Click here to return to the South Windsor Unearthed homepage.
Conglomerate Stone Hoe
Plant cultivation in the fertile South Windsor meadows was accomplished by using a variety of tools, including this hoe. Hoes were used to till the soil before planting and afterwards, for weeding purposes. Other Indigenous societies in New England made hoes out of freshwater mussels, quohogs and animal shoulder blades.
Debitage
Waste materials from the production of stone tools. This discarded debris gives archaeologists insights as to what Indigenous people may have been doing at any particular site.
Fire-cracked Rocks
Fire-cracked rocks are those that repeatedly have been exposed to heat and are identifiable by their jagged edges and discoloration. They often are reliable indicators of former Indigenous settlements. Due to their frequent use in cooking, fire-cracked rocks also provide information about Indigenous Peoples’ dietary habits and eating patterns. Heated rocks also could be placed in containers fashioned from animal skins or wood to heat food contents. These rocks frequently were used to make hearths for cooking food, as stone retains heat. Outside of cooking, they might also have been used as heat sources in shelters.
Fishing Net
Indigenous People fished for a variety of seafood in this region, most notably salmon, perch and sturgeon. The Connecticut River teemed with marine life and was home to freshwater fish, serving as an excellent year-round food source. Hemp nets, weirs and baskets were employed, while fishhooks were fashioned from bone, stone and/or wood. Indigenous People also gathered clams and oysters from the Connecticut River and the archaeological record indicates local tribes traded shellfish with coastal tribes.
Considered one of the nation’s great waterways, the Connecticut River derives its name from the Algonquin word, “Quinnehtuqut,” meaning “long tidal river.” The Connecticut River served as a valuable survival and transportation resource for South Windsor’s earliest inhabitants. From its source in Canada, the river has flown for thousands of years and archaeological evidence demonstrates that Native Peoples have been living along its banks for thousands of years.
It was once home to an abundance of shad, sturgeon, salmon and trout. The river’s fish were salted, smoked and dried for storage until Winter months, a time when natural supplies fell shorter. The region’s bountiful marine foods, along with its fertile meadows, became an ideal habitat for thriving fauna and agricultural endeavors.
A host of Native Tribal Nations lived along the Connecticut River, including the Poquonnock, the Nowaas and the Wangunk.
Hafted Celt
Made of stone, a celt is a type of axe hafted, or attached, to a handle featuring a carved hole to hold the celt in place. As with other stone tools, the celt arrived at its final form through the process of pecking and grinding with rocks harder than the celt itself. After achieving its final form, it was polished with sand and water. Celts were used to cut materials such as wood.
Grooved Axe
Dating as far back as the Early Archaic (approximately 9,000-8,000 years ago) and similar to the celt’s creation process is the grooved axe. It also involved a time-consuming process to form by using a secondary harder stone material for grinding and pecking. A grooved axe typically is tapered on one end and features a groove all around its entire midsection where a wooden handle would be attached, or hafted, with animal sinew. Grooved axes were used to chop trees down and split wood.
Notched Bannerstone
Found in the East Windsor Hill section of South Windsor, this notched bannerstone is a rare find. Used as weights for throwing spears, bannerstones helped propel the actual projectile, extending the hunter’s reach. Some archaeologists believe the notches appearing on some bannerstones represent hunting kills.
Nutting Stone
Among the most commonly found lithic artifacts here are nutting stones. These discoidal groundstones were used as tools to hold nuts and seeds in place, while another rock was used to crush them.
Paint Pot
Although this particular pot may date to the Archaic Period, its exact age is unknown. What is remarkable about this piece is the interior scratch marks indicate a colored mineral – inherent to the pot itself – was being scraped out. Most likely, the material present was ocher. Ocher is a naturally forming clay pigment containing ferric oxide, and ranges in color from light yellow to brown and red.
Pestles
Pestles were multi-purpose tools along with their Mortar counterparts. These long cylindrical tools were made from a variety of stone materials, including brownstone and basalt. They were used in food preparation for reducing corn kernels, grains, seeds and nuts.
Problematic Form
This conical form features charred material on its underside. Archaeologists are unsure of its actual usage but believe it may have been used to crush various materials.
Projectile Points
Since the Paleoindian Age, projectile points or stems, have been employed by Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas. These varied points were either attached to a spear or an arrow and feature a variety of stone materials, including a variety of quartz and quartzite. In this region, deer and moose were commonly hunted big-game animals, but smaller animals, such as beaver, rabbit, squirrel, and otter also were hunted for food, as well as for their secondary materials, such as pelts. Indigenous Peoples here also hunted wild fowl, including duck, geese, turkey and pigeons.
Bow and arrow usage became popular during the Woodland Period. Bows often were made of hickory, and usually spanned around three and half feet to four feet long. Arrows were fashioned from reeds or tree branches, affixed with sharp arrowheads. Snares to catch animals could also be fashioned with hemp rope and small bendable saplings.
Sanding Stone
This mica schist sanding stone was used to shape and smoothen wood, bone and softer stones, such as a slate. Mica schist is an excellent polisher of shells and beads.
Stone Cores
Cores are the parent material from which projectile points are made. Popular stone cores for making points include flint, quartz, quartzite and jasper. Shaping core material involves the use of simple tools, such as deer antler, stone, bone and/or copper.
Utilized Continental Flint Flakes
These European flint flakes demonstrate modification for use as a tool. When ships sailed to the New World, they would use flint as ballast. Flint no longer needed was cast off the ships, and many times, used as a tool source by the Indigenous Peoples of this region.
Click here to return to the South Windsor Unearthed homepage.