"Burying the trowel"

Here are some videos from the Friends of Pinehawk, in Acton. The first (at the moment) is the Zoom meeting with Kitty O'Riorda about changing views of the cultural landscape.

Videos – Friends of Pine Hawk

Use this passcode, when asked: 8i#Up+.p

Good news - rain a comin

 

If you are gardening, or hunting for arrowheads in recently plowed dirt, the end of a drought is a good thing. This one has been pretty bad.

Iridescent Quartz

Interesting but not Rock Pile related:

Finding RARE IRIDESCENT QUARTZ at Sweet Surrender Crystal Mine in Arkansas | Digging Guide Episode 8

Prehistoric Fields - Las Cruces NM

 Prehistoric Fields - East Mesa of Las Cruces, NM

"...where every rock looks like a face..."

A late paleo arrowhead

I had a bit of luck yesterday. You might say a small bit of luck:

I think this is a transitional style like a "Dalton-Hardaway" but perhaps a little later.

Update: The fields are in awful shape. The tractors have beaten the surface and the corn stalks are lying, shredded, on the ground. Where they have re-conditioned the fields with harrowing, there has been no rain and all the surface is dusty, the same color as the dirt. I spent all day with my son, looking at the ground in MA and RI and we found almost nothing. So let's wait for a good rain before spending more time examining dust.

Celtic Ogham writing in the Southwestern US

Perhaps you have seen the Ogham (or Oggam) alphabet? Supposedly it was designed for messages written on a notched stick. Like this from Ancient Origins:

So, as far as I can tell, this writing system is common in the Southwest, because I keep seeing examples of it in videos. Like this one from "Trek Planner", who goes out in the desert near the 4-corners area and makes Go-Pro videos as he hikes and explores. Here is an example:

Now, I don't know how to read this, nor pretend that this form of the writing is identical to any I can find in Google image searches. But for my money, this is Ogham in Utah. I guess this makes me a UFO-ologist or a SASQUATCH-ologist. 

When things are said to have originated in Europe and only arisen in the US because of pre-historic voyaging, I routinely wonder if the flow might have been in the other direction: from the US to Europe. In this case, you wonder if anyone studies the history of Ogham, its variations and evolutions. Such a person might be asked to look at the above.

For reference, here is one version of the alphabet:

The "Fresh Water Fishing Place" (Woodbury CT)

 With a great deal of sadness, I have to report that the Diagonal Stone Fish Weir by the site of the Nonnewaug Wigwams is now very much gone.

 Almost all of the remnants of the weir were destroyed by a 2024 flood on the 69th anniversary of the Great Flood of August 18-19 in 1955: https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-one-in-thousand-flood-nonnewaugct.html

See also: 

https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2024/10/last-of-stone-fish-weir-at-nonnewaug.html

https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2024/10/more-of-final-days-of-nonnewaug-fish.html

The Friends of Pine 2024 Fall Program is well underway with more to come.

The Friends of Pine 2024 Fall Program is well underway with more to come.

But first, a reminder that tonight, Friday, October 18, the Littleton Lyceum is presenting :

Littleton’s Hidden Sacred-Shamanic Landscape: Sacred Stones, Vision Quest, and the Nashobah Praying Indians with Sagamore of the Nashobah Praying Indians, Strong Bear Medicine, and Littleton historian Daniel V. Boudillion at 7:30 PM.

 

Upcoming Pine Hawk Programs

Full descriptions of these programs are on our website https://www.pinehawk.org/2024-fall-programs/.

All Pine Hawk events are free but require registration at tinyurl.com/pinehawk-2024.

Burying the Trowel: A History of Controversy and Innovation in New England’s Cultural Stone Features Debate 

Tuesday, October 22, 7-8:30 PM in person at the Acton Memorial Library and via Zoom

Cultural anthropologist Kitty O’Riordan will make sense of contributions, clashes, and collaborations between avocational researchers and professional archaeologists in pursuit of understanding the unusual stone features that dot the woodlands and hillsides of New England.

 

Changes in the Land Book Discussion 

Tuesday, October 29, 7-8:30 PM in person at the Acton Memorial Library

All are invited to this in-person group discussion of William Cronon’s landmark environmental history of pre- and post-contact New England.

 

Community Service Day

Sunday, November 10, 1-3 PM in person

Assist with trail and site maintenance on the Nashoba Brook Conservation Land’s Trail Through Time, a multicultural heritage trail in North Acton. There will be an optional brunch beforehand at 11:30 am. Limited to 25, ages 13 and up. Details will be emailed to registrants a few days in advance.

 

Adult Archaeology Walk

Saturday, November 9, 10AM–noon, in person only. (Note new date)

Ian Bergmann, Land Stewardship Coordinator for the Town of Acton, will lead this hike along the Nashoba Brook Trail, with stops at the stone chamber and Native American ceremonial sites. Trail conditions can be rocky, uneven, and often wet, and thus participation is limited. Registrants will receive a detailed email several days before the walk. Limited to 20, ages 17 and up. (Previously scheduled for Oct. 19.)

 

A Day in the Life of a Local Archaeologist

Wednesday, November 20, 7 PM, in person at the Acton Memorial Library and via Zoom

Westford archaeologist David Gutbrod will share experiences and discoveries encountered in his professional life, from remote sensing projects in the South to an extensive report on a significant site in North Acton.

 

Native Americans and the Revolution: The Times are Exceedingly Altered

Thursday, December 5, 7 pm, at Acton Town Hall and via Zoom

Historian Daniel Mandell, author of Tribe, Race, History: Native Americans in Southern New England, 1780-1880, will present how the thousands of Native people in southern New England were involved in and impacted by the Revolution, and how they sought to secure their rights in different ways. Cosponsored with Acton 250.

 

For full descriptions of these free programs and to register, visit the Pine Hawk website at https://www.pinehawk.org/

The Friends of Pine Hawk 2024 Programs are presented with support from Acton Memorial Library and Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.  

Jennison Rd - Shutesbury

[Reader Nicholas writes:]

I travel all over New England for work, and try to make it a point to have my rest-stops be in the area of some known stone site, chamber, local legend.

I made a stop last time in Shutesbury to visit the splendid Monk’s Chamber. Always happy to spend some time in there!

I left the chamber and began my ride on Jennison road, heading into Wendell. I was taking it slow and was able to spot a curious arrangement of stone about 30 ft off of the dirt road. A large farm was down the road a bit, but otherwise a sleepy and forgotten pasture was the only neighbor.

There were quite a few arrangements in fact, some bearing striking resemblance to other sites I have been to. It being so close to the Monk and Ames chambers, I figured it worth documenting a bit!

Happy Wanderings!
-Nicholas