71 



on a scientific expedition to the shell heaps at Damariscotta. At this 

 time but little was known of the character of the shell heaps, and they 

 were generally regarded as being of natural origin. Indeed, so emi- 

 nent an authority as the elder Agassiz had pronounced the shell beds 

 at Damariscotta to be a natural deposit; his decision was based, 

 however, upon specimens sent to him, and would have been quite a 

 different one had he examined the beds in situ. It was with the view 

 of ascertaining the real character of these beds'that Prof Chadbourne 

 was sent to visit and examine them in the spring of 1859, by the 

 Maine Historical Society. The result of his exploration was to settle 

 for the first time the question as to whether they were the result of 

 geological agencies or the works of men. His report was published in 

 the Transactions of the Maine Historical Society, Vol. 6, and I here 

 insert it in full, as furnished me by the Secretary of the Society, Prof. 

 A. S. Packard, on account of its marking an important event in the 

 history of Archaeological investigation : 



Williams College, May 18, 1859. 

 John McKeen, Esq., 



Dear Sir: — On the twentieth of April I visited the beds of oyster 

 shells at Damariscotta, according to your suggestions. I did not have 

 time to visit all the beds in that region, but I believe I examined 

 those that are considered the most important. I have no doubt that 

 the shells examined by me were deposited by men. This I infer: 

 First, from the position of the piles of shells; Second, from the 

 deposit beneath them; Third, from the arrangement of the shells in 

 piles; Fourth, from the frequent occurrence of charcoal mixed with 

 the shells, even to the bottom; Fifth, from the fact that fires have 

 evidently been built among them, near the bottom, turning a portion 

 of them to lime, which is mingled with charcoal; Sixth, from the 

 mixture of other animal remains, as common clams {my a arenarid), 

 thick shelled clams (ve7ius mercenaria) , fragments of birds' bones, of 

 beavers' bones, with their teeth, and sturgeons' plates. 



First, The first thing that strikes the observer is the occurrence of 

 the shells in small piles, ten or fifteen feet in diameter, and apparently 

 two or three feet deep. They seem to rest upon the surface, and to 

 have no soil upon them except that formed by their decomposition 

 and the other substances that would naturally collect from fall of 

 leaves, decay of plants, and movement of dust from year to year. We 

 did not have the time to dig through any of these. I give only the 

 impression that I gained by examining them as they now are, and that 

 is, that they were deposited upon the land in its present position. 



