Caves and Quarries

Sunday 4/7/2010

Today I woke up and pulled a deer tick out of my fore arm. I am still waiting on the bulls-eye, because I do not have health insurance, which in Massachusetts almost a capital crime these days..

The place where I picked up the little bugger was in Dover, at the Hale Reservation. There is a rock shelter there, as well as an ancient felsite quarry. The photos above are of the Powissett Rock Shelter and the quarry- the spilt granite boulder.

Powissett Rock Shelter was studied by archeologists after it was discovered in 1970. Because nobody knew about it until then, it was relativly intact. It was discovered that the small pocket in the ledge was used as a trail camp during the years 1580-1650. It is noted that the remains of food found at the site were prepaired at the coast, fish, clams, etc and carried in clay bowls. The site is at least a days walk inland, tho it is near the Charles River. I have a gut feeling that the place must have been used before then, maybe things just didnt turn up?? I doubt it, tho who knows?

The rock shelter is very close to the felsite quarry, maybe 3/4 of a mile. The granite boulder that looks split in half, at one time had a thick vein of black felsite through it, which has been almost completely chissled out. There are still a few good spots where you can see the nice glassy black volcanic rock, with nice small white 1cm or so chrystals..

I found an arrowhead on the Charles River in Newton, a good 5 miles or more, as the crow flies, from this site, about a month ago. I discussed this point in a previous post, and showed a picture of it again in this one so you can see the similarity between the point and the felsite still in the quarry. I think this is fascinating, that such a small point could turn up, like a needle in a haystack, and then to find the spot where it was chipped from (who knows how long ago, maybe 3,000 yrs) almost makes my head spin with probabilities...who was it that came and cut the stone that would become this point? When was it lost? How far did it travel, thru its lifetime? It can be assumed that the person who made it was very skilled at this art of knapping. This little point is my favorite find...

There are 9 quarries identified on Hale Res. grounds.

Thanks for reading and
Keep your home-fires burning

andy

Lithic tools, at low water

Hello-

I hope this Sunday morning finds you all well.

This week it’s been snowing like crazy, here in the Northeast, yet somehow Boston has managed to avoid it all. There seriously isn’t even a dusting on the ground right now. I think they got about 3 feet out in the Berkshires, and 2 feet only 40 mins away in Worcester, but we’ve had mostly rain, and a few flurries here and there.

The warmer weather last week, and the recent rain has melted a lot of the snow, so I’ve been taking the opportunity to get out and hunt thru the mud. There was a day when the level of the lake was the lowest I’ve seen it- I found some decent peices that day. All the recent rain has filled the lake almost back to its high water mark again, tho. I’m waiting for a few dry days to drain it off so I can get out in the deeper mud:)

Most of the finds I had were in the places where the expanding/contracting ice has scraped the mud/stones/debris into mini-eskers at the lake shore. Kinda like Mother nature’s backhoe, I guess.

It was in these mounds that I found a group of utilized flakes, and other assorted tools with varying amounts of knapping. These tools appear similar to ones found in the same area, which were dated to the paleo and early archaic times, yet these were what I would describe as close to the surface. I’m not sure how freezing and thawing of a soft muddy lake shore can effect the surfacing of deeper, older materials. They sure seem old. Some are very delicate, and some are almost like hand shovels- thick and sturdy.

Most of the tools are made of a tan/brownish/blueish felsite, or rhyolite. I believe this to be from a quarry in the nearby Blue Hills that was popular from 7,000 years ago, until almost the modern day.

I am interested in one of these finds, particularly. It is a scraper/knife and it’s in fine condition. The reason I’m interested in this one is because it is very similar to one that I found, at the same lake, only a couple of months ago. This is the same felsite tool that I discussed in my previous post titled Quandry #1. If you look at the pictures, the more recent find is the tan colored tool, underneath the black one previously discussed. They are the same size, and have the same flaking. The edges of both tools follow the same curvatures. They are basically the same in every way except for the source of lithic material. Hopefully the pictures allow you to see the similarities that I noticed. The most noticable difference between the two tools, is that the black one appears to have been heavily used, and resharpened. The tan one shows how the black one would’ve looked prior to being reflaked. I really like being able to see an almost before/after look at the two tools.

The picture of the assemblage of tools shows some of the other finds I have had. The largest tool appears to be a scraper. There is a semi lunar blade, steep edged scrapers and other tools that must have been used for aspects of everyday life I can only speculate about. Cooking, crafts, hide preparation, hobbies, war? They are all knapped from the same material as the knife mentioned above, and were found spread out along the surface of the muddy lake shore.

The final picture is of a small quartz arrowhead, found in the Neponset River, in an area that was one of the last hunting grounds held (in deed) by the local Massachuset Tribe, in the late 1600’s, and was a favorite hunting spot of Chickataubut. The sachem himself could have made this little point, in theory, I suppose…The base of the point is broken, but you get the idea of the shape… I almost want to say it’s an Oriental Fishtail, which would make it an archaic point, but for some reason I just don’t think it’s that old.

I was reading blogs the other day, and came across a video on youtube for BushCraft International. Check it out, it’s great- they show simple outdoor living techniques like cooking breakfast that you foraged for, and making cooking tools from the natural materials around us (and a knife haha). I will try to post a link.

My heart goes out to those affected by the great earthquake in Chile, and for all those who are suffering, more than usual, around the world. This is a tough time globally, and I thank the powers for the health of my loved ones, and for giving me the chance to commune with those past in the mud of the lake, and the muddy water of the river. Live each day and love our earth and everyone, as you wish to be loved.

Thanks for reading and for being a respectful citizen of this planet.

andy

another felsite point

Good afternoon!

This post is related to a point I found earlier this month, near the Charles River, in Newton MA. It is a felsite point, with very nice flaking. I believe the lithic source is Westwood MA, as it appears very similar to the description of Westwood Felsite, with small white chrystals. It was in soil that had been moved from an unknown location, during construction of a bridge.

This was another find that happened when I wasn’t really looking. I was visiting a spot with a friend, who was showing me around, and I saw just a tiny bit of this sticking out of the side of a burm, basically unrecognizable as a point. Imagine my suprise to find this beauty!

It appears to be a Meadowood point. It has very small ears, which may not even be visible in the photo. That would put it in the 3k yr old range, roughly.

Other than that, there isn’t much to it! It’s just a nice peice that I wanted to share with you. If you have any remarks you would like to make about this post, feel free.

Thanks for looking, and happy hunting

andy