THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 79 



refuse deposits of marine shells intermingled with animal bones and 

 other waste material and occasional specimens of ornaments and 

 implements. Some of these shell heaps are as deep as 8 or 10 feet, 

 though most have a depth of 4 feet and less. Some coastal sites 

 have good occupational layers with refuse pits and fire holes. Cen- 

 tral New York village sites are near lakes or large streams and 

 spread out over a considerable acreage, as if the village or camp 

 was either not compact or that it was moved about in the same 

 general spot. Very few sites away from the coast have the thick 

 deposits of solid refuse found in places of Iroquois occupation, 

 which may have resulted from the Algonkian custom of throwing 

 refuse on the surface, to be destroyed by rodents and the elements, 

 and thus preventing the accumulation of intrusive debris in the 

 ground. 



There were several Algonkian sites near Plattsburg on Lake 

 Champlain, others near Coxsackie and at Croton point on the 

 Hudson; in Central New York, at Owasco and Oneida lakes. 

 Coastal sites have been described by Skinner and Harrington in 

 American Museum publications, and in this work, pages 340-48. 



The Algonkins built their villages on the flat land near navigable 

 streams, and while they did have fortified refuges in the form of 

 stockades, the remains of these are few and not impressive. 



3 THE ESKIMO-LIKE CULTURE 



In various localities throughout the State there are sites that 

 seem to have been occupied at a very early period. The implements 

 found are few and crude, with now and then the anomaly of some 

 wonderfully fine specimen. The fire pits show little refuse and 

 almost no bone, save fragments calcined by heat. In some of these 

 sites fire-cracked stones are abundant. Graves are shallow and show 

 no trace of osseous substance. 



So far we have described nothing especially characteristic, but 

 when we discover on sites like these semilunar knives of slate and 

 rubbed slate double-edged knives and projectile points, we have 

 something as a guide (see plate 18). Associated with these objects 

 are found fragments of soapstone pottery. Chert arrowheads are 

 broad, large, and have sloping shoulders. Some are almost lozenge- 

 shaped and many have thick, wide necks as if used as lance or har- 

 poon heads. Celts and polished stone scrapers are found on these 

 sites as also are chert scrapers and perforators. On a few of 

 these sites bone harpoons have been found in ashy deposits (see 

 plate 17). Dr O. C. Auringer found a beautiful walrus ivory dirk 



