THK AKCIIKOLOC.ICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 345 



woodchuck and certain bird bones, presumably duck and wild 

 turkeys. Shells, however, predominated. 



Some of the pits were filled with shells all of one kind, as scallops 

 and soft shell clams. Mr Harrington thought pits of this kind evi- 

 dence of native clambakes and says in his notes : 



This theory seems to be borne out by the fire-broken stones and ashes in the 

 pits, and the fact that most of the shells show no signs of having been 

 forcibly opened. A fire was probably made in these pits on a bed of stones, 

 when such could 'be procured, and kept burning until the stones and the 

 surrounding ground were very hot, when the shell fish and other food were 

 put between layers of sea weed. Then the whole must have been covered 

 and left to steam until the food had been thoroughly cooked. 



Aside from the abundant evidences of food found in the shell 

 and refuse deposits, there were found fragments and in some cases 

 entire specimens of artifacts. The records show that there were 

 numerous chips of flint and quartz, flint and quartz jasper and argil- 

 lite arrow points, of the notched variety, scrapers, drills and knives. 

 In one small pit there were two cache blades of oval pattern. Larger 

 objects were shallow mortars or metates, hammerstones, pitted 

 stones, chipped pebbles, probably choppers, and a fine maul with a 

 pit and grooved sides. One of the best specimens was a grooved 

 axe, rather well made, and found about 18 inches below the surface 

 in soil that showed only slight traces of occupation. Another inter- 

 esting specimen was a broken gorget that had been redrilled. Pig- 

 ments were represented by one piece of graphite, evidently much 

 rubbed, some yellow ocherous clay and cuplike modules of limonite 

 with a red pigment clinging to the inside. 



Many fragments of pottery were found. The decoration was 

 characteristically Algonkian, and consisted of impressed patterns of 

 cords, coarse fabric, twisted grass, and twiglike markings. The 

 decoration was carried over the rims of the pots well down into the 

 neck. One specimen was impressed with the edge of a scallop shell. 

 The tempering material was coarse sand in some instances, but in 

 the majority of cases of pulverized shells. ,No sherds showing pot- 

 tery with a constricted neck were found, and the few fragments that 

 had incised designs were crudely marked. 



Bone implements were fairly numerous, considering the character 

 of the occupation. There were awls made of splinters of deer bone, 

 some of them being exceptionally well made. Some were decorated 

 with incised lines. Several specimens were perforated for tying to 

 the belt or other place. Several broken needles came from the 



