Procuring and Processing Resources Down by the Brook: Archaeological Investigations at The Susquetonscut Brook Site 11 in Eastern Connecticut

Summary

In July of 2015 The Public Archaeology Laboratory (PAL) completed data recovery investigations at the Susquetonscut Brook Site 11 (SB 11), in Lebanon, Connecticut. Investigations resulted in the recovery of over 7,000 artifacts, including diagnostic projectile points, a variety of stone tools and debitage, calcine bone, and Native pottery sherds. Cultural features exposed during investigations include post molds, pit features, fire hearths, and a roasting platform. The overall lithic tool assemblage, fire-related cultural features, and presence of calcine bone, suggest that SB 11 was intensively utilized for resource procurement and processing, as well as for tool manufacturing and maintenance. The data recovery investigations revealed that the site was occupied during the Middle and Late Archaic Periods, and again (although briefly) in the Woodland Period. Overall, SB 11 significantly contributes to the pre-contact archaeological record of eastern Connecticut as a whole, and specifically of the Yantic River drainage. This poster will present the results of archaeological investigations of SB 11, addressing the range of activities represented at the site, pre-contact land use patterns of the Yantic River drainage in eastern Connecticut, seasonality of occupation and site use, and how activities varied from the Archaic to Woodland Periods.

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