by William Moody, West Tisbury, Massachusetts
Volume 70, Number 1, January 2023
Projectile point typology has never been an exact science, nor was it ever intended to be so. Essentially, typology has been established by archaeologists to provide basic definitions and create a classification system for the purpose of separating different types of points, including the Neville projectile point, into categories that would then assist in understanding the prehistoric cultures and time-frames in which these artifacts were manufactured. It is not uncommon for both professional and avocational archaeologists to look at the various attributes of one particular projectile point and arrive at different conclusions about which typological category it should be placed in. It is truly amazing, and more than coincidental, that so many point styles often transcended many centuries without any drawings or written instructions to guide their manufacture. We have yet to understand fully how this technology was passed down from generation to generation and over such large geographic areas. Yet we use the final lithic products of their indigenous makers to suggest that this guidance did indeed take place. A reassessment os a Significant …
Collection of the author.
The following information, based on current published typologies, biface morphology and careful observations, is provided in an effort to shed new light on a significant New England artifact in regards to its possible typology. Some three decades ago, the author recovered a large and very thin, stemmed biface in a farm field in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. This was, in fact, the largest intact blade the author had ever discovered.
The small section of the field where the discovery was made was situated on level ground bordering a major brook and just below a fairly high glacial esker that had been mined for gravel in earlier years. Evidence of the mining operation was apparent by the large amounts of loose gravel dispersed in the top few inches of this adjoining field. The large blade was recovered almost at the very base of the esker. It was sticking straight down into the soil with only about 1/4 of an inch of its stem corner visible above the surface, and it seems highly possible that the blade may have been pulled down from the top of the hill during the gravel removal.
Collection of the author.
The discovery of this biface was reported in some detail in Indian Artifact Magazine (2000), and was later also pictured in Prehistoric American (2021), as well as being featured in an article for this very Journal (2022). The 5 1/16” blade was described in all three of these publications as an Atlantic implement blade, although its extreme thinness and expert craftsmanship could well argue against its use as a strictly utilitarian tool. This large knife surely would have been a prized possession of its original owner and may have even served in a ceremonial function. It was surmised that the finely crafted, pristine blade could possibly have been buried at some depth at the top of the esker and somehow, almost miraculously, managed to find its way to the bottom of the hill unbroken.
One of the final, and perhaps most important, observations that Trotta put forward, after discussing the many recoveries that he and the author both had made over the years at the Bridgewater site, was that not a single other Atlantic blade had ever been found on that site by either of them. Instead, they had in their joint collections upwards of 20 Neville points and also knew of a number of other such artifacts recovered by another collector at this site. Over a period of several decades, the author and Trotta have surface collected at a number of locations in southeastern New England. This particular Bridgewater site not only yielded a substantial number of the characteristic Neville points but also many other stone tools associated with this same Early Archaic culture. Other sites that they have had experience with over the years which included clear examples of Atlantic points revealed a different suite of tool forms that can be distinguished from the typical Neville tool kit. All this lends further credence to the identification of the large Bridgewater biface as a possible Neville artifact rather than an Atlantic implement blade. A reassessment os a Significant …
So, again, the main component at the Bridgewater site is clearly Early Archaic period, while Atlantic points are certainly Late Archaic bifaces. Corrected to actual calendar years, Atlantic blades can be temporally placed going back to around 4500 years BP and Neville points to approximately 9500 years BP. If this new assessment for the Bridgewater artifact is indeed correct, that would make a difference of some 5,000 years between its actual use by early native peoples and its modern day discovery. It would also place this artifact in the class of being one of the largest intact Neville knives yet to be recovered in New England. A reassessment os a Significant …
Point typology has long been a subject that can readily be open to debate, especially when considering one individual artifact. Yet, having previously published an article in this Journal, as well as other publications which included the earlier assumption about the named type of the Bridgewater biface, the author felt it was important now to offer this new assessment for a possible reconsideration and reclassification. A reassessment os a Significant …
References
Boudreau, Jeff
2016 A New England Typology of Native American Projectile Points. Alpha Graphics. MA.
Dincauze, Dena
1972 “The Atlantic Phase: A Late Archaic Culture in Massachusetts.” Man in the Northeast, Vol. 4:40–61.
1976 The Neville Site: 8,000 years at Amoskeag. Peabody Museum Monographs. Cambridge, MA.
Moody, William
2000 “Four Hours in the Field—Nothing, and Then….” Indian Artifact Magazine, April–June, Vol. 10:2, p. 29.
2021 Prehistoric American, Vol. LV:1, p. 27.
2022 “The Atlantic Broad Point Tradition.” Central States Archaeological Journal 69 (2): 88–90. A reassessment os a Significant …