Sample of Development Funded Projects
Phase III mitigations, clearing the way for construction on NRE properties
ABORIGINAL FARMING PRACTICES ON EASTERN Long Island
Star Island Site: Montauk, New York
for a yacht club expansion
Taken as a whole, the Star Island Site appears to represent a recurrent, mid-late Late Woodland through Historic occupation and utilization, during the late summer to fall, of a small island habitat for horticulture, perhaps as an extension of gathering, which is the heaviest represented subsistence activity on site, and supplemented to a lesser extent by hunting and fishing. As early as A.D 1300 to 1420, prehistoric inhabitants were growing corn, and continued to do so, as part of an overall resource procurement strategy, up through the historic period.
Especially interesting is that the earliest occupation at feature 8A(AD1300-1420) appeared to produce the most maize while the latest occupation at feature 10(AD 1680-1760) produced significantly less. Besides gathering and horticulture, lithic quarrying with beach cobbles was also conducted across site. Artifact recovery throughout the site was moderate. However, floral and phytolith recovery was outstanding and represented by a wide variety of seeds, grasses, possible squash, wood charcoal remains, and a bean, as well as corn in numerous features.
Angstrom Site: Kingston, New York
A Midddle Archaic to Contact Period Multi-Component Site
including a Late Woodland Horticultural Hamlet
for a multi lot subdivision
The Angstrom Site appears to represent a Native American multicomponent site including evidence from the Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, and Contact Periods. The site appears to have been heavily utilized during the Late to Terminal Archaic (Transitional Period) and again during the later portion of the Late Woodland Period. However, the Archaic group utilized the site differently than the later occupants. During the Late Archaic to Transitional Period, Angstrom was used as a recurrent base camp and/or large procurement/processing camp by what appears to have been some large groups. During the Late Woodland, the site was used as a semi-sedentary horticultural “hamlet” style site. The Angstrom Site also functioned as smaller procurement/processing camps or stations for the other periods.
The archaeological remains show large Late-Terminal Archaic hearths but no pits. This may be due to different styles of subsistence processing (cooking) or to preservation issues. Contrarily, the Late Woodland pits dominate the landscape and only 1 hearth from this time period was encountered.
The Black Walnut Island 2 Site: Pine Island, New York
A Late to Terminal Archaic base camp with a probable ceremonial Middle Woodland sweat lodge intrusion.
(for a single lot subdivision)
The Black Walnut Island 2 Site at the Lot 1 Loci appears to represent a recurrent Late to Terminal Archaic camp with a Middle Woodland intrusive feature. This feature, carbon dated at AD 790-1000, is a keyhole shaped feature of rock (partly fire cracked) over charcoal mottled ground. Dimensions were about 6‘ by 7’ with a pit in the corner, 2 quartz crystals, and 2 paint pots. This sweatlodge-like feature intruded through the Late Archaic camp.
The payne site: Montauk, new york
Ten-Thousand years of land use at Fort Pond.
Taken as a whole, the Payne Site appears to represent an intensively used, very recurrent series of procurement/processing camps and base camps. These huntergatherers utilized this site possibly as early as the Paleoindian and the Middle Archaic Periods, through the Late Archaic and Transitional Periods, Early Woodland, Middle and Late Woodland Periods. Thirteen features, including cooking pits, oven pits, hearths, and middens, as well as over 5500 artifacts and over 800 ecofacts were recovered within an approximate 1/8 acre area situated on a small, dry, moderately sloped area squeezed in between steep slopes directly over looking Fort Pond.