Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18DO394 Sites 2/8
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Sites 2/8 (18DO394) is a multi-component Late Archaic and Early Woodland prehistoric site, possibly a base camp and procurement site, with a diffuse scatter of late 19th/early 20th century historic debris. The site is located along the Choptank River on the property of the Eastern Shore Hospital Center in Dorchester County. Site 18DO394 extends south from the Choptank River about 175 m, and extends west from the boundary of the site 150 meters. It lies at an elevation of approximately 7.6 m amsl on a level plowed field. The soils present at the site correspond to the Galestown series and the Woodstown series.
Site 18DO394 was first identified in 1988 during a survey of the Eastern Shore Hospital Center property by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA). Work at that time consisted of uncontrolled surface collection. A second Phase I survey of the Eastern Shore Hospital Center property took place in 1997. At that time, pedestrian surveys were conducted and shovel test pits (STPs) were excavated at 20 m intervals into subsoil. The 27 prehistoric and 18 historic artifacts recovered during Phase I are included in the total counts for the site below. Phase II evaluation of the site was requested by the Maryland Historical Trust in order to delineate the vertical and horizontal prehistoric component and to determine whether the component had integrity and research potential.
Phase II testing commenced in 1998. The goals were to delineate the boundaries of the prehistoric component, to differentiate between the Late Archaic and Woodland periods, and to determine the temporal and functional characterization of the site. The site was re-identified and horizontally delineated by an intensive pedestrian survey. Then, the plowed portion of the area was subdivided into 6 m X 6 m surface collection blocks. A total of 17 STPs were also excavated in order to test an unplowed portion of the site. Seventeen 1 m X 1 m test units were placed near artifact concentrations and the findspots of diagnostic tools.
The artifact distribution at 18DO394 identified an artifact cluster near the center of the site. Two possible cultural features were identified in test units within this cluster. The first was a collection of fire-cracked rock, possibly the remnant of a prehistoric hearth. The second feature was a cluster of prehistoric sherds that likely represents an apparent Wolfe Neck vessel pot break.
Testing recovered 950 prehistoric artifacts from 18DO394. There were 489 pieces of debitage (primarily flakes with 17 cores, and 1 burin spall), 86 utilized flakes, 4 flake blanks, 2 biface preforms, 1 endscraper, and 5 unidentified bifacial tools. There were 7 projectile points (1 Bradley Spike (similar to a Rossville point) dated to the Late Archaic/Early Woodland, 1 Normanskill point (late Middle Archaic), 1 possible Calvert point (Early Woodland), 1 possible Brewerton eared-notched point (Late Archaic), and 3 unidentified points). There were 119 pieces of fire-cracked rock. There were 8 use-modified tools (4 hammerstones, 2 multi-functional tools used as hammerstones, anvils, and grinding stones, and 2 groundstone pestles one of which ended up as fire-cracked rock). Quartz is the predominant material type followed by chert, then jasper, quartzite, and granite. Sources of chert, quartz, and quartzite pebbles and cobbles are particularly prevalent near the south bank of the Choptank River. This indicates that the people at 18DO394 were processing locally gathered materials at the site. Rhyolite bifaces were recovered but there was no rhyolite in the debitage, suggesting that these objects came to the site in finished form. A total of 219 ceramic sherds were also recovered from the site including 101 Wolfe Neck sherds, 58 Dames Quarter ware sherds, and 15 Coulbourn ware sherds (Early Woodland), 1 Hell Island ware sherd (Middle Woodland), 3 Killens ware sherds (so named after the Killens Pond Site in DE and dated to the terminal Late Woodland period), and 41 unidentifiable sherds. There was also 1 unidentified non-vessel ceramic fragment.
A high percentage (83%) of the prehistoric artifacts recovered from 18DO394 derived from plow-disturbed contexts. This includes all of the diagnostic artifacts and most of the ceramics making horizontal separation difficult. The only datable intact activity area, as evidenced by the Wolfe Neck vessel pot break, dates to mid-Early Woodland period although there is evidence for periods of occupation from the Late Archaic period through the Woodland period. Given the general lack of shell from the site, it is suggested that the site was occupied on a seasonal basis when shellfish processing was not a major activity.
A total of 252 historic artifacts were recovered during the Phase I and II investigations. Five activity-related items were 2 lamp glass fragments, 1 horseshoe, 1 non-electrical wire fragment, and a slate pencil. There were 39 architectural items (7 brick fragments, 11 window glass shards, 1 wire nail, 2 cut nails, 15 unidentified nails, 1ceramic tile, and 2 sewer/drainage pipe fragments). There was 1 clothing item (eyelet/rivet). There were 169 kitchen-related items including 39 bottle glass fragments, 4 table glass shards, 1 aqua glass jar lid liner, 1 milk glass fragment, 2 domestic brown salt-glazed stoneware, 8 domestic gray salt-glazed stoneware, 1 late white stoneware, 1 Albany slip, buff stoneware, 33 ironstone, 9 late porcelain, 2 creamware, 10 pearlware, 35 whiteware, 9 redware, 1 yelloware, and 2 unidentified ceramic sherds, 1 animal bone fragment, and 10 oyster shell fragments. Twenty-six miscellaneous items included 6 coal pieces, 5 pieces of coal slag, 1 piece of plastic, 4 unidentified glass fragments, 1 piece of slate, and 9 fragments of unidentified metal. Personal items include just 1 broken porcelain figurine. The tobacco-related items group consisted of 1 red clay tobacco pipe stem, 3 molded ball clay pipe bowls, 1 ball clay pipe bowl, and 5 ball clay pipe stem. There was 1 shotgun shell cap in the arms-related group. The late 19th/early 20th century artifacts represent a historic scatter across the site with no associated structures or features. Collection of historic material was limited to the surface and the plowzone.
Although there are a number of diagnostic artifacts from site 18DO394, the chronological components have become conflated with one another through post-depositional processes. Therefore, the horizontal separation of these components is not possible within the main artifact cluster and thus diminishes the potential for answering questions dealing with occupation and activity at the site and more generally on the Delmarva Peninsula. No further work is recommended at the site.
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