An Illustrative Case Study for an Archaic House Structure in Southern New England: Insights from the Halls Swamp Site and Beyond

Summary

The Halls Swamp Site represents an Archaic and Woodland Period multi-component Native American occupation in Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Excavation of just two percent of the Halls Swamp Site yielded over 24,000 artifacts and 78 cultural features, including evidence of an Archaic Period house structure. Archaic Period dwellings have largely gone unnoticed in southern New England due to poor preservation conditions and the ephemeral nature of these features. However, a concentration of post molds, pit features, and fire hearths uncovered at the Halls Swamp Site characterize attributes associated with the few Native American subterranean dwellings reported from Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as outside of New England. Spatial distribution analysis and radiocarbon data are used to reconstruct the habitation activity at the Halls Swamp Site and contribute to our recognition and understanding of Archaic Period house structures in Southern New England.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Specialized Analyses of Cultural Materials and Features from Pre-Contact Native American Sites in New England

Keywords

Spatial Coverage