities.
Charlestown
Charlestown is located on a peninsula in the northernmost pmi of Boston, where it extends from the
west shore into Boston Harbor. It is bounded on the north by the Mystic River, on the east by Boston
Harbor and the Charles River, on the south by the Charles River and Cambridge, and on the west by
Somerville. The original land area of the peninsula was approximately 425 acres, to which an additional
PAL Repol't No. 1396.01
35
Chapter Three
400 acres were added by 1910 through filling. The dominant topographic features of the peninsula are
two drumlins: Breeds Hill on the east end and Bunker Hill (elevation 113 feet) on the west. With the
exceptions of the two rivers that make up its borders, Charlestown has no other inland streams or
bodies of water (MHC 1980c).
Dorchester
The neighborhood of Dorchester is located to the south of Boston Proper, south of Roxbury and with
Dorchester Bay to its east. Originally settled as an independent town, Dorchester was annexed in
sections by Boston during the nineteenth century, with the final annexation in 1870. Its 9.7 square
miles of area rise gradually from the east coastal flats to heights of between 50 and 100 feet near
Dorchester Center. The highest elevation in the neighborhood is Wellington Hill (approximately 170
feet) one of approximately 15 drumlins that rise above the generally flat plain. The Neponset River,
which forms the southern boundary of Dorchester, is the drainage basin for the area (MHC 1980b).
East Boston
The community of East Boston is made up of five former islands located at the confluence of the
Mystic and Charles rivers. Noddles Island, the primary island of the settlement, is one-third of a mile
due northeast of Boston Proper, and consisted of 666 acres of upland and marsh at the time of its
settlement, with three large hills. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, the tidal flat surrounding
the five islands was filled with material excavated from the three hills (Camp, Smith, and Eagle) on the
island. The fill process, which continued into the twentieth century, added a land mass of more than
2,000 acres to the 666 of Noddles Island and 785 of Hog (Breed's) Island, and enveloped Governor's,
Apple, and Bird islands (MHC 1980a).
Roxbury
The community of Roxbury is located to the south of Boston Proper, at the base of the neck of land
upon which the city was originally built. The topography of Roxbury is generally sloping, rising from
east to west, up to a height of200 feet above sea level. A prominent ridge of drumlins is located in the
nOliheast part of Roxbury, while the highest elevation is Bellevue Hill, at 370 feet. Roxbury is drained
by four brooks, all of which empty into the Charles River (MHC 1981 b).
Brookline
The town of Brookline is located in the nOlihern portion of Norfolk County, Massachusetts. It
encompasses an area of approximately 6.2 square miles in the Charles River Watershed. The town is
bounded by Boston on the north, east, and south, and by Newton on the west and north. Brookline was
originally bounded by the towns of Roxbury (now in Boston) and Cambridge (now Newton). Much of
the southern part of the town, which is primarily a plateau, drains into the upper Charles River via Saw
Mill Brook. The northern areas are dominated by a row of prominent drumlins: Corey, Aspinwall,
Fisher, and Single Tree hills, running from north to south. The Muddy River is Brookline's principal
stream, and forms pmi of the town's eastern boundm)' with the neighborhood of Roxbury. It is fed by
36
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Environmental Context
both the Village and Tannery brooks. The Brookline Reservoir, the town's largest body of water, was
built by the city of Boston in the 1840s (MHC 1980g).
Cambridge
The City of Cambridge contains 6.2 square miles of heavily developed land on the west side of Boston.
It is bordered on the west by Belmont and Arlington and on the north by Somerville. The eastern border
runs down the center of the Charles River, with Boston on the east bank. The Charles River continues
southwest to form Cambridge's southeastern boundary, before turning south again at the beginning of
Cambridge's southwestern border with Watertown. The city is primarily flat, with low hills in the
western portion terminating at MountAuburn,just over the city line in Wateliown. West of these hills,
the land drains into the Mystic River, to the north, predominantly by way of Alewife Brook, while the
eastem portion of the city drains into the Charles River, to the south. In the western part of the city, the
dominant water feature is the kettle hole known as Fresh Pond. A significant amount of low-lying salt
marsh along the Charles River has been filled to create what, in the nineteenth century, became largely
industrial land along the riverbank (MHC n.d.)
Chelsea
The City of Chelsea occupies 1.86 square miles on a peninsula formed by the Mystic and Charles rivers
and Mill Creek. It is bordered on the nOlih by Revere; on the east by the Chelsea River, which separates
it from Revere and East Boston; on the south by East Boston and Charlestown; and on the west by
Everett. The city was formerly surrounded by marshes that were divided by several small streams.
From the salt marshes, the surface of the town rises to four considerable drumlins that dominate the
topography: Mts. Washington and Bellingham, Powder Hom Hill (230 feet), and Naval Hospital Hill.
The western slope of Chelsea drains into the Island End River, a small tributary of the Mystic, while the
rest of the city is drained by the Chelsea River (MHC 1980d)
Everett
The City of Everett is located to the north of Boston Proper and west of Chelsea. It is bounded on the
south by the Mystic River, on the west by the Malden River, on the north by Malden, and on the east by
Chelsea and Revere. The 3.75 square miles of the city are primarily flat and below 50 feet in elevation,
with three drumlins, Mount Washington (175 feet), and Corbett and Belmont hills rising in the nOliheast
part of the city. Everett has a large amount of residential architecture, with its industrial sector running
along most ofthe city's shoreline ofthe Mystic and Malden rivers. The town was originally established
as Mystic Side in 1629. In 1730, after existing as a pali of Malden for a number of years, South Malden
parish was established as an independent entity. This status was lost during the Revolutionary War, and
it would be 1870 before Everett would regain its status as a town, and 1892 before it would become a
city (MHC 1981c).
Medford
The City of Medford consists of approximately 8.6 square miles of densely developed land located
approximately 5 miles northwest of Boston. The city is bordered on the north by Winchester and
PAL Report No. 1396.01
37
Chapter Three
Stoneham, on the east by Malden, Everett and the Malden River, on the south by Somerville, and on the
west by Arlington and the Upper and Lower Mystic lakes. The Mystic River runs through the center of
the city and is the primary drainage for the city. Much of the northern section of the city consists of the
Middlesex Fells Reservation (MHC 1981d).
Somerville
The City of Somerville consists of approximately 4.1 square miles of densely developed land located to
the northwest of Boston. The city is bordered on the north by Medford and the Mystic River, on the east
by the Mystic River and Charlestown, on the south by Cambridge, and on the west by Arlington. The
topography of Somerville is generally flat, with the high points amid a cluster ofdrumlins located in the
eastern half of the town. Winter and Spring hills rise to heights of 42 and 39 meters, respectively, with
Prospect Hill, to the southeast, reaching 30 m. Northeast ofthe two higher hills, the land drains into the
Mystic River, while the southwest areas once drained into the now-extinct Miller's Creek. Alewife
Brook, flowing nOlih, makes up the boundary between Somerville and Arlington (MHC 1980e).
38
PAL Report No. 1396.01
CHAPTER FOUR
PRE-CONTACT AND CONTACT PERIOD CULTURAL CONTEXT
An understanding of regional long-term human settlement and subsistence practices is critical to
understanding those same issues within a given project area. The Charles and Mystic river drainages,
with their numerous tributaries, lakes, and wetlands, have been a focal point for human occupation.
This chapter provides an overview of the pre-contact period Native American history of southern New
England generally, and the Urban Ring COlTidor area specifically. This review is by no means exhaustive,
but provides a framework within which to predict and interpret pre-contact period archaeological
resources identified within the project area. The infOlmation for this context has been drawn from the
results of professional CRM surveys, through a review of state site files at the MHC, pre-contact and
contact period cultural histories, site-specific histories, and the collections ofavocational archaeologists.
Archaeological Research in the Charles River Basin
Early studies of the Charles River Basin emerged in the 1860s amidst the antiquarian movement of
museum scholars and boosters. By the tum ofthe century, Harvard University's Peabody Museum was
supporting numerous salvage excavations along the Charles River estuary in Boston. Investigations by
nineteenth-century museum directors Jeffries Wyman and Frederick Putnan1 identified several large
sites along the estuary and set the stage for later studies by Charles Willoughby in the 1930s.
In 1939, Dr. Maurice Robbins of Mansfield, Massachusetts founded the MAS, effectively drawing the
interests of artifact collectors and professionals toward a common goal. During the initial years, MAS
chapters formed across southeastern and eastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and Nantucket,
and archaeological excavations went forward. In 1940, MAS organized a statewide inventory ofknown
sites and resulted in the recognition of archaeological sites and collectors in the towns of Holliston
(Lawrence Gahan), Medfield (Elwyn Chick), Millis (Frank Porter), Franklin (Ralph Hoar, Albert
Levasseur), and Milford (Stanley Roop).
One of the most significant sites identified during tlus period was in the town of Milford on the banks
of the Mill River. Originally documented in the early twentieth century by C.C. Willoughby, and
inventoried in 1940, MAS members conducted extensive excavations there in the early 1960s (Roop
1963 :21-25). Much of the published information from these amateur efforts remained focused on
either the functional interpretation of tools and tool assemblages, or on determining their relative
chronologies.
The development and subsequent implementation of cultural resource legislation in the late 1960s and
tlu'oughout the 1970s coincided with a rapid expansion of avocational archaeology. Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 recognized the significance of archaeological resources,
PAL Report No. 1396.01
39
Chapter Four
and provided a mechanism to insure that federal undertakings take into consideration their effects on
these properties (36 CFR 800).
In 1967, Dr. Dena Dincauze conducted the first comprehensive survey ofpre-contact sites in the Charles
River basin as part of a larger watershed study initiated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northeast
Region. The goals of the project were elemental: "... to broaden the basis of knowledge about the
Indian occupation and the archaeological potential of eastern Massachusetts" (Dincauze 1968b:iii).
Sources of information consulted included geologicalpublications, town histories, nineteenth-century
survey maps, late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century anthropological literature, site data compiled by
the MAS, museum collections, local historical society collections, and private collections.
Dincauze's survey resulted in several significant conclusions and a set of generalized observations
about pre-contact site patterning within the boundaries of the Charles River basin. From the available
site information, she concluded that site size correlated with the size of the adjacent expanse of fresh
water. Specifically, most larger, multicomponent sites were situated on the margins of freshwater lakes
or ponds or at fall locations on the Charles upstream from Populatic Pond in Medway. This pattern was
considered directly related to the availability of large quantities of fish, since fresh water was a
"dispensable luxury" to the Native Americans living in this area (Dincauze 1968b:30). Other notable
correlates between site frequency and specific environmental conditions included a preference for well­
drained light gravel or sandy soils, and to a lesser degree, southern exposures.
Subsequent to the 1967 survey, Dincauze proposed a settlement model exclusive to the Charles River
estuary. Using sea-level data, she was able to cOlTelate the westward, upriver migration ofthe intertidal
zone during the Holocene with pre-contact settlement (Dincauze 1973). The effects of sea-level rise on
interior sections of the Charles River were not considered in this study. Data gathered during the 1967
archaeological survey also resulted in a proposed technological sequence of ceramic manufacture for
the Charles River territOly. Although the study sample was very small and geographically limited,
Dincauze noted a regional parallel with a "marked preference for smoothed vessel bodies in the Charles
basin collections" (Dincauze 1975: 14).
In 1980 the MHC proposed a simplified pre-contact settlement model within the geographical scope of
its state boundaries (MHC 1980h). At the same time, for the purposes of long-range planning, they
initiated an inventory ofthe state's historic and archaeological resources. Nine study units were proposed,
each of which corresponded with a specific environmentally defmed region (Cape and the Islands,
Boston Basin, Eastern Massachusetts, etc.). Individual town reconnaissance repOlts were also prepared
by the MHC during this period.
In several ofthese early planning documents, the MHC adopted a culturallhistorical geography approach
to pose a conceptual framework for future CRM projects (MHC 1980h: 11). On a statewide scale, a
functional relationship was hypothesized between pre-contact use of lowland and upland areas, based
on previously studied Euro-American settlement patterns throughout the state. Core areas of cultural
and economic diversity were defined in the lowlands, with associated fringe areas in the uplands,
linked together by transpOltation corridors (MHC 1980h:27).
40
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
Pre-Contact Period
This section summarizes the available information about regional pre-contact Native American land
use. The discussion is segmented into temporal periods that are considered by archaeologists to mark
changes in social organization, settlement patterns, technology, and/or subsistence practices (Table 4­
1). Temporal assignments are based on radiocarbon dates derived from samples of organic materials
that have been collected in association with Native American artifacts. Identified archaeological sites
in the project vicinity are discussed within this framework to better understand Native American
settlement in the vicinity and to develop predictive statements about Native American cultural resources
within the project area.
PaleoIndian Period (12,500-10,000 B.P.)
The earliest evidence for human occupation of New England dates from the PaleoIndian Period. The
retreats of the Laurentide ice sheet and the Wisconsin glacier approximately 14,000 years ago resulted
in the moderation of climatic conditions. Tundra-like environmental conditions supported small, highly
mobile bands of PaleoIndian hunters. These bands covered large territories to exploit post-Pleistocene
resources such as megafauna, including mastodon, bison, elk, and caribou, medium and small game,
marine resources, and seasonally available flora (Dragoo 1976; Snow 1980). This specialized subsistence
model has its derivation from Midwestern PaleoIndian sites that clearly exhibit evidence for the
exploitation of these large animal species by humans. To date, there is no clear evidence, however, for
an association between large extinct animal species and PaleoIndian artifacts in southern New England
(Dincauze 1993; Odgen 1977).
Diagnostic artifacts temporally associated with the PaleoIndian Period include Clovis fluted and Eden­
like projectile points. Channel flakes are a diagnostic by-product of the production of these fluted
projectile points. Other stone tools associated with this period include scraping tools, gravers, and
drills. Many of the PaleoIndian tools recovered in the Northeast were formed from materials such as
chert and flint obtained outside the region. However, lithic material types from New England, such as
Saugus Jasper and Neponset Rhyolite, were also used for manufacture of stone tools by PaleoIndian
populations in the region (Gramly and Funk 1990; Ritchie 1994b). Many larger sites in the region
appear to have been either long-term or repeatedly used encampments (Robbins 1980). Smaller sites
consist of isolated projectile point finds, quarry workshops, habitation sites, kill-butchery sites, and
tool caches. PaleoIndian sites are frequently located on stable, well-drained, and elevated glacial or
early Holocene landforms as well as in river valleys and on the margins of glacial lake basins (Nicholas
1988).
The PaleoIndian Period is generally underrepresented in southern New England but several important
sites have been identified in Massachusetts. Two well-documented occupations include the
multicomponent encampments at the Bull Brook Site in Ipswich and PaleoIndian loci at the Neponset/
Wamsutta Site in Canton. The Bull Brook Site, dating to at least 9,000 B.P., covered several acres and
yielded thousands of artifacts including more than 175 fluted points, scrapers, and assorted stone tools
(Byers 1954; Grimes 1980; Grimes et al. 1984). Isolated finds of fluted PaleoIndian projectile points
have been documented from terraces overlooking the Charles, Connecticut, Mill, and Mystic rivers
(MHC 1981a).
PAL Report No. 1396.01
41
.j::>.
tv
Table 4-1. Native American Cultural Chronology for Southern New England.
n
::r­
~
'0
......
(1)
IDliNTlF/ED TI1/HI'ORAL
~
PERIOD
YEARS
Palcolndian
12,500-10,000 B.P.
(10,500-8000 1J.e.)
I
Early
Archaic
I
t--o
~
~
Cl
--:
.....
~
......
SUIJDIVU/ONS
CUUVIVlLASI'ECfS
• Eastern Clovis
• Plano
Exploitation of migratory game animals by highly mobile bands of hunter-gatherers with a specialized
lithic technology.
10,000-7500 H.P.
(8000-5500 H.C.)
• Bifurcate-Base
Point I\ssemblages
Few sites are known, possibly because of problems with archaeological recognition. This period represents
a transition from specialized hunting strategies to the beginnings of more generalized and adaptable
hunting and gathering, due in part to changing environmental circumstances.
Middle
Archaic
7500-5000 B.P.
(5500-3000 H.C.)
•
•
•
•
•
Regular harvesting of anadramous fish and various plant resources is combined with genera!.ized huntiJ1g.
Major sites are located at falls and rapids along over drainages. Ground-stone technology first utilized.
There is a reliance on local lithic materials for a variety of bifacial and unifacial tools.
Late
Archaic
5000-3000 B.P.
(3000-1000 H.C.)
• Brewerton
• Squibnocket
• Small Stemmed
Point Assemblage
lntensive hunting and gathering were the rule in diverse environments. Evidence for regularized shellfish
exploitation is first seen during tlus period. Abundant sites suggest increasing populations, with
specialized adaptations to particular resource zones. Notable differences between coastal and interior
assemblages arc seen.
Transitional
3600-2500 IJ.P.
(1600-500 H.e.)
•
•
•
•
Atlantic
Watertown
Orient
Coburn
Same economy as the earlier periods, but there may have been groups migrating into New England, or local
groups developing technologies strikingly different from those previously used. Trade in soapstone became
important. Evidence for complex mortuary rituals is frequently encountered.
Early
Woodland
3000-1600 IJ.P.
(1000 IJ.C.-.I.D. 300)
• Meadowood
• Lagoon
A scarcity of sites suggests population decline. Pottery was first made. Little is known of social organization
or economy, although evidence for complex mortuary rituals is present. lnfluences from the midwestern
Adena culture arc seen in some areas.
Middle
Woodland
1650-1000 IJ.P.
(A.D. 300-950)
• Fox Creek
• Jack's Reef
Economy focused on coastal resources. Horticulture may have appeared late in the period. Hunting and
gathering were still important. Population may have increased from the previous low in the Early
Woodland. Extensive interaction between groups throughout the Northeast is seen in the widespread
distribl;tion of exotic lithics and other materials.
Late
Woodland
1000-450 B.P.
(,I.D.950-1500)
• Levanna
Horticulture was established in some areas. Coastal areas seem to be preferred. Large groups sometimes
lived in fortified villages, and may have been organized in complicated political alliances. Some groups may
still have relied solely on hunting and gathering.
ProtoHistoric
and Contact
450-300 B.P.
(A.D. 1500-1650)
• Algonquian
Groups such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck were settled in the area. Political, social, and
economic organizations were relatively complex, and underwent rapid change during European
colonization.
2
Vv
\Q
9\
c::.
......
""t.
1
"­
I
2
Termed Phases or Complexes
Before Present
Neville
Stark
Merrimack
Otter Creek
Vosburg
'Tj
o
s=
""t
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
Within the northern Boston basin, a small PaleoIndian component, consisting of a fluted projectile
point, point prefOlms, and some other tools, has been located at the Saugus Quarry Site (Grimes et al.
1984). This site component, situated near an outcrop of high quality fine grained, red-pink rhyolite,
Saugus Jasper, is the earliest known occupation of this area. Other isolated finds of possible late
PaleoIndian Eden type projectile points have been reported from the Goat Acre Site in Arlington and
another farther north of Fresh Pond at Ossini's Garden in Wakefield. The lack of excavated PaleoIndian
sites in the greater Boston area makes it difficult to predict where these sites may be found. In general,
they are often on high ground adjacent to major rivers or marine estuaries. Changes in sea level in the
Boston area may have resulted in the submergence of many of these sites. To date there are no recorded
PaleoIndian sites in the City of Boston.
Early Archaic Period (10,000-7500 B.P.)
The Early Archaic Period is characterized by a gradually warnler and drier climate, referred to as the
Hypsithermal Period. This paleoenvironment was dominated by a mixed pine-hardwood forest and
would have made seasonally available food resources more predictable and abundant, allowing pre­
contact period populations to exploit a wide range ofterritories. Populations of megafauna began to be
replaced by smaller game such as deer and bear. The lithic technology ofthe Early Archaic reflects a
more diversified subsistence strategy, including beaked unifacial edge tools, cores, flakes, han1IDerstones,
milling slabs, and notched pebble sinkers, indicating an increased utilization ofplant and fish resources
(Robinson 1992). Corner-notched, stemmed, and bifurcate-based points serve as the diagnostic artifact
class for the period. Characteristic of both assemblage types is the predominance of expedient tools
made from local lithic sources.
Settlement strategies during this period remain somewhat speculative, but evidence from eastern
Massachusetts river drainage studies, such as Ritchie's review ofSudbury and Assabet drainages, indicate
that a complex multisite settlement system had been established by this period, with different site
locations indicating exploitation ofvaried resources and environmental settings (Johnson 1993; Ritchie
1984). Populations most likely increased during this period, although known sites are poorly represented
in the archaeological record. The nearly exclusive use of local stone for tool production also suggests
a more settled lifestyle.
Several Early Archaic sites have been reported from the greater Boston area in the Charles, Mystic, and
Neponset drainages (Dincauze 1974). Find spots of diagnostic bifurcate-based points from this time
period include materials from Goat Acre in Arlington, the Watertown Arsenal in Watertown, Ossini's
Garden and the Water Street Cluster in Wakefield, two locations in Cambridge, and Deer Island. Two
bifurcate-based projectile points were recovered from sites along Beaver Pond in Franklin in the upper
Charles River basin (Strauss 1990). Except for these projectile point finds, the artifact assemblages
associated with the Early Archaic Period are uncommon and little is known about the pre-contact
Native American lifeways at tIns time. It has been suggested that there is a greater occurrence of
artifacts and lithic debitage of non-local lithic materials, including chelis, at these early sites (Johnson
1993). As is the case with PaleoIndian sites, some Early Archaic sites may now be underwater (Dincauze
and Mulholland 1977).
PAL Report No. 1396.01
43
Chapter Four
Middle Archaic Period (7500-5000 B.P.)
The distribution and somewhat higher density of Middle Archaic Period sites indicates that a multisite
seasonal settlement system was firmly established by this time. Indications of a fairly intricate settlement
pat-tern are emerging from the distribution of Middle Archaic components in a variety of riverine and
upland environmental settings and they range in site size, function, and internal complexity. Included
are large base camps, which appear to have been used repeatedly over a number of generations, usually
located near riverine wetlands.
Sites from this period also appear to cluster around falls and rapids along major river drainages, where
the harvesting of anadromous fish and various flora resources was combined with generalized hunting
practices (Bunker 1992; Dincauze 1976; Doucette and Cross 1997; Maymon and Bolian 1992). The
seasonal pursuit of anadromous fish species may have developed in response to the development of
socioeconomic territories defmed by major river drainage basins (Dincauze and Mulholland 1977).
Climatic and biotic changes continued and deciduous forests of oak, beech, sugar maple, elm, ash,
hemlock, and white pine began to emerge. By this time, the present seasonal migratory patterns of
many bird and fish species had become established (Dincauze 1974) and important coastal estuaries
had developed (Barber 1979).
Neville, Neville-variant, and Stark stemmed projectile points, as well as semilunar knives and bifacial
prefOlms mark the Middle Archaic Period in southern New England (Dincauze and Mulholland 1977;
MHC 1984; Ritchie 1979). Ground-stone technology introduced a variety of tool types into the lithic
assemblage including net sinkers, plummets, grooved adzes, axes, gouges, whetstones, and atlatl weights
(Carlson 1964; Dincauze 1976; Fowler 1950). Excavations at Annasnappet Pond in Carver,
Massachusetts have conclusively linked the emergence of atlatl weights to this period (Cross 1999;
Doucette and Cross 1997). The presence of adzes, gouges, and axes suggests heavy woodworking and
possibly the appearance of dugout canoes.
A preference for locally available lithic raw materials for a variety ofbifacial and unifacial stone tools
is also evident at many sites. Local Westborough formation quartzite or mylonite and rhyolite or felsite
from sources in the Blue Hills and Charles-Neponset River drainage area were used for Neville points;
Stark points were primarily chipped from distinctly local lithic mate-rials such as quartzite, crystal tuff
and amphibolite schist or argillite from source areas in the Charles River drainage. The local quartzite,
mylonite, crystal tuff and amphibolite schist were quarried from bedrock outcrops located in upland
sections of the Sudbury/Assabet drainage (Ritchie 1979). For example, quartzite, available as riverine
and glacial cobbles in many parts of Massachusetts, were used for chipped-stone tools.
Middle Archaic sites are more common throughout the greater Boston area than those dating to the
Early Archaic. Sites from this period are known from Braintree, Hingham, Randolph, Weymouth, as
well as from numerous adjacent towns. Sites include collections from Spy Pond and the Goat Acre Site
on the Mystic River, the Wyman Falm Site on Alewife Brook in Arlington, the Watertown Arsenal,
Cedar Hill and the Old Perkins Estate in Wakefield, the Red Fox Site in West Roxbury and collections
from the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. A large site, probably established to exploit anadromous
fish runs, has been identified at Magazine Beach in Cambridge in a location that would have lain at the
head of the tide of the Charles River during the Middle Archaic (MHC site files).
44
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
Late Archaic Period (5000-3000 B.P.)
The Late Archaic Period was marked by a climatic shift to drier and slightly warmer conditions with a
significant decrease in precipitation. During this period, oak, pine, and beech reached their full extent,
and wetlands became more abundant along river margins. Wetland and estuarine areas appear to have
been used extensively based on site distribution. The increase in density of sites and artifacts from this
period in southem New England coincides with this climatic warming (Funk 1972). The archaeological
evidence demonstrates an increased use of shellfish and nuts, and the construction of fishweirs such as
the Boylston Street Fishweir in Boston. Perhaps in response to an increasingly resource-rich natural
environment, Late Archaic populations expanded and diversified.
The Late Archaic Period is comprised of three major cultural traditions: Laurentian, Small Stemmed,
and Susquehanna. The Laurentian tradition is the earliest phase of Late Archaic activity in the region.
Vosburg (MiddlelLate), Otter Creek (MiddlelLate), Brewerton (Middle/Late), and Broad Eared projectile
point types mark this tradition. These points are manufactured primarily from locally available materials
such as quartzite and rhyolite. Site distributions from the Laurentian tradition appear to be oriented to
the central uplands region. This has been interpreted as suggesting a primarily interior, riverine adaptation
(Dincauze 1974; Ritchie 1971).
Despite recent revisions about the diagnostic value of Small Stemmed projectile point types, the Small
Stemmed tradition continues to be an accepted Late Archaic cultural affiliation, although the duration
of the tradition has been extended into the Woodland Period in some areas (Mahlstedt 1985; Rainey
and Cox 1995; Wamsley 1984). This tradition may be a regional development out of the Middle
Archaic Neville/Stark/Merrimack sequence (Dincauze 1976; McBride 1984). Small Stemmed and
Small Triangular (Squibnocket) point types are characteristically associated with a quartz cobble
technological industry (McBride 1984) and with almost equal frequency quantitatively dominate both
artifact collections and excavated sites. Lamoka and Bare Island points are also associated with this
tradition. The Small Stemmed tradition exploited a wide range of ecozones including coastal and
riverine settings as well as upland areas.
The Susquehanna tradition has been most widely associated with mortuary/ceremonial sites in the
coastal zone of New England (Dincauze 1968b). Artifacts associated with this tradition consist of
Atlantic, Wayland Notched, Snook Kill, and Susquehanna Broad projectile points and several varieties
ofbifacial blades. Susquehanna tradition materials were manufactured from a variety oflithics including
local quartzite, eastem volcanic and exotic chert. This tradition and the Small Stemmed tradition
overlap into the Woodland Period.
Many of the projectile point styles attributed to these Late Archaic traditions were identified within the
Cutler B. Morse site collection, suggesting that the site was heavily used during the Late Archaic
Period. Site HB 1 contained a Brewerton-style projectile point (Edens 1994) and Small Stemmed points
were found at one or more sites on the perimeter of Silver Lake (Peters River drainage), as well as in an
isolated setting in Bellingham (Davin 1986).
The diversity of site locations and site types during the Late Archaic Period is documented by sites
located at estuaries (shell heaps, fishweirs, fishing camps), in the uplands (camps and workshops in the
PAL Report No. 1396.01
45
Chapter Four
Blue Hills), and by large base camps and ceremonial burials at the Watertown Arsenal. Several felsite
quarry and workshop sites have also been identified in the Blue Hills (19-NF-39, -40) as well as the
Hornfels-Braintree Slate quarries in Milton (19-NF-105, -106). Some ofthese quarries contained Late
Archaic materials. Late Archaic sites in the greater Boston area include Goat Acre and Spy Pond in
Arlington, the Spring Site in Medford, and several sites in Wakefield. The most notable of the Late
Archaic sites associated with fishing is the Boylston Street Fishweir (19-SU-16), which was discovered
in 1939 beneath 30 feet of fill at 501 Boylston Street during the construction of the New England
Mutual Life Insurance Company Building (Johnson 1949).
Similar intact fishweir stakes and/or wattle have been discovered at other locations in the Back Bay,
including: under Boylston Street proper during the 1903 construction ofthe Green Line Subway (Shimer
1918, Willoughby 1927); in 1949 during construction of the Old John Hancock Building (between
Stuart and Berkeley streets and St. James Avenue) (Johnson 1949); in 1960 during the construction of
the IBM Building (comer of Boylston and Clarenden Streets) (Kaye and Barghoom 1964); and most
recently, in 1986-1987 during the construction of 500 Boylston Street (Decima and Dincauze 1998).
The accompanying sediments for the 1986-1987 investigations provided the first systematic examination
of the fishweirs since the development of radiocarbon dating (Dincauze and Decima 1998; Kaplan et
al. 1990; Newby and Webb 1994; Rosen et al. 1993).
All of these investigations in which weir remains were recovered involved sites in the southeastem paJ.t
of the Back Bay. They are also all located within 1,000 ft of the 1630 shoreline in what has been
reconstructed to be an intertidal zone in a protected bend in the shoreline south of the nOltheasterly
bend of the original Charles River channel. The archaeological investigations of these sites resulted in
the discovery of weir stakes that were driven veltically into marine clay deposits and evidence of a
brush and twig wattle that was horizontally woven between the stakes. Extensive environn1ental analysis
accompanied the larger ofthese studies, and based on the results, it is possible to predict the stratigraphic
location of weir deposits in the lower pOltions of a deep layer of silt and silty clays that overlay the
Boston Blue Clay.
Recent carbon dating of weir stakes, orgaJ.1ics associated with sediments, and biostratigraphic pollen
ages have led Newby and Webb (1994) to aJ.·gue that the fishweir was in use between 4700 and 3700
B.P. Decima and Dincauze (1998) argue that the weir was in use for close to 1,500 years, between 5300
and 3700-3500 RP. The unique historical development (filling) ofthe Back Bay as a planned nineteenth­
century development has preserved the rich organic matter associated with these fishweirs. The thick
mantle of sand and gravel fill above the water table has allowed for the excellent integrity ofthe fishweir
orgaJ.1ic remains; although there is some evidence that nineteenth-century construction (i.e. pilings)
could have destroyed small weir structures (Mrozowski et al. 1999, 2000).
Transitional Archaic Period (3600-2500 B.P.)
The Transitional Archaic Period marks the interim between the Archaic and Woodland periods, and
represents a time of changing cultural dynamics. An extensive trade network, increased burial
ceremonialism, and the development oftechnologies strikingly different from those ofthe Late Archaic
characterize this period. Susquehanna tradition sites mark this period and aJ.·e best known :fi.-om cremation
cemetely complexes (Dincauze 1968b; Leveillee 1998). Altifacts diagnostic ofthis time period include
46
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
Genessee, NOlmanskill, Wayland Notched, and Orient Fishtail projectile points as well as the presence
of steatite (soapstone).
The Orient Phase of the Transitional Archaic Period is regionally represented at quarry sites and
rockshelters. The quarrying of steatite and the manufacture of steatite vessels is an important
technological development associated with this tradition. Carved steatite vessels, prominent in this
period, reflect increased sedentism because ofthe low transportability ofthese items. Regionally available
steatite outcrops include the Dolly Bond Quany, the Home Hill Quarry, the Torrey Lane Site, and
others located in western Massachusetts and northern Rhode Island. The three quany sites yielded
Orient projectile points during excavation (Fowler 1966).
Steatite vessel fonTIs, such as bowls and later smoking pipes, were used domestically, ceremonially,
and as trade items. A distinctive lithic flaking technology and a new class of diagnostic tool forms also
developed. These new fonns either developed out of the local populations or were introduced to the
region by new groups immigrating into the New England area. Susquehanna tradition artifacts were
commonly manufactured from a variety of lithic materials including quartzite, eastern volcanics, and
non-local chert. Projectile points and tools ofthe Susquehanna are found commonly on multicomponent
sites and are often in association with Small Stemmed tradition materials (although not in mortuary
settings).
Burial ceremonialism also increased dramatically during tIns period as illustrated by the complex red
ochre internments at the Wateliown Arsenal and the complex mortumy ritual seen at the Millbury III
Site in Millbury. Grooved axes, clUcifonn drills, pestles, a copper blade, and Susquehanna and Wateliown
variety projectile points were all included in the Millbury ill burials (Leveillee 1998). Several radiocarbon
dates ranging from 3985 ± 145 to 1460 ± 90 B.P. were obtained from approximately 26 features/
deposits. The Millbury III radiocarbon data have been interpreted as representing multiple depositional
episodes spanning numerous generations that reflect a continuity of ideology transferred and reinforced
through ceremorualism (Leveillee 1998).
Cremation burials are also repOlied from the Wateliown Arsenal Site in Watertown, the Mansion Inn
and Vincent sites in Middlesex County, and the Cobum Site in East Orleans to nan1e a few (Dincauze
1968). Susquehanna Tradition points have been found in the upper Charles River drainage at one or
more sites on the perimeter of Silver Lake (Peters River drainage), as well as in Bellingham (Davin
1986). Other Susquehanna tradition sites in the BellinghmTI area include a broadspear point from
Locus 2 of the East Terrace Site as well as Locus 2 of the West Terrace Site that represents a lithic work
station (Waller and Leveillee 1998). Other notable Transitional Archaic sites in the greater Boston area
include the Spring Brook Site in the Arnold Arboretum (Pendery and Griswold 1993) and the Water
Street Site, a Susquehanna Tradition site identified in Charlestown during the archaeological
investigations of the nOlihern Central Artery (PendelY et al. 1982).
Early Woodland Period (3000-1600 B.P.)
The Early Woodland Period is generally underrepresented in the regional archaeological record of
southern New England. Some archaeologists have suggested that a population decline occurred in the
region during this period associated with any number of causal factors including unfavorable
PAL Report No. 1396.01
47
Chapter Four
environmental conditions and unknown epidemics (Dincauze 1974; Fiede12000; Lavin 1988; Mulholland
1988; Snow 1981; Wendland and Bryson 1974). However, the low representation may be more of a
function of a lack ofrecognition ofEarly Woodland cultural material components because ofoverlapping
(Susquehanna and Small Stemmed) and/or poorly documented tool assemblages. Given the problems
inherent in using one artifact type alone as a temporal indicator, the presence of early ceramics in
conjunction with point types is used to detelmine Early Woodland Period occupation in the absence of
radiocarbon dates.
Coastal resources are believed to have become an important part of subsistence collecting activities
and diets, as evidenced by the high frequency of known Woodland Period coastal sites in New England
(Cox 1983; Cox et al. 1983; Kerber 1983; Thorbahn and Cox 1988). This is also believed to be a time
of widespread long-distance exchange of raw materials, finished products, and infOlmation (MHC
1984). There is some evidence for the appearance of task-specific sites (Dincauze 1976). The Early
Woodland Period is marked by the clear emergence of ceramic technology, known as Vinette I, replacing
the soapstone vessels that had been used during the Late/Transitional Archaic periods. Diagnostic
materials include stemmed and side-notched Adena, Lagoon, Rossville, and Meadowood projectile
points. Artifact assemblages for this period comprise a high percentage of exotic lithic materials and
speak to an expansion and elaboration of long-distance trade networks.
Known Woodland Period sites in the Charles River drainage are limited in number. Early Woodland
artifacts were included in the Caterina collection from Beaver Pond, but comprised only a limited
sample (Strauss 1990). Fm1hermore, early pottery and an associated radiocarbon age of 2000 ± 75
years B.P. for Locus 1 of the East Terrace Site supports and Early/Middle Woodland presence in
Bellingham in the upper Charles River drainage (Waller and Leveillee 1998).
Middle Woodland Period (1650-1000 B.P.)
The Middle Woodland Period apparently saw increasing population and extensive long-distance social
and economic interaction. Larger base camps in riverine and coastal settings were established in
conjunction with ever-increasing sedentism. This is supp0l1ed by increased instances of storage pit
features suggesting production of bulky foods. The Middle Woodland Period is marked by the
introduction of h0l1iculture into the traditional hunting and gathering subsistence practices of human
populations in the Northeast. Horticulture led to changes in subsistence, population growth, organization
of labor, and social stratification (Snow 1980). The degree of dependence on h0l1iculture and its
significance as a stimulus of social and economic change in the late prehistory of southem New England
is still a topic for further archaeological research (Mrozowski 1993).
It has been suggested that changes in settlement and subsistence strategies during the Middle/Late
Woodland transition may have occurred independently of the adoption of horticulture (McBride and
Dewar 1987). Recent studies have shown that late Middle Woodland components are marked by a high
percentage of exotic lithics. Diagnostic Fox Creek and Jack's Reef projectile points are found in
association with Pennsylvania jasper, assorted New York State che11s, Ramah chert (Labrador), Kineo
felsite (Maine), and Lockatong argillite (northem Mid-Atlantic region) (Goodby 1988; Luedtke 1988;
Mahlstedt 1985). This assemblage of exotic raw materials suggest that Middle Woodland populations
inhabiting southem New England took part in an extensive network of social and economic contacts
48
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
that extended from Pennsylvania northward to Labrador. Pottery also becomes increasingly stylistically
diverse, including grit-tempered coil built vessels with stamped, incised, and dentate decoration of
varying quality.
Middle Woodland settlement in the northem Boston Basin appears to have been concentrated at the
large estuary head and pond sites along the Charles and Mystic Rivers. Upper Charles River drainage
sites include the H-l Site and Blue Flag Site. The H-l Site contained chert,jasper, and hornfels chipping
debris and at least two radiocarbon-dated features dating to the Middle Woodland Period. The Blue
Flag Site along the upper Charles River in Bellingham produced a concentration of hornfels chipping
debris and an associated radiocarbon age of2000 ± 70 years B.P. of Middle Woodland origin (Rainey et
al. 1998). Fox Creek and Jack's Reef projectile points are also documented in the Cutler-Morse Site
artifact assemblage.
Late Woodland Period (1000-450 B.P.)
The Late Woodland Period is marked by an increase in ceramic production t1u'ough improvements in
technology. Some populations may still have relied solely on hunting and gathering while others tumed
to horticulture. Coastal areas and large semipermanent village settlements adjacent to arable lands,
particularly along broad floodplains, seemed to have been preferred. Farming, however, did not preclude
the continuance of seasonal rounds, and small task-specific camps are still common during this period.
Larger groups sometimes lived in fortified villages, indicating the presence of complicated political
alliances (Mulholland 1988). Late Woodland Period artifacts represented in the archaeological record
include triangular Levanna and Madison points, cord-wrapped, stick-impressed, and incised collared
ceramic vessels, and increasing amounts of local lithic materials (MHC 1984). This reliance on locally
available lithic materials suggests the formation of ancestral tribal territories that were noted as the
resident Native American tribes at the time of European contact.
The Late Woodland Period is well represented along coastal Massachusetts and along interior river
systems such as the Charles River. Site locations during this period show an increasing use of coastal
resources with high densities of sites located at river estuaries. Boston Harbor is an area known to
contain a high density of Late Woodland sites (Dincauze 1973). Large settlements, possibly base
camps occupied in the spring and fall, were located at estuary head sites like those on the Mystic and
Charles rivers (Dincauze 1974). Late Woodland deposits have been recovered from Arlington,
Watertown, Medford, Wakefield, Cambridge, Quincy, Chelsea, Milton, Newton, and surrounding towns.
In Boston proper, a Levanna-like projectile point was recovered from Boston Common near the Park
Street Station (Pendery 1988). Additionally, Levanna-type projectile points have been found in the
Cutler B. Morse Site and were included in the Caterina Collection from Beaver Pond.
Contact Period (450-300 B.P';A.D. 1500-1620)
The traditional cultural systems ofNative Americans were rapidly transformed during the contact period.
Contact with European populations slowly but completely disrupted Native American lifeways including
their social, economic, and political culture. The lifeways of the Native populations during this period
are believed to have been similar to those of the Late Woodland Period. There were a number of large
pem1anent base camps and villages, some fortified, as well as smaller satellite hunting and fishing
PAL Report No. 1396.01
49
Chapter Four
camps. Large groups may have gathered together at certain times of the year for resource exploitation
as well as for social and ceremonial functions.
Early ethnohistorical documents and modem ethnohistorical sources attest to the extensive trade network
in place during this period (Bragdon 1996; Brasser 1978; Snow 1980; Winthrop 1996). Fur trade was
an important economic factor for Europeans and Natives alike, and in return for furs the Native Americans
received clothing, food items, metal, and beads. Interaction between Native people and Europeans is
recorded in notes and writings of several early explorers and settlers including John Winthrop, William
Bradford, Thomas Morton, Samuel Champlain, and Samuel and Jolm Smith. European trade goods
were circulating to Native New England cultures especially during the early seventeenth century.
Although pre-contact period trade routes may not have continued in use throughout the terminal Late
Woodland (McBride and Dewar 1987), they were clearly serving as conduits for the distribution of
European goods, especially marine shell beads (wampum), by the early seventeenth centmy.
Disease and warfare decimated populations and dispersed survivors throughout the region. A major
epidemic occuned from 1616-1617 that drastically reduced Native populations. Smallpox and measles
in particular, had a drastic effect on the Massachusetts Native Americans. In the early 1630s, smallpox
almost annihilated the Native population around Boston Bay, although many in the interior survived to
help fOlm the villages of"Praying Indians" that existed from many years at Natick, Nonantum, Punkapog,
Hassanamesitt, and Magunco to the south and west of Boston (Cook 1976). The declining number of
Massachusett Native Americans was suggested by Gookin (1972), who said that "there are not of this
people left at this day above 300 men, besides women and children."
King Philip's War (1675-1676) resulted in the military defeat and geographic dispersal ofNative groups
in southem New England, particularly the Pokanoket and Nanagansett, as well as the virtual destruction
ofEuropean allies, including the Christianized Nipmuck "Praying Indians." Similar conflicts in nOlthem
New England continued well into the eighteenth century, with similar results. By the mid 1600s there
were few Native people alive in the region. This does not imply however, that New England's Native
peoples were "wiped out" during or after the period, or that they "lost" their cultures. Native Americans
continue to maintain distinct cultural traditions from the contact period to the present.
During the contact period the upper Charles River formed a border area for the Nipmuck and
Massachusetts Indian tribes. The Neponset and Weymouth river drainages fOlmed a border area between
the Massachusetts and Wampanoag tribes. Two Native Massachusetts core areas have been identified
in the greater Boston area: the Mystic core area to the north and the Neponset core area to the south
(MHC 1982b), with the Charles River serving as a likely boundary between the two. The core area of
settlement centered on the Mystic River estuary, and this core area also probably included several
smaller adjacent coastal drainages such as the Maiden, Pines, and Saugus Rivers. The larger lakes and
ponds, including Fresh Pond, nearby Spy Pond, Spot Pond, and Crystal Lake to the north, formed palt
of the inland section ofthe Mystic Core (MHC 1982b). In this core area, a major Native American trail
system probably followed the Mystic River north toward the adjacent Ipswich River drainage, with
smaller trails or paths along tributary stream networks (Figure 4-1). A number of secondmy trails are
believed to have existed along Washington and Boylston streets, and there was a fording place on the
Charles River at Wateltown Square (MHC 1982b). There were also transpOltation conidors in the
Back Bay area near Dudley, Roxbury, and Tremont streets, and Huntington Avenue.
50
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
The Mystic River core area had its
own sachem, Nanepashemet, and
reportedly contained several
settlements protected with palisade
and ditch systems (Barber 1839).
Nanepashemet was killed at one of
these "forts" in 1619 by a raiding
Tanentine group from coastal Maine.
Leadership of the groups in this core
area passed to Nanepashemet's
widow.
W Fishing Weir
= Major Fords
..rTrails
The Native American Place name
Menotomet was associated with the
area between Alewife Brook and the
Mystic River in Arlington (MHC
1981 a). Fishweirs were most likely
°00
o
located at several points along
Alewife Brook during the contact
period based on later descriptions in
English documents. A significant area
of settlement was probably located
around the Alewife Brook/Mystic
River confluence. A group of contact
period burials were accidentally
uncovered in West Medford in the late
nineteenth century on the east side of
the Mystic River. Cemeteries with Figure 4-1. Contact period Native American trails with the
contact period burials are also known approximate location of the Urban Ring Corridor.
to have existed in the Revere Beach
and Nahant sections of the Mystic core area (Dincauze 1974).
To date, the only contact period sites in the City of Boston are those associated with burials. One such
burial at Union Market Station included projectile points made of copper. A second site in the Savin
Hill area contained burials and associated grave goods including glass beads, metal projectile points,
and pieces of fiber-woven material. Several unverified contact sites, primarily noted in historic
documents, also exist in the area and include a palisaded fort at Brookline Village and a site at Bunker
Hill Community College on the nOlih bank of the Charles River near Cambridge Street.
Known and Expected Native American Resources
The majority of known Native American sites dating to the pre-contact and contact periods in the
vicinity of the Urban Ring project conidor have been identified through avocational recorded and
investigated site locations. A review of the MHC site files revealed that most of the known Native
American sites in the Boston Basin, and specifically in the vicinity of the project area, are located in
PAL Report No. 1396.01
51
Chapter Four
close proximity to coastal zone estuarine environments, major rivers, and ponds. The distribution of
known sites indicates that core areas of Native American settlement/subsistence activity were located
near the major rivers (Mystic, Charles, Saugus) entering Boston Harbor and adjacent sections of the
coastal zone. Other areas of concentrated settlement were on the margins of large ponds. Some large
sites in these core areas contain evidence of recun'ent occupation over thousands of years.
In general, for those sections of Middlesex and Suffolk counties traversed by the Urban Ring corridor,
sites for the entire pre-contact period were most likely present at one time, but have been destroyed by
the constant development and increasing occupation of these seven communities since the seventeenth
centmy. All that remained ofthose sites have been documented primarily by the MAS. No evidence of
PaleoIndian Period activity has been found to date in the immediate project vicinity. Early Archaic
Period occupations are also scarce.
MHC site forms from the Middle to Late Archaic Period do exist for Middlesex County (l9-MD-627,
19-MD-371, 19-MD-269, 19-5U-29, 19-5U-77 19-MD-171). Most of these have been found in
Cambridge, and one in Somerville. The greatest number of sites for Late Archaic depositions is in
estuarine and coastal areas. This pattern likely reflects the stabilization ofcoastlines and the development
of shellfish beds.
Woodland Period settlement and land use patterns in central Massachusetts are marked by a general
shift from principally riverine site locations to the coastal plain. Woodland Period sites have also been
found in both Suffolk and Middlesex counties (l9-MD-364, 19-5U-48, 19-5U-59, 19-5U-80). A shell
midden site was reported in the nineteenth century on Lechmere's Point (l9-MD-17l). The site file
lists the period as "unknown," but this shell midden could likely be a Woodland site.
A contact period site (l9-SU-44) has been recorded in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston.
Additionally, the enviromnental diversity of the greater Boston coastal zone would have suppOlied a
sizeable population. The introduction of hOliiculture into the Late Woodland and contact economies
most likely prompted local populations to exploit the area's agriculturally suited land. Subsistence
activities would have been amply supplemented with excellent fishing potential as well as interior
hunting of small animals.
Table 4-2 presents the inventory of recorded Native American archaeological sites within the Urban
Ring project corridor and the immediate vicinity.
52
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Cultural Context
Table 4-2. Known Native American Archaeological Sites Within and in the Vicinity of the Urban
Ring Phase 2 Project.
MHC
Site Name
Temporal Period
Location
No.
I
19-5U­
Summit Site, Savin Hill
Unknown
Boston (Dorchester)
18
I
19-5U­
Contact Period Village
Contact
Boston (Charlestown)
44*
I
19-5U ­
Unnamed
Unknown
Boston (Dorchester)
46
19-5 UChelsea Water Street
Woodland
Boston (Charlestown)
48
19-5U­
Town Dock Pottery Site
Woodland
Boston (Charlestown)
59
Dillaway-Thomas Site
Middle-Late
19-5U ­
Boston (Roxbury)
77
Archaic
19-5 U­ I Hog Bridge Fish Weir
Late Woodland
Boston (Roxbury)
80
/Contact
19-5 UStoney Brook I
Unknown
Boston (Roxbury)
81*
19-5U ­
Meetinghouse Hill
Unknown
Boston (Roxbury)
96
19-MDLechm ere Point Shellheap I poss. Late Archaic
Cambridge
171*
/W oodland
19-MD­ I Magazine Beach
Cambridge
I Unknown
172
19-MDUnnamed
Cambridge
I Unknown
173*
19-MDUnnamed
Unknown
Medford
367
Source: MHC site files
* indicates site within the alignment of one of the four alternatives
County
I
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex
PAL Report No. 1396.01
53