The Pig Point Complex: 10,000 Years of Mid-Atlantic (Pre)History

Summary

Excavations at the Pig Point site have redefined our understanding of Native American history in the Mid-Atlantic. The site is located near the freshwater-saltwater interface on the Patuxent River in Maryland, an area tremendously rich in biodiversity, and radiocarbon dates from stratified deposits at the site span more than 9000 years; however, artifacts uncovered more than two meters below surface suggest people have lived in this area far longer. Features discovered at Pig Point include a Late Woodland feasting midden, Adena-influenced mortuary pits, and several Early Archaic hearths, to name a few. Recently, archaeologists ventured outside of Pig Point in order to better understand how this significant site fits into a regional cultural landscape. Several intact and well-preserved sites were discovered that help us understand how people lived along the East Coast in the centuries before Contact.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21123