MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING
WAS HELD: SATURDAY OCTOBER 13, 2007
(PHOTOS FROM THE MEETING, AND THE PROGRAM)
Alan Leveillee, RPA, PAL and Roger Williams University, was the Program Chairman for this meeting. Please read his comments below on "Old Friends".
Dena F. Dincauze, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, led the post-meeting discussion.
MORNING PROGRAM
10:00 am -12:00 pm Annual Business Meeting – Robbins Museum
*****************************LUNCH BREAK*****************************
1:30pm – 4:00pm
Middleborough Public Library, Middleborough, Massachusetts
Interpreting the Fragmented 3,500 Year-Old Message
In Broken Vessels: It is Always Transitional
This program will include presentations by a panel of eminent archaeologists, recognized and prominent members of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, each noted for research contributions to the consideration of Transitional Archaic Period cultural materials, sites, and peoples.
Six formal presentations will be followed by an open audience discussion on topics related to the dynamic epoch bridging the Archaic to Woodland Periods. We are especially honored that Dr. Dena F. Dincauze will distinguish the panel, provide comments, and facilitate discussions.
Program:
1:30 – 1:40pm Greetings and Introduction
Alan Leveillee, RPA, PAL and Roger Williams University
1:40 – 2:00pm Contrasting the Typology and Lithics from Seaver Farm and
Mansion Inn with the Hawes Site
Jeff Boudreau, Massachusetts Archaeological Society
2:00 – 2:20pm Early Susquehanna Tradition in the Merrimack Valley Region
Gene Winter, Massachusetts Archaeological Society
2:20 – 2:40pm Conceptualizing the Transitional Archaic: Something Old, Something New,
Something Borrowed…
Curtiss Hoffman, Ph.D., Bridgewater State College
2:40 – 2:50pm Break
2:50 – 3:10pm Titicut During the Transitional Archaic Period
Bill Taylor, Massachusetts Archaeological Society
3:10 – 3:30pm Transcending Material Culture at Millbury III: Archaeology and Animism
Alan Leveillee, RPA, PAL and Roger Williams University
3:30 – 3:50pm Underwater Archaeology and Evidence for a Transitional Archaic Drowning
David S. Robinson, RPA, PAL and The University of Connecticut
3:50 – 4:00pm Comments and Audience Discussion
Dena F. Dincauze, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts
ÌÌÌÌÌ
On “Old Friends” and the Distinguished Panel of
Presenters for the 2007 MAS Annual Meeting Program,
Alan Leveillee and the presenters
The concept of this year’s annual MAS meeting afternoon program sprang from discussions between the Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society Editor, Jim Bradley, and me, intermittently between 2006 and early 2007. At the heart of our talks was our shared interest in social patterns reflected in material culture and Jim’s diligent efforts to acquire submissions for publication in the Bulletin. Noting that much has happened in the past decade relative to discoveries and insights into the Transitional Archaic, Jim suggested that I might take a crack at a synthesis article, summing up what light our latest perspectives have shed upon the archaeology of Susquehanna Tradition peoples. I initially agreed and began to revisit the literature. As I did, several truths were revealed: that I don’t know as much about the Transitional Archaic as I thought I did; that some very good work has been done by old friends; and that a synthesis in my (written) voice would be nowhere near as effective or eloquent as through their own. Accordingly, I suggested to Jim that instead of an article, let’s explore if the Society would be interested in a panel discussion forum with the participants including those old friends.
I’ve repeated the term old friends deliberately here. It’s indelibly linked to the subject at hand, in my mind, thanks to Dena Dincauze. Years ago, I sat by an excavation unit on the Millbury III Site trying to make sense of a few broken bifaces, calcined bone fragments, and their contexts. Recalling Dena’s remarkable 1968 monograph Cremation Cemeteries of Eastern Massachusetts gave me the possibility of a hypothesis. On the drive back to the lab that afternoon, I posited that just perhaps we had discovered a Susquehanna secondary cremation burial feature. The crew was either unimpressed with my speculations or too tired to say much (probably both).
In a short time, I became convinced of the nature and importance of Millbury III and shared my thinking with close colleagues, all of whom advised that I be absolutely sure before making an announcement that would trigger unprecedented legal, logistical, and financial consequences. There was only one place and person to turn to: Amherst and Dena Dincauze. As I visited with Dena she held the small assemblage cupped in her hands and with a knowing smile said… “Alan, this is like visiting old friends.” With that visit, I cemented a bond with one of my intellectual mentors and joined the fellowship of her old friends. And the circle continues as we prepare for the 2007 Annual Meeting. Here, excerpted from abstracts prepared by the panelists for the afternoon session, are some of the topics that Dena and the panel will be considering.
Jeff Boudreau notes that the typology and lithics of ceremonial assemblages from the Seaver Farm and Mansion Inn sites are notably alike. Similarities include incinerated woodworking tools, Susquehanna Tradition broadblade bifaces and exotic lithics. The ceremonial assemblage from the Hawes Site is composed of steatite bowls and narrow blades dominated by Normanskill and Orient points. Absent from the Hawes Site assemblage are woodworking tools and exotic lithics. Jeff will describe these assemblages from his unique perspective as a flintknapper, graphic artist, and archaeologist.
Gene Winter will contrast two lithic technologies represented in the Merrimack Valley at the time of the introduction of the Atlantic Phase of the Susquehanna Tradition. He will compare and contrast these technologies through an analysis of materials from archeological features created by both the established and newly introduced peoples. Gene brings a remarkable depth of experience to the panel.Curtiss Hoffman’s research interest is to bring to the Transitional Archaic discussion a better sense of the ways in which cultures interact and relate to one another. He will provide a recent ethnographic analogy to suggest that cultures like those we infer in the archeological record for the Transitional Archaic are neither unitary blocks which can be moved wholesale from one region to another, nor seamless amalgams of interest groups, but are rather made up of interlocking systems which allow for some traits deriving from outside the culture to be incorporated while still retaining other traits which are indigenous and traditional. He will ground the discussion in recent discoveries at the Middleborough Little League Site, which suggest both innovation and continuity across the time span between the Late Archaic and Early Woodland. Curtiss brings an inspiring combination of academic talent, energy, and imaginative insight to the panel.
Bill Taylor will first describe the Titicut area and artifacts discovered there. He will discuss the various resources that drew Susquehanna peoples to this location as a sacred place and a core for settlement. Bill will then focus on the Seaver Farm crematory and discuss the recovered artifacts, which collectively indicate that the site was used for a span of over 1,000 years. Like Gene Winter, Bill Taylor’s years of experience and precise records and recollections are providing new insights and allowing us to consider both material culture and the cultures of material.
Alan Leveillee will discuss and illustrate ideological and spiritual aspects of the Millbury III Susquehanna cremation complex through the lenses of material culture analyses, on-site Native American and archaeologist dialogues, and site-related experiences. Alan attributes his success as a professional archaeologist and educator to collaboration with more talented colleagues, whom he has counted coup upon with regularity, this program being an example.
David Robinson observes that Susquehanna cultural materials are well represented in the Gallo Site assemblage from the shores of Cedar Tree Point in Narragansett Bay. His discussion will highlight the Transitional Archaic component of the site and consider implications for on-going and planned research. He will also discuss long-held assumptions about the nature and timing of coastal adaptations, from the vantage point of finer resolutions of data and scale. David’s work relative to discoveries and research potential of underwater prehistory promises to bring a new and exciting dimension to our understanding of the past.
Dena Dincauze brings unparalleled experience and insights to the considerations of the archaeology and anthropology of the Transitional Archaic. In applied social science, each of us contributes to, or diminishes from, the illuminative qualities of our professions by individual conduct and achievement. In this regard, the career of Dina Dincauze as the preeminent archaeologist of the region is radiant.
The 2007 Annual Meeting promises to be a memorable gathering of old friends and distinguished Massachusetts Archaeological Society members whose collective membership in the Society exceeds 200 years. This year’s meeting will be one to remember. Please join us for a fascinating panel discussion and a celebration of society fellowship.
Coffee at the Robbins Museum
(click for registration)
