Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18AN65 Ruf; Beck Northeast
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Ruf Site, also known as the Beck Northeast Site (18AN65), is a series of stratified Late Archaic through Early Woodland short-term camps, including a Middle Woodland shell midden near Davidsonville in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The site is situated on a sand and gravel terrace on the north side of an intermittent tributary to the Patuxent River. Most of the surrounding landscape is gently rolling with numerous small stream valleys dissecting it. At the time of the site’s discovery, and through much of its documented history, it has been in cultivation. Prior to the historic development of the area, the local fauna would have been characteristic of the eastern deciduous forest. Mammalian species represented included larger animals such as bear, wolf, and white-tailed deer. Smaller mammals like raccoon, opossum, squirrel, rabbit, fox, and bobcat were also abundant in the area. Wild turkey, quail, and numerous waterfowl would also have been present in the area. Major species of fish would have been shad, alewife, blueback, eel, catfish, and perch. Soils at the site are Galestown loamy sands and Matapeake silt loams.
The site was first discovered by local amateur archeologist Thomas Mayr in the late 1930s. Mayr surface collected in plowed portions of the site, and also noted midden deposits in the soil layers exposed during some tree clearance activities. In 1939 and 1940 Mayr excavated a portion of one of the two midden areas that he noted as being present. He estimated that the site was originally roughly 244 X 61 m (800 X 200 ft) in extent, but had been reduced to just these two small midden areas through plowing and erosion. The midden remnant excavated by Mayr was roughly 28 square meters in area.
Mayr encountered an A1 plow-disturbed deposit atop a B zone during which a major occupation occurred. All of this was situated atop sandy subsoil. Approximately, 29.8 m2 (320 ft2) of the midden was troweled for features, and 5.1 m3 (180 ft3) of midden were screened. Subsequent excavation of the site in 1957 would find that the other reported midden remnant had been destroyed by deep plowing and tree removals. Mayr did not inventory his assemblage from the site, but did report recovering large lanceolate blades of rhyolite, argillite, and jasper (Selby Bay points), trianguloid and narrow bladed wide-stemmed projectile points, crude shell-tempered wares with various simple surface treatments, a ¾ grooved axe, and an elliptical gorget.
An inventory of Mayr’s collection from the Ruf site made in 1964 cataloged 56 shell-tempered cord-marked vessels, 150 shell-tempered net-impressed sherds, 2 shell-tempered fabric-impressed sherds, 13 other shell-tempered sherds, 26 deer bones, 1 turtle bone, 1 snake bone, 120 mammal bones, and 2 reptile bones. In addition an oak charcoal sample from the midden was retained by Mayr, which was submitted for radiocarbon dating to the University of Michigan. The sample produced a date of 2400 ± 150 radiocarbon years before present. When calibrated, this corresponds to a calendrical date range (2 sigma) of 833-154 BC.
In the fall of 1981, the Maryland Historical Trust conducted salvage excavations at 18AN65. Gravel removal operations on the property had destroyed much of the site in the intervening years, including most of the site as it was defined by Mayr (principally the eastern portion of the site as now defined). The gravel mining operations were now threatening to damage a portion of the site to the west of a local road and on an adjoining property. MHT staff and volunteers excavated at the site with the land owner’s permission to gain data sufficient to support National Register nomination of the site.
The site was investigated by excavating seven 1 X 2 m test units, six of which were within an area some 11 X 10 m in extent (roughly 2% of the overall site) and the seventh of which was some 85 m to the southwest. In addition, a controlled surface collection was conducted in 1982 to better define the limits of the site area. Excavation proceeded in 10 cm arbitrary levels within natural strata. All soils were screened through hardware cloth. Features were identified and marked by the presence of fire-cracked rock, charcoal, soil stains, and carbonized plant remains. Eight flotation samples were recovered during excavations, six of which came from feature levels.
The test units revealed modern, wind-blown sand layers (Layers A and B) covering and protecting a buried prehistoric land surface (Layer C). The buried midden extended 30 meters in an east to west direction and at least 30 meters in a north to south direction. The midden consisted of dark brown sandy soil filled with charcoal, infrequent oyster shells, fire-cracked rock, carbonized plant and nut remains, and artifacts dating primarily to the Selby Bay phase of the Middle Woodland period. Artifacts recovered from the midden included rhyolite knives, Mockley net-impressed and cord-marked sherds, and debitage.
The Selby Bay phase midden lay over top of 70 cm of Early Woodland through Late Archaic artifacts and features. Projectile points recovered from the buried deposits included a Savannah River stemmed, a Lackawaxen Stemmed, a Piscataway, and a Vernon point. Two fire-cracked rock cluster features were found along with one small pit feature which yielded carbonized nuts and seeds suggestive of fall-winter occupation of the site. Carbonized plant remains were present in great frequency in the upper portion of this layer. The types of artifacts present varied with depth, with lithic preference changing from rhyolite to quartzite to quartz with increased depth. Excavations had to be discontinued before sterile deposits were reached, and thus deposits may exist below the 1.7 meter level of excavated depth.
Artifacts recovered from the site during the 1981 excavations included 11 projectile points, 6 bifaces, 1 uniface, 7 utilized flakes, 296 other flakes, 224 chunk/shatter pieces, 2 grinding stones, 2 hammerstones, 398 pieces of fire-cracked rock, 4 Accokeek sherds, 142 Mockley sherds, 115 pieces of bone, 7 shell fragments, and 10 hickory nut hulls. Diagnostic projectile points include 1 Piscataway point, 1 Vernon point, 1 Lackawaxen point, 1 Savannah River, 1 Calvert, and 3 Selby Bay points. Additional materials were recovered through flotation. As mentioned above, 6 of the 8 flotation samples acquired came from feature contexts. Floral materials recovered in the flotation samples include goosefoot (1 specimen), heather (6 specimens), coffee bean (1), spurge (6), borage (2), Aizoaceae (3), amaranth (3), mint (10), Portulacaceae (8), pokeweed (2), bedstraw (3), buttercup/crowfoot (2), sedge (4), broomrape (2), bladderwort (1), mustards (1), and unidentified seeds/nuts (300). These materials are not broken down into carbonized and non-carbonized specimens, so no ethnobotanical profile has been prepared for 18AN65.
Controlled surface collection of the entire site was conducted the following year. Artifacts were found scattered across the entire cultivated portion of the terrace with the highest density of artifacts found along the flat upper portion of the terrace. The presence of the buried midden and the low density of artifacts on the southern sloping part of the terrace is attributed to post-occupation wind-blown deposition in this portion of the site. The high density of artifacts on the flat portion of the terrace suggest that soils have been deflated and therefore in situ deposits are not as deep. However, distribution maps of the different artifact classes reveal intrasite patterning of the artifact classes. This patterning is of value in interpreting research questions regarding site function and the activities carried out there. Artifacts recovered during the surface collection in 1982 included 2,462 flakes, over 3,000 pieces of fire-cracked rock, and 199 Mockley sherds.
The Ruf site (18AN65) contains stratified archeological deposits of importance to understanding the evolution of American Indian society in the Middle Atlantic. Investigations of the site from the 1930s onward have revealed artifacts dating from the early Late Archaic period through the Middle Woodland period Selby Bay phase. The site has an intact buried Selby Bay phase midden layer. This midden lies on top of Early Woodland through Late Archaic artifacts and features. The stratified deposits at the site extend to a depth of at least 1.7 meters below the surface. Controlled surface collection reveals that a high density of artifacts extends over the site.
Due to extensive disturbance by topsoil removal on a large portion of the site (the western portion of the site excavated in the 1930s-1940s), only the northeast portion of the site (excavated in the 1980s) remains. The Selby Bay phase midden remnant in this portion of the site is of regional research value as the deposits in the western portion of the site served as the type collection for the definition of the Selby Bay phase. Shortly after the excavations of the 1980s, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the site was eventually acquired by Anne Arundel County as a means of preserving it. It should be considered a significant archeological resource, capable of addressing numerous research questions related to Maryland prehistory. The site appears to be well preserved and intact.
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