Mary Gage

The Gungywamp Complex in Groton, Connecticut is an archaeological site that consists of stone chambers, standing stones, niches, stone walls, building foundations, enclosures and other features. The cultural affiliation, purpose and age of many of these archaeological features is a hotly debated subject. However, there is general agreement that there are several colonial homesteads within and on the peripheral edges of the site.

A house foundation found nestled amongst a group of four stone chambers was identified in 1981 by Nancy F. Jackson and George A. Jackson as the 18th century home of Nathaniel Adams. The Jacksons published their findings in the Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut (1981). They established through their deed research that this was the second house Nathaniel Adams had built on his farm. This small but critical detail has largely been forgotten or ignored by subsequent researchers. This is due in part to the fact the site of Nathaniel’s first house with a barn and privy lies outside of the generally accepted boundaries for the Gungywamp Complex.

During his lifetime, Nathaniel Adams’ farm was divided into two halves, the “east part of the farm” and the “west part of the farm” each with its own house. The western half is dominated by rocky soils covering ridges and ravines with exposed bedrock outcrops. There are only a few acres of tillable land. It was marginal land in terms of its agricultural potential. Given the poor quality of the land, a perception has emerged of Nathaniel Adams as a poor subsistence farmer just barely eking out a living trying to support his wife and ten children. What this “story” fails to explain is Nathaniel and his family lived the first thirty years on the east part of the farm (from 1743 to at least 1772 and possibly as late as 1779.) The east part was productive farmland with an orchard, crop land and cranberry bog that allowed the Adams family to become middle-class farmers. This article explores his two houses and what they reveal.

As the title implies this article explores Thunderbird Nests in conjunction with cultural accounts of Thunderbirds, serpents and rain. The latter three are intertwined with each other. The Thunderbird Nest in this study is a large circular petroform with a large depression in the center.  It was first reported by a rock art researcher in the Canadian Shield region of the Great Lakes in the early 1960s. That was followed by a second report by an archaeologist working in Manitoba in the mid 1970s.  These two researchers independently asked the local Indians in their respective areas if they knew what the petroforms were? Both were told they are Thunderbird Nests.  One stone nest was dated to the Laurel period of occupation of an archaeological habitation site based on a large samantha variant besant projectile point  (400 -500 AD) found under one of the peripheral boulders and upon Laurel ware pottery shards recovered from the habitation site. The Thunderbird Nest was within the boundaries of the habitation site and was provisionally dated to 400 - 600 A.D.  Thus knowledge of the stone nests has been carried forth in time though their cultural purpose has been lost.

In 2010, construction work for for the expansion of the Newburyport Waste Water Treatment Plant uncovered a granite stone wall which was once part of Coombs Wharf. The capstones on the wharf were quarried and have quarry tool marks from the splitting process. An analysis of the quarry tool marks dates the capstones to 1868-1870. A Chinese ceramic mug found in the fill immediately behind the wharf wall dates to 1862-1874. Two independent lines of evidence firmly date the wharf wall's construction to the 1860s.

A 1943 US Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service report (Reitz 1943) on erosion in pastures and planting fields recently came to the attention of the author.  This government bulletin addressed farm production loses due to erosion during wartime and represents real world conditions. The bulletin raised some serious doubts regarding Timothy Ives, Ph.D. theoretical erosion model presented under his Cairnfield Formation Model in his 2015 article “Cairnfields in New England’s Forgotten Pastures.” This paper is an addendum or “Part II” to the 2021 paper “Challenging the Ives Cairnfield Formation Model.” (Gage & Gage 2021) Part II tests the theoretical erosion model by comparing it to the government’s field study.

The cairns presented in this article although from a single farm in Hopkinton, Rhode Island are representative of cairns found on old pastures throughout New England. As the photographs show there was a great diversity of designs and sizes. It was compiled and written to test Ives hypothesis of the "consistent" use of a specific cairn design, and the amount of damage he claims was caused by trees.

It has been previously suggested that the original natural parallel chalk ridges of the avenue at Stonehenge (England), which are oriented to the summer solstice, were the catalyst for the creation of site. The prevailing assumption is the solar alignment served as a calendar function. It has also been previously argued that some of the Stonehenge's bluestones were transported to Salisbury Plain from Waun Mawn stone circle in Wales.

This papers builds upon this previous research. It presents a new analysis that suggests (1) solar alignments at Stonehenge had more than a calendar function, they were integral to builder's cultural belief system; (2) that more than just bluestones were transported from Wales, cultural ideas embedded in the architectural elements of Waun Mawn stone circle were incorporated into Stonehenge; (3) there are additional previously unrecognized architectural traits in the various phases of Stonehenge that were repeated and modified over time.

Woodworking is the hidden aspect of archaeology. Think about it for a minute. Every projectile point recovered from an archaeological site was once attached to a wooden shaft: spear, atlatl or arrow. Wooden shafts therefore go as far back in time as the projectile points: 12,000 years or more in New England. Axes, hatchets, adzes and hoes required wooden handles. Fish weirs were made of wood. Traps were made of small wooden poles. Shelters like wigwams and long houses required saplings cut and trimmed. Dugout canoes were made from trees. All of these wood items took stone tools to make them. Woodworking was an integral part of every Native American’s daily life yet it is an under represented subject in archaeology.

The objectives of this paper are:

(1) Draw attention to the importance and range of woodworking activity in Native American cultures.
(2) Draw attention to the need for re-evaluating generally accepted ideas of how tools like axes, gouges, and adzes were utilized.
(3) Promote microscopic use-wear analysis, information from experimental archaeology, and ethnographic data for identify woodworking tools and their function(s).

Since the late 19th century, a stone cairn on the summit of Mount Agamenticus in York, Maine was considered the burial place of Saint Aspinquid, a Penobscot Mi’kmaq tribal leader converted to Christianity by the Jesuits in the late 1600s. An elaborate and highly embellished legend about St. Aspinquid was first published in 1768 in the Halifax Gazette (Nova Scotia). It was quickly picked up and reprinted by the Boston News-Letter in Massachusetts. The legend resurfaces decades later in 1818 and became wildly popular throughout the 19th century. Interest in the legend has remained unabated up to the present day. The story has been largely dismissed as fictional but both the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and local Native Americans in the York, Maine area consider St. Aspinquid’s burial place to be real and culturally important to them. Is there any factual truth behind the legend?

Both whole and broken “artifacts” like bottles, ceramics, and metal objects are occasionally found within the confines of Ceremonial Stone Landscape (CSL) sites. They may be individual objects, a small group, or a scattered pile of items placed on a stone structure or on the ground. Some of these objects were intentionally placed there as ritual offerings by American Indians. Others are discarded pieces of trash dumped by a 19th century farmer, or from a cottage or hunter’s cabin in the woods, or teenagers partying around a campfire. To further complicate matters, hikers and metal detector enthusiasts find or dig up items and place them on boulders for others to see.

This article provides examples of both trash and ritual offerings. These examples illustrated how to evaluate the artifacts to better assess their purpose.

This paper challenges the original findings of the 2006 archaeological study of the Nashoba Brook Chamber and adjacent low walled structure that concluded both structures were historic utilitarian structures built by the land owner. A re-evaluation of the archaeological and historical data found that the utilitarian structure hypothesis was in fact not supported by the evidence.  In light of the new findings the authors choose to explore an alternative explanation that both structures were ceremonial structures built by the Native Americans (tribal affiliation is unknown).

Gary Vescelius' 1955 excavation report on the America's Stonehenge/Mystery Hill site has long been considered the "gold standard" by the archaeology community for proving definitively that Jonathan Pattee who lived at the site from the 1820s through 1849 was responsible for the site's construction. Vescelius based his conclusions about the site's origins solely on the results of excavation unit "C" located outside of the alcove vestibule wall of the Oracle Chamber. Vesecelius' own findings along with other independent lines of evidence show the location at excavation unit "C" was a highly disturbed context containing artifacts from the Pattee era trash dump inter-mixed with late 1930s artifacts from Goodwin's reconstruction crew and all of that mixed together with stones from the partially collapsed vestibule wall (collapse occurred circa 1915-1937). At any other archaeological site, the conclusions drawn from such an excavation would be soundly rejected.

This paper identifies the Native American tribe in whose ancestral lands the America's Stonehenge site resides in. The author has previously theorized the site was built by Native Americans as a ceremonial center. The Pentucket band of the Pennacook Confederacy had a presence within this geographical area throughout the entire period of time the America's Stonehenge site was in use (Based upon C14 dates and artifacts).

This article explores split stones altered by Native Americans in some way that have been found at Ceremonial Stone Landscape (CSL) sites and their proposed purpose as a spirit portal. Altered split stones include split stone cairns, split stones attached to niches and enclosures, utilized as enclosures, associated with solar alignments, and associated with serpent effigies. Split stone spirit portals are most often associated with the Underworld but sometimes with spirits living within the rock. Underworld and the spirits associated with it were as diverse as the split stone structures as seen in the historical accounts. Diversity was found to be prevalent and useful in analyzing and reading these structures that are common at CSL sites throughout the Northeastern United States.

This article explores the common belief the archaeological site known as America's Stonehenge has been restored to the point it can not be studied. To find out if the belief was factual or a myth the author sought out firsthand and period information on the subject. Surprisingly, there was a significant quantity. The written information was used in conjunction with photographs from circa 1915 through 2020. Some of these photographs provided glimpses into the site prior to restoration. Yes, many of the structures have had partial restoration. But as before restoration photographs of the Mensal Stone Chamber and East-West Chamber show neither Goodwin nor anyone else rebuilt any of these stone structures from scratch. They had "foundations" which were used to guide the reconstruction.

America's Stonehenge, Mystery Hill, North Salem, New Hampshire has long been dismissed by the archaeological community as not studyable for various reasons. This paper based upon a large published work by the author demonstrates that much can be learned from this important archaeological site. The article focuses on observable architectural patterns with the stone structures: specifically summer and winter solstice sunset alignment areas, and the stone chambers.

There has been a long standing controversy between professional archaeologists, indigenous tribes and other researchers over the cultural affiliation and purpose of thousands of stone mounds found throughout New England. Some archaeologists claim these groups of stone mounds are the results of historic Euro-American farming activity. Native Americans claim the stone mounds were built by their ancestors for ceremonial purposes. In fact, the evidence demonstrates that both sides are correct: agricultural field clearing piles and Native American ceremonial cairns both exist. The real challenge is how to distinguish between the two.

This paper begins by re-evaluating the 1983 Mavor and Dix Freetown Massachusetts stone mound excavation. This excavation, long blacklisted, provides important evidence for the existence of Native American ceremonial stone structures in New England. Was this excavation done correctly? Can we rely on the evidence from this excavation as scientifically valid?

The Freetown Massachusetts stone mound group could easily be mistaken as field clearing yet dates to the pre-contact period. The paper explores several different approaches for distinguishing field clearing piles from Native American cairns using non-invasive methods.

This report covers the history and surface archaeology of the Thomas Manning / Willowdale Manufacturing mill complex on the Ipswich River in Hamilton, Massachusetts. The mill complex began in 1834 with two mills (1) mahogany veneer sawmill (2) stone woolen mill. It manufactured a wide range of woolen products including yarn, socks during the Civil War, and blankets under a number of different owners. The stone woolen mill was destroyed by fire 1884. A new mill was erected on the original site in 1896 for the manufacture of leather parts for shoes.

The mill complex consists of a 900 foot long canal / sluiceway, mill dam remains if the 1834 sawmill, the foundation of the 1896 rebuilt main mill, parts of various control gates, and cellars of two of the worker boarding houses. The mill complex is owned by the Essex County Greenbelt Association and is open to the public.

There is abundant archaeological evidence at the America's Stonehenge (formerly Mystery Hill) Site that Native Americans quarried, shaped and carved stones. This paper reviews a 1982 excavation conducted by David Stewart-Smith, Ph.D. (professor and master stone mason) which was supervised by Gary Hume Ph.D. who was the New Hampshire State Archaeologist at the time. The excavation uncovered evidence for the use of the percussion method of stone working using stone tools. In addition to the percussion technique, the author has found physical evidence for the use of the pecking, abrading, and fire methods of quarrying, shaping and carving stones. Percussion, pecking and abrading are all techniques well documented as being used by Native Americans to produce lithic tools and projectile points. Examples of stones worked using these different techniques are all found integrated into the stone structures and features found a this site.

This article explores three concepts based on the 2019 article "A Late Archaic Pit House in Woodbridge, Connecticut; and Analysis of Social Dynamics" by Cosimo A. Sgarlata Ph.D., Professor at Western Connecticut State University. The first concept is why are a diversity of projectile points (made from local materials) found on a single component site? The second concept evaluates what utilized flakes were used for and whether they should be considered "expedient tools" or functional tools. The third concept explores the potential for ceremonial activity at a habitation site.

Mount Carbon has a series of archaeological sites with stone walls, stone cairns, earthen mounds, flint quarries, lithic workshops, and several natural features with evidence of human usage.  These structures and activities are linked to Native Americans.

The discovery of seven stone serpent effigies on historic farms in southern New England associated with Native American families prompted a search for a connection between serpents and agriculture. Research revealed serpents were associated with bringing rain and some creation stories credit the serpent with bringing the first seeds to the people. One of the serpent effigies has an object in its mouth which is similar to the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio. The author hypothesizes that object is a seed and that both effigies represent the creation story of the serpent bringing the first seeds.

A Native American ceremonial site can contain some or all of the following types of structures: Stone Cairns; Enclosures: Niches; Niche-Shafts; Miniature Chambers; Standing Stones; Manitou Stones; Pedestal/Perched/Rocking/Balanced Stones; Stone Chambers; Modified Rockshelters. Some of these structures can look similar to historic
farm structures. For example stone cairns can be confused with field clearing stone piles, stone chamber for a root cellar, a standing stone with a property boundary marker, etc. How does one distinguish between the two? On the following pages are some basic criteria for making distinctions between Native American stone structures and historic farm structures.

This is the public (redact) version of the site report on a Native Ceremonial Stone Landscape (CSL) in Charlestown, Rhode Island. The site contains a large headed serpent effigy, enclosures, chamber, and stone cairns. the site dates form the historic period and is associated with a African-American / Native American (Narragansett Tribe) family.

Two different hypotheses for identifying and distinguishing agricultural field clearing piles from ceremonial cairns were discussed in the 2015 issue of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut Bulletin. This article tests both hypotheses against the period historical agricultural literature and photographs on field clearing and the anthropological literature on Algonquian and Iroquoian ceremonialism.

Article offers a new interpretation and dating of the Caddy Park Site in Quincy MA. It suggest a date range of circa 2,950 to 2710 B.P. It also argues that the Native Americans who created this feature were influenced by Meadowood and Orient Phase cultures.