Tribe Receives Donation of Ancient Artifacts

An anonymous donor has provided St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Office of Historical Preservation with a series of artifacts. The donor found them in the North Country region and thought it would be appropriate for the tribe to own them. Arnold Printup, Tribal Historical Preservation Officer has taken possession of them. “Although we know some things about them, I plan on having an archaeologist from SUNY Potsdam come in to take a look at them,” he said. “That way we can get a better understanding of their significance.” All the pieces were surface finds, which does not involve any excavation or disturbance of graves.

The artifacts consist of several ground-stone tools, pieces of pottery, two clay tobacco pipes and a clay figurine. Ground stone tool work generally begins to appear in what archaeologist call the Archaic Period, from 8,000 BC to 1,000 BC, 10,000 to 3,000 years before present. The connection of these artifacts to the Mohawks or other Iroquois tribes is not clear.

These ground stone tools are from the Late Archaic period and are made of black basalt, a commonly used stone for these items. One of the tools is an ax head known as a celt and does not have any grooves for fastening onto a handle. Ancient Indians used them for clearing brush and clearing the limbs off trees. Another item appears to be a type of wood gouge tool, a common tool. It was possibly used for making troughs from tree trunks or large branches or for making dugout canoes. Other ground stone artifacts are manos used to grind seeds and nuts on top of a stone slab called a metate.

Producing ground stone tools is a very labor-intensive process. The makers would often select stones called cobbles from rivers and streams and use another stone to “peck” the tool into shape. Once they peck the tool into rough shape, the makers would then polish them with sand using water as a lubricant. Sometimes items have holes drilled through them, done by using a reed or a bone filled with sand.

The pottery and clay pieces appear to be from the later Woodland period from 600 BC to 800 AD. Archaeologists call the pieces of pottery “shards.” These pieces show decoration typical of the Woodland period and are in St. Lawrence Iroquoian style. Some of the pieces, called rim shards, have been re-assembled into the rim of a fairly large pot. It clearly shows the type of decoration along the rim, placed there 1500 to 1000 years ago. This is incised decoration, since it was carved or pressed into the wet clay before it was fired. In addition to size, shape and design of pottery, archaeologists also examine the material used for tempering the pottery. Temper is the material used to hold the clay together when being shaped. Earlier pot makers used grass to temper their pottery, resulting in roughly finished pieces with small holes where the grass burned away during the firing process. Later potters used ground seashells or sand as temper, resulting in pieces with finer appearances. These donated pieces are more finely finished and well decorated. Some rim shards show a scalloped edge, stylized faces and another has sun images on it.

The two clay tobacco pipes also appear to be from the Woodland Period. One has incised decoration, while the other, although broken, has a bowl and stem, but no decoration. The existence of clay and stone pipes demonstrates the cultivation, trade and use of tobacco going back many thousands of years. Both clay and stone pipes were often decorated with effigies and forms of animals, displaying the maker’s skills and their possible use for ceremonial purposes. One of the artifacts is a clay, human-like figurine that has appears to have broken off from the bowl of a clay pipe. “When artifacts have been clearly identified and catalogued, they will reside in the Akwesasne Mohawk Museum,” noted Printup. “That way everybody can have a chance to view and enjoy them.” The museum, located on State Route 37, is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, on Saturdays from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and on weekends by appointment. The museum’s phone number is 518-358-2461.