5 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



some realization of this when we note the thinning out of the polished 

 slate objects in eastern New England, southern New York, Pennsyl- 

 vania and the region north of the St Lawrence basin, including the 

 Erie-Ontario slopes, in Canada. On the contrary, these articles 

 appear in the greatest abundance west of the Mohawk headwaters, 

 westward into Ohio and down the Allegheny to the Ohio river and 

 southward to Tennessee. The St Lawrence basin all along the Great 

 Lakes also yield the " problematical " slates, but there the cultural 

 stimulus in other ways seems to be from the north. 



Definite traces of what is recognizable as an Algonkian occupation 

 occur from the Genesee valley throughout its length in New York, 

 Wyoming and Monroe counties containing many camp sites and a 

 considerable number of villages of this culture. Evidences are found 

 eastward through the Finger Lakes district, southward along the val- 

 leys of the Chemung, Susquehanna and Chenango, through various 

 portions of Chenango, Otsego and Oneida counties. In Jefferson 

 county to the north along the St Lawrence are also abundant traces. 

 Southward along the Delaware river through the counties of Dela- 

 ware, Ulster, Sullivan, Orange and Rockland the relics of occupation 

 seem almost entirely Algonkian. The Hudson valley shows an 

 Algonkian occupation as evidenced by the forms of pottery and 

 other artifacts. In some places Algonkian articles are found directly 

 beneath Iroquoian deposits, as at the mouth of Honeoye creek and 

 along the shores of the St Lawrence river. 



An. Outline of Algonkian Cultural Artifacts 



Methods of identification. In any endeavor to determine the cul- 

 tural significance of any artifact there must be a certain and definite 

 means of comparison. To fix the characteristics of a culture we 

 must have before us the results of actual excavations and collections 

 made in and on a site. In other words, we must reason from the 

 known to the unknown. Once we know the characteristics of an 

 Algonkian site we may look elsewhere and say with some degree of 

 positiveness what is Algonkian. But to know in the beginning what 

 is Algonkian we must find a site actually known to have been occu- 

 pied by some Algonkian tribe and after examination we must find 

 what the objects are, how they look, how they are decorated ; and, 

 what is equally important, we must determine what objects are asso- 

 ciated. Not only must we study the ash pit and refuse heap, but the 

 house site, the village site, the camp site and the fishing grounds. 



Once we know the characteristics of a historical site, which may 

 have within it European artifacts, we may look for older sites in 



