Preliminary Results from a Late Archaic Site in Canaan, CT

Summary

Robbins Swamp is a large freshwater swamp located within the Housatonic River drainage in Litchfied County, Connecticut. Archaeological sites within its environs and along nearby rivers date from the Paleoindian period through the Woodland period, indicating the wetland and nearby rivers and streams were an important resource for Native Americans for over 12,000 years. With the exception of George Nicholas' extensive work for his dissertation, which identified 500 additional sites, few professional excavations have been conducted in the area. A railroad project initiated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation resulted in a data recovery of archaeological site 21-85 in Canaan prior to the construction of an access road, as required under state and federal law. This paper presents the preliminary results of our recent excavations of a Late Archaic encampment, located just south of the Swamp, on the Hollenbeck River, a tributary of the Housatonic River.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Person, Place or Thing: Ongoing Questions and Evidence for New England Settlement and Material Culture   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17399