Who lived here and when?
Two archaeological questions immediately pop into my mind when I gaze at land near a river. Who lived here? When?
In the photo Gail Merian is telling me the who and when of the field to which she is pointing. It is in the Town of North Norwich, about a quarter-mile east of the railroad tracks and the proposed path of the dreaded NYRI power line.
Gail is the president of the Chenango Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association. She is holding three issues of our Chapter Bulletin in which her articles are published describing the remains left by the residents of this field (June 1999, July 2001, December 2006).
The Chenango River valley has been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 5,000 years and possibly 10,000. This field produced evidence going back to about 3500 BC. Archaeologists call this time frame the Early Archaic Period.
Our local past is divided into four major stages: Paleo 8000 - 4500 BC, Archaic 4500 - 1300 BC, Transitional 1300 - 1000 BC, and Woodland 1000 BC - 1700 AD, according to William A. Ritchie in his 1994 book, “The Archaeology of New York State,” page xxx. Most of the activity along the Chenango River occurred during the Archaic stage, according to Ted Whitney in his monumental November 1974 article, “The Indian occupations of Chenango County to 1975,” in our Chapter Bulletin, page 4. There is no evidence of any large Native American settlements along this river, just small groups passing back and forth over long stretches of time.
Archaeology is an attempt to decipher history from the physical remains that people left behind. In the absence of any writings, we are stuck with the interpretation of field recoveries. Unfortunately, we do not have as much field data as we would like, but we keep trying to get more. The meager evidence engenders multiple interpretations and new evidence is always enthusiastically welcomed.
The Euro-American history of Chenango County goes back to the mid 1700s, less than three centuries. So much has happened during this relatively short time that it stretches the imagination to ponder what went on during the past 50 centuries. And what will happen over the next long time periods? Will humanity still be here? A human generation is 25 years, so this rural field has hosted about 200 generations.
The archaeological consensus is that this field served as a fishing camp. Fish, clams, and other aquatic delicacies were important components of Indian diets. The Chenango River and its numerous tributaries provided a veritable supermarket of foodstuffs. The relatively flat lowlands were suitable for farming and the nearby hills teamed with game and nuts. However, farming was not practiced here until the Middle Woodland stage, around 1100 AD (Whitney page 9). The bow and arrow was first employed during the Early Woodland stage, 900 BC - 300 AD. “Arrowheads’ from earlier times were spears and knives and are better termed projectile points.
The true names of the earliest peoples are unknown and are just referred to by names that archaeologists assign. With no written documents, true names could be learned only through contact between Euro- and Native Americans.
The Native Americans most familiar to our current residents are the Oneida tribe of the Iroquois (more properly called the Haudenosaunee) League. Chenango was Oneida territory from about the 1500s up to settlement by the Euro-Americans in the early 1800s. They hosted the Tuscaroras around 1715 (Whitney page 10). The main Oneida villages were north of what is today State Route 20. They migrated south in the spring and returned home in the fall.
Prior to the Oneida were the Owasco, who dwelled here from 900 to 1350 AD and introduced corn, beans, and squash, the “three sisters.” The Owasco could have been the precursors of the Oneida, or maybe not.
The basic archaeological studies for the field in the photo were performed by members of our Chapter prior to 1973. They were recorded for posterity by Doctor Richard E. Hosbach in his September 1973 article, “The Mor-Nor site - a multicomponent fishing camp - and its relationship to other prehistoric sites in the Upper Susquehanna Valley” in our Bulletin, pages 1-101+ plates, where he summed up the knowledge at that time. Gail’s studies are continuations of his.
An enormous amount of archaeological evidence is lost because it has been gleaned off cornfields by collectors. Once a projectile point is sold it loses its provenance and thus its scientific usefulness. Many collectors accumulate their finds but do not record any information about where they were found. Some collectors contaminate their collections by mixing found items with items they traded or purchased. When the collectors die, their collections are either discarded or lost.
We urge collectors to keep good records and to consider donating their collections to an appropriate museum, so that they may be studied. We also encourage landowners to host archaeological digs so that scientific evidence can be unearthed. We have to find out more about the Chenango River valley, before all of it is destroyed by irresponsible development.
In the photo Gail Merian is telling me the who and when of the field to which she is pointing. It is in the Town of North Norwich, about a quarter-mile east of the railroad tracks and the proposed path of the dreaded NYRI power line.
Gail is the president of the Chenango Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association. She is holding three issues of our Chapter Bulletin in which her articles are published describing the remains left by the residents of this field (June 1999, July 2001, December 2006).
The Chenango River valley has been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 5,000 years and possibly 10,000. This field produced evidence going back to about 3500 BC. Archaeologists call this time frame the Early Archaic Period.
Our local past is divided into four major stages: Paleo 8000 - 4500 BC, Archaic 4500 - 1300 BC, Transitional 1300 - 1000 BC, and Woodland 1000 BC - 1700 AD, according to William A. Ritchie in his 1994 book, “The Archaeology of New York State,” page xxx. Most of the activity along the Chenango River occurred during the Archaic stage, according to Ted Whitney in his monumental November 1974 article, “The Indian occupations of Chenango County to 1975,” in our Chapter Bulletin, page 4. There is no evidence of any large Native American settlements along this river, just small groups passing back and forth over long stretches of time.
Archaeology is an attempt to decipher history from the physical remains that people left behind. In the absence of any writings, we are stuck with the interpretation of field recoveries. Unfortunately, we do not have as much field data as we would like, but we keep trying to get more. The meager evidence engenders multiple interpretations and new evidence is always enthusiastically welcomed.
The Euro-American history of Chenango County goes back to the mid 1700s, less than three centuries. So much has happened during this relatively short time that it stretches the imagination to ponder what went on during the past 50 centuries. And what will happen over the next long time periods? Will humanity still be here? A human generation is 25 years, so this rural field has hosted about 200 generations.
The archaeological consensus is that this field served as a fishing camp. Fish, clams, and other aquatic delicacies were important components of Indian diets. The Chenango River and its numerous tributaries provided a veritable supermarket of foodstuffs. The relatively flat lowlands were suitable for farming and the nearby hills teamed with game and nuts. However, farming was not practiced here until the Middle Woodland stage, around 1100 AD (Whitney page 9). The bow and arrow was first employed during the Early Woodland stage, 900 BC - 300 AD. “Arrowheads’ from earlier times were spears and knives and are better termed projectile points.
The true names of the earliest peoples are unknown and are just referred to by names that archaeologists assign. With no written documents, true names could be learned only through contact between Euro- and Native Americans.
The Native Americans most familiar to our current residents are the Oneida tribe of the Iroquois (more properly called the Haudenosaunee) League. Chenango was Oneida territory from about the 1500s up to settlement by the Euro-Americans in the early 1800s. They hosted the Tuscaroras around 1715 (Whitney page 10). The main Oneida villages were north of what is today State Route 20. They migrated south in the spring and returned home in the fall.
Prior to the Oneida were the Owasco, who dwelled here from 900 to 1350 AD and introduced corn, beans, and squash, the “three sisters.” The Owasco could have been the precursors of the Oneida, or maybe not.
The basic archaeological studies for the field in the photo were performed by members of our Chapter prior to 1973. They were recorded for posterity by Doctor Richard E. Hosbach in his September 1973 article, “The Mor-Nor site - a multicomponent fishing camp - and its relationship to other prehistoric sites in the Upper Susquehanna Valley” in our Bulletin, pages 1-101+ plates, where he summed up the knowledge at that time. Gail’s studies are continuations of his.
An enormous amount of archaeological evidence is lost because it has been gleaned off cornfields by collectors. Once a projectile point is sold it loses its provenance and thus its scientific usefulness. Many collectors accumulate their finds but do not record any information about where they were found. Some collectors contaminate their collections by mixing found items with items they traded or purchased. When the collectors die, their collections are either discarded or lost.
We urge collectors to keep good records and to consider donating their collections to an appropriate museum, so that they may be studied. We also encourage landowners to host archaeological digs so that scientific evidence can be unearthed. We have to find out more about the Chenango River valley, before all of it is destroyed by irresponsible development.
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