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The Archaeology of the Polpis Road Bicycle Path: A Landmark in the Study of Native American Lifeways on Nantucket

By Mary Lynne Rainey

NANTUCKET ISLAND WAS FIRST EXPLORED BY Native American groups approximately 11,000 to 12,000 years ago during the early Holocene Paleolndian migration into the Northeast. From a small peak on the vast coastal plain to a remote island at sea, Nantucket's dynamic terrain has been home to a succession of remarkably adaptive human groups and their descen-dents since the last glacial recession. Although a cohesive entity of contemporary Native Americans does not exist on the island, undoubtedly there are individuals living in the region today who may trace their heritage, in part, to Nantucket Indian families.

The enduring legacy of a once robust indigenous population is the perpetuation of Native place-names throughout the island, referencing the locations of former community settlements or culturally important natural landscape features (Little1987). Another legacy familiar to most Nantucketers is the material culture of past Native life that blankets the island, commonly discovered by local residents as a result of natural erosional processes and construction. These beautifully crafted stone tools, broken pottery, shell and animal-bone refuse heaps, organic soil layers, and occasionally burials, are among the finite archaeological resources of Nantucket.

Unlike permanent place-names, Nantucket's archaeological sites are diminished annually in the face of a growing population and imminent development. As early as 1916, Harry B. Turner, a local journalist and member of the NHA, reported his concerns about the depletion of archaeological resources on Nantucket in a brief essay. Turner was involved in the removal of a Quaise burial almost thirty years before writing his article for the NHA's published Proceedings. In his essay, he laments the disturbance of the site and the subsequent loss of cultural materials collected from the burial at that time (Turner 1916:51). A "tomahawk" taken from the grave in 1887 was traced by Turner to Akron, Ohio, in 1916. Though an advocate of preservation, it was clear to Turner that archaeological materials collected from island sites by antiquarians were not likely to remain local.

Through much of the twentieth century, Nantucket's archaeological sites were the subject of investigation by various groups including local collectors, the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, and the Nantucket Historical Association. Although many important sites were excavated, the scientific study of the collections was limited. In 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act recognized the significance of archaeological resources throughout the country and provided a mechanism to ensure that federal undertakings take into consideration their effects on such properties. Subsequent federal and state legislation augmented the same principles and formalized the stages of archaeological investigation under the broad heading of "cultural resource management" (CRM). Over the past twenty-five years or so, CRM surveys have been undertaken on Nantucket as a result of the design and construction of bicycle paths, wastewater treatment facilities, schools and recreational facilities, housing developments, public utilities, airport improvements, and golf courses.

In Massachusetts, archaeological investigations typically proceed in three stages, each of which is outlined in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, and in state regulations. Archaeologists must meet certain requirements set forth by the National Park Service and must obtain a state permit from the Massachusetts Historical Commission in order to conduct the work. The procedures are carefully designed to ensure that important archaeological sites are identified and evaluated in the planning stages of an undertaking, and that State and National Register eligible sites are preserved and protected if possible. The initial phase, called an intensive survey, involves gathering environmental and historic information about the land and determining if there are any known archaeological sites within the project boundaries. The information is used to predict where unknown sites might be located. Small test pits are then excavated to sample areas likely to contain sites. If potentially important sites are discovered, it is often possible at this preliminary stage to redesign project plans and avoid them. Most of the CRM surveys on Nantucket have ended at the initial phase.

The second phase of investigation, referred to as a site examination, is designed to determine if a particular site is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The goal of this phase is to gather information about the size, age, condition, contents, and function of the site. The site examination must establish that the resource contains data that are unique and that can add to our current state of knowledge about a particular research topic. If a defensible argument can be made for State and National Register eligibility, the proponent of the project must try to avoid the site. If avoidance is not feasible, a plan is then developed to mitigate the adverse effects of the project either through preservation of the archaeological site or through an archaeological data-recovery plan. An archaeological data recovery is considered a final opportunity to collect information prior to destruction of a site. It requires careful development of research questions, excavation of a proportion of the site, and in-depth analyses of the contents.

In 1988, the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission (NP&EDC) planned the construction of the 8.1-mile Polpis Road bicycle path from Milestone Road to Anne's Lane in Siasconset. Because the project was funded through the Massachusetts Highway Department and was reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration, it was subject to review by the Massachusetts Historical Commission and required compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. An intensive archaeological survey conducted by the Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc. (PAL) in 1989 confirmed that there were many Native American and Colonial sites within the proposed alignment. Although sections of the path were redesigned to avoid certain sites, six ultimately could not be avoided. Phase II studies were carried out by PAL in 1991, resulting in the conclusion that four Native American sites were significant at the local and regional level. For the first time on Nantucket, an archaeological data recovery plan was to be initiated.

Two of the four Native American sites contained domestic house-floor deposits representing, in each case, the interiors of former wigwams. Although the sites were in different environmental settings several miles apart, each of the wigwam floors was remarkably similar. They consisted of blackened, greasy soil deposits extending about 8 to 9 m in length (26-27 ft), and imbedded with chipped stone tools, thousands of stone flakes (the debris from tool-production activity), food remains (shell and bone), and ceramics. The other two sites were smaller and were thought to represent brief encampments associated with the larger, nearby settlements. The data-recovery excavations involved collecting in a systematic way a ten percent sample of each of the four sites within the limits of the bicycle path easement. Site grids were established to maintain exact vertical and horizontal reference points for all of the artifacts and activity areas. Square units measuring 2 m x 2 m were excavated in 5 cm increments, soils were screened, and all artifacts were assigned provenance relative to vertical and horizontal control points on the grid. Bags of soil were also collected for laboratory analyses. The soils were subject to a flotation process that allows microscopic botanical remains to be extracted and identified. In addition, small fragments of charcoal were carefully packaged for radiocarbon dating.

The conclusion of fieldwork in the fall of 1995 marked the beginning of a lengthy analytical process that would reveal considerable new information about Native life on Nantucket (Rainey 2004). Over the course of about two years, nearly 70,000 artifacts ranging from large stone tools to microscopic seeds were identified, catalogued, and archived from the four archaeological sites. An unprecedented suite of eighteen radiocarbon dates was compiled and used to interpret the human processes that resulted in these complex archaeological deposits. Specific categories of research that have been enhanced from the data-recovery program include Native American architecture, ceramic technology, and foodways, among others. The project resulted in the first radiocarbon dated maize samples from well-documented island contexts, the first instance of wood-species identification in an archaeological site on Nantucket, and the first partially reconstructed ceramic vessel on Nantucket.

Native American Architecture
In the study of Native American architecture, the Polpis Road investigations provided evidence that traditional house sites were established on Nantucket during the Late Archaic to Early Woodland Period, about 3,000 to 3,500 years ago, and were used well into the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Radiocarbon-dated charcoal, shell, and maize samples provided specific time frames for site use through the Contact Period (ca. 450 B. P.), while seventeenth-century ceramic and pipe fragments certified enduring traditions after English settlement of the island. At the outset, homes were articulated with the natural landscape, making use of protective slopes, slightly elevated terraces, and efficient access to critical resources. The architectural patterns observed at the two sites containing house floors were nearly identical. The study concluded that oval structures measuring about 8 m in length were constructed using small poles (averaging 5-7 cm diameter) in addition to two larger, interior posts (30- to 40-cm diameter) that may have supported ridge poles. Larger posts were set about 1 m inside the building perimeter and spanned about 6.5 m. These supports may also have been utilized as elements of interior household furniture and were probably left in place during periodic, and possibly seasonal, movements to other parts of the island or to the New England mainland.

The materials used to construct wigwams may have changed over time, although analyses of charred wood fragments from several sites indicated that, at a minimum, white oak and hickory were used by the Native residents. Based on the wide range of animal species identified from food remains, deer, rabbit, raccoon, and seal were potential sources of food as well as skins for clothing, bedding, or wigwam coverings. Mats made of reeds, sedge, and grasses were certainly used to line floors, based on the thousands of grass seeds recovered from floor deposits. Various species of sedge were collected from coastal wedand margins, providing one of the principal raw materials used in the production of baskets, mats, bags, and in some cases clothing (Wood 1977; Josselyn 1674, 1865; Morion 1838). The importance of these resources to Nantucket's Native population is documented in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English land transfers and court records (Worth 1992), and is now supported with archaeological data.

Ceramic Technology
Deteriorated pottery fragments were found at all four of the archaeological sites, and were common in both wigwams. Of the hundreds of crushed ceramic fragments, differences in decoration, temper, color, thickness, and paste were considerable, leading to the general conclusion that ceramics were probably used at the sites for much of the Woodland Period (about 3000 years). Ceramics were not found in association with any other particular artifact class within the dwellings, and links with specific radiocarbon dated material could not be made. At one of the sites, however, the discovery of an isolated refuse pit containing only ceramic shards provided a unique opportunity to document a Nantucket vessel type. Because the pot was disposed of outside the home, the broken fragments were less subject to the deteriorating effects of trampling, and analysts were able to reconstruct a portion of it. Of the 1,217 fragments collected, 87 were cross-mended into 18 "sherd groups." The two largest sherd groups provided evidence of an estimated pot-rim diameter of about 21 cm and revealed a relatively simple exterior design of geometric incising, cross-hatching, and stamping. The relatively thin walls and use of crushed minerals visible in the temper place the vessel broadly within the Middle to Late Woodland Period (ca. 1650-450 B.P.).

Analyses of the partially reconstructed reconstructed ceramic vessel concluded that paste, design, and form are typical, and perhaps consistent with information from Wood land Period ceramic contexts elsewhere in New England. Indeed, one partially refitted vessel from a site in Martha's Vineyard exhibits exterior design elements that are indistinguishable from the Nantucket vessel (Macpherson 2000). Localized craft specialization with regard to ceramic production, style, and decoration is often attributed to cultural stress and the need to reinforce cultural identity in the appearance of common personal belongings and household equipment. In this case, stylistic consistencies with ceramics from Martha's Vineyard and elsewhere in New England may signify a time when functional needs took precedent over cultural expression, perhaps a time of peaceful coexistence.

Foodways
The archaeological investigations of the Polpis Road sites generated exceptionally large faunal collections, including the bones and teeth of many terrestrial species, fish, and marine mammals, as well as shellfish remains. Maize fragments were also recovered from two sites, and in both cases were radiocarbon-dated to the end of the Late Woodland/Contact Period (A.D. 1440 to 1630 and A.D. 1495 to 1670). From the two wigwam sites, over 14,000 animal-bone fragments were recovered and studied, leading to the general conclusion that diversity in diet was key to the success of daily life on Nantucket. White-tailed-deer bones and teeth were most common, with other terrestrial species including rabbit, raccoon, turkey, turtle, muskrat, river otter, domestic dog, and domestic cow. At one site, deer-bone and -antler fragments had been modified for use as household tools. Antler billets were effective hammers for chipped-stone-tool production, and a bone awl may have been used as a netting implement. The discovery of a grooved cobble, interpreted as a plummet, provided another clue about potential fishing techniques at shallow, intertidal waterways where nets would have been effective.

From the harbors and sea, a diversity of species was represented including spiny dogfish, tautog, Atlantic cod, sturgeon, sea bass, striped bass, gray seal, and dusky shark. Bird bones were also present, although in only one case was a positive identification made. A single talon fragment from the American bald eagle was identified at the same site where a tooth of a dusky shark was found. Those species have not been identified to date on Nantucket archaeological sites and were not necessarily part of a meal. The eagle is well represented in Native mythology on a national level, and the potential utility of shark teeth as tools, personal ornamentation, or in ritual must be recognized. These finds hint at the spectrum of ceremonial events that were likely elements of daily life for this thriving Native community.

The recovered remains of past foodways at the Polpis Road sites represent a fraction of what was consumed, based on the lengthy record of occupation at the sites. The processing and disposal of food remains at specific collecting sites, like the beach or along the margins of salt marshes and tidal rivers and streams, is a likely condition of prehistoric life on Nantucket. And, like many contemporary Nantucketers, Native Americans appear to have been aware of the limitations of local resources and the unpredictable nature of island life.

Conclusion
The Polpis Road bicycle path data-recovery program represents the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment of prehistoric archaeological resources on Nantucket. Fieldwork and subsequent analyses have generated new and regionally significant information about Native American lifeways on Nantucket, and a permanent collection of cultural materials, notes, drawings, and photographs that ultimately will be returned to the island for future generations to study. I was fortunate to have been assigned the role of field director on these important excavations and to have been given the opportunity to analyze the data. I look forward to continued opportunities to share the experience with the people of Nantucket.

Mary Lynne Rainey has been an employee of PAL since 1988 and has been a professional archaeologist since 1980. Since 1993, she has directed fourteen cultural resource-management projects on Nantucket, in the areas of Siasconset, Sesachacha Pond, Pocomo, Polpis, Plainfield, Nobadeer, Madequecham and Miacomet Valleys, downtown, and in the Eel Point neighborhood. Rainey has written environmental and historic contexts for much of the island that assist proponents of new projects with planning strategies that take into consideration Nantucket's important cultural resources. She has also been a guest speaker at the Nantucket Historical Association, the Nantucket New School, the Nantucket Elementary School, and the University of Massachusetts Field School.

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Originally published in Historic Nantucket, Summer 2004 (Vol. 53, No. 3), p. 8-13.