Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18GA23 Friendsville
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Friendsville Site (18GA23) is a large multi-component site on the broad western floodplain of the Youghiogheny River in Garrett County, Maryland. The site’s most prominent component is a large Late Woodland Monogahela village. The apparent Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Terminal Archaic, and Middle Woodland occupations at the site are much more intermittent. The site has been known to local collectors and residents for a number of years. Prehistoric artifacts were recovered in the lawns and garden beds of a few houses and in a parking lot. Several burials were found when a basement was dug for the Rush family’s house in 1946.
The first systematic study of 18GA23 was conducted at the site in 1950 as part of a Carnegie Museum study of the entire Ohio Valley drainage system. This included a brief surface collection and the excavation of four 1.524 X 1.524 meter (5 X 5 foot) test units, which produced a small collection of lithic debitage, limestone, and shell tempered pottery sherds, and some bone fragments. Some historic artifacts were recovered as well. Unfortunately, no detailed report of these excavations has ever been published by the Carnegie Museum.
In 1969, the Maryland State Archeologist was alerted that the proposed construction of the National Freeway (Interstate-68) and the relocation of Maryland Route 42 threatened portions of the Friendsville Site. The Maryland Geological Survey’s Office of Archeology (now the MHT) responded by performing limited surface collection and excavating seven 35 cm squares laid out on a 10-meter grid in both the northern and southern portions of the site. All of the test units except one yielded prehistoric materials (pottery, flakes, and fire-cracked rock). This preliminary work demonstrated that intact deposits were likely still present within the right-of-way for road work and extensive data recovery was necessary.
The Maryland Geological Survey, with volunteer assistance from the Archeological Society of Maryland returned to the site in the summer of 1972. Using the same site grid established in the preliminary study, staggered 1 X 1 meter units were excavated to delineate site boundaries. Soil was removed in 10 cm arbitrary levels until middens or features were encountered. All soil was screened through hardware mesh and flotation samples were collected from features. Based on the observed data from these units, the plow zone was mechanically removed from 6 large trenches in the vicinities of the two highway right-of-ways and a 1 X 27 m ditch was excavated in an area where an underground power line was to be installed. Contiguous 5 X 5 meter squares were hand excavated within the larger trenches. It was learned through the local residents visiting the site that a nearby church congregation, whose parsonage would be displaced by the new highway, would be constructing a new parsonage and parking lot in the area between the two highway right-of-ways. It was determined that further work was necessary, and crews returned to the site in 1973 to focus on the area that would be impacted by the parsonage. A large 163 square meter area was hand excavated in what would have been the very center of the village occupation. Additional features were quickly recognized and excavation proceeded in 1 X 1 meter units within the hand-cleared area.
Ninety-four features, including 4 burials, were excavated on the Friendsville site before the majority of it was destroyed by highway construction. It is estimated that only about 14% of the site was examined. Features (including the 4 burials) consisted primarily of shallow pits. Many of the features produced very few artifacts, however many artifacts were recovered from plow zone contexts. The features can be divided into 1) oval basin pits, 2) circular pits, 3) hearths or burning episodes, 4) post-lined pits, 5) rock-lined pits, 6) irregular pits, 7) burial pits, and 8) postmolds. Many of the pits may have simply been depressions in the ground surface where refuse accumulated or small pits which were originally dug for one purpose (palisade/house support, acquisition of clay, etc.) and later used to dispose of refuse. The two post-lined pits appear to be quite similar to the detached semi-subterranean storage pits found on many Monongahela sites in Pennsylvania. The rock-lined pits may have been used for roasting foods. House structures were indicated by post mold groupings, but no evidence of a palisade was ever encountered. However, such a palisade may lie outside the excavation boundaries.
Accurate description of the four burials from the site has been considerably complicated by separation of some of the individuals into separate curation lots, non-uniform numbering of burials by different researchers, differing osteological assessments of age and sex, and the discovery that comingled remains were not recognized in the field. It appears that 4 burials were present, containing the remains of a total of 5 individuals, which were subsequently separated into 6 curation lots. The first burial encountered was Feature 19a. Although initially identified as a young adult female (based on its small size and gracile nature), subsequent osteological analysis of cranial and innominate features indicates that this individual was a young adult male. He was probably between 27 and 33 years old at death. The remains exhibited several dental caries and two teeth that were actively abscessing at the time of death. Schmorl’s depressions were also present on three of the vertebrae. The oval burial pit in which the remains were found impinged on a refuse-filled pit and some of the fill may be mixed. The burial was also impacted by a rodent burrow near the hands. The remains were placed on their right side in a flexed position with head pointing northeast. A ceramic elbow pipe was found near the lower jaw, two drilled dog canines were found near the neck, and 2 triangular points and a pottery sherd were found near the elbows. Feature fill also appears to have included a bird beak, another triangular point, additional sherds, charcoal, rocks, and debitage. Feature 66 also yielded a burial; that of 2-4 month old infant. Widespread periostitis on the remains indicates that the child likely died from a systematic infection. The remains were found in a small circular pit along with a small sherd, 1 tiny shell, 6 unmodified animal bones, and 1 modified animal bone (all of the artifacts were apparently recovered by flotation). These remains have been separated into two curation lots (crania and postcrania). Feature 68 was initially thought to contain the remains of a single adult male. However, subsequent analysis has revealed that the feature actually contained two comingled burials; an adult female aged 55-69 years and a neonate represented by the presence of a few rib bones and several vertebrae. The adult female bore evidence of arthritis and many of her tooth sockets (at least the entire right half of the mandible) had been completely resorbed. The neonate in Feature 68 was likely not recognized initially due to its very small size and fragmentary nature. Flotation of the feature fill revealed the presence of 2 small sherds and an animal bone. And finally, a 5th individual (a neonate) was found in a 4th burial (Feature 84), which had been completely disarticulated by rodent disturbances. Artifacts recovered within the disturbed fill include 1 small sherd, 2 animal bones, charcoal, and debitage.
Several of the features were radiocarbon dated, indicating that the site is likely an early Monongahela cultural manifestation in which ceramic technologies were undergoing a transition from limestone-tempered Watson ware to shell-tempered Monongahela pottery. This is further supported by the presence of ovoid post-lined pits which are thought to be prevalent at early Monongahela sites. Six charcoal samples were submitted for C-14 analysis, from 5 features considered undisturbed. Feature 50, a hearth, yielded charcoal near its base which was dated to 820±40 years before present. When calibrated this translates to a probable date of AD 1155-1277 (2 sigma). The charcoal was found in association with Watson, Monongahela, and hematite-tempered sherds, as well as fire-cracked rock. Two samples were taken from Feature 57, one of the ovoid post-lined pits. The fill layer from which the samples were taken contained a heavy concentration of Watson, Monongahela, & hematite-tempered sherds. One of the samples provided an unacceptable un-calibrated date of 290±130 years before present (or around AD 1660). This date is far too late for the artifacts in association with it and is likely the product of a contaminated sample. Fortunately, a second carbon sample form the same feature (from the base of the same fill layer) was available and provided a much more acceptable date of 915±40 years before present (un-calibrated). This would translate into a calibrated (2 sigma) date of roughly AD 1029-1208. Feature 65 is an irregular tannish-gray midden stain associated exclusively with Watson ware sherds. Charcoal from this midden provided an un-calibrated date of 1020±85 years before present or roughly AD 859-1213 when calibrated. These three dates may encapsulate the main occupation at Friendsville. Feature 25, a circular refuse-filled pit provided another unacceptable date; this time too early. The charcoal was recovered along with 9 Watson, 16 Monongahela, 15 hematite-tempered, and 2 hematite/limestone-tempered sherds and provided an un-calibrated date of 1450±80 years before present. However, the sample is described as very small and dilute, which may indicate that it was insufficient for accurate radiocarbon dating. And finally, an oval-shaped refuse pit with an irregular bottom (Feature 70) provided charcoal which was dated to 1245±65 years before present. When calibrated this translates to a calendrical date of approximately AD 657-898. This sample was associated with Watson & Monongahela sherds, debitage, and bone. This sample would seem to be more in line with the accepted dates for the Watson sherds than with the Monongahela pottery. So, again, it appears that both diagnostics and radiocarbon results indicate a site that was occupied during the period of transition from Watson to Monongahela style pottery and predominantly manifesting an early Monongahela lifestyle pattern.
Approximately 49,000 artifacts were recovered from the Friendsville Site, but only 36,270 came from subsurface features. It is only these 36,270 objects for which we have detailed descriptive data (pottery type/temper, lithic descriptions, cultural modifications to bone, etc.). A minimum of 10,056 pottery sherds, including 297 rimsherds were recovered from 18GA23. A total of 2,552 pottery sherds are tentatively typed as Watson ware; 1,049 as Watson Plain and 1,503 as Watson Cordmarked. An additional 131 sherds are limestone-tempered, but cannot be related in any way to a specific pottery type. There are 1,618 Monongahela sherds identified in the assemblage (262 of these are cordmarked), and another 104 un-typed shell-tempered sherds. Other diagnostic sherds include 30 possible Shepard sherds, 6 likely Clemson Island sherds, 3 grit-tempered sherds that resemble Mahoning ware, and 34 Scarem Plain sherds. However, it should be noted that all of these type assignments are merely tentative. Researchers who have gone back to examine the site collections have had difficulty in confidently verifying these type attributions. Un-typed pottery from the site consists of 934 hematite and shale-tempered sherds, 122 fragments of a hematite and limestone-tempered pottery, 2 sandstone grit-tempered, and 5 mixed rock grit-tempered sherds. The hematite-shale and hematite-limestone tempered sherds recovered at the site are unique because no comparable wares have been found in the surrounding area. Hematite was not readily available near the site, so potters must have travelled some distance or traded to obtain this material. Nine ceramic tobacco pipe fragments were also recovered from 18GA23, with 3 exhibiting dentate decorations and one displaying an ovoid profile.
The lithic assemblage from the site includes some 5,088 flaked stone objects, 15 ground stone objects, a steatite bowl rim fragment with a lug, 4 use-modified lithics, and at least 462 pieces of fire-cracked rock. Among the flaked stone items are 116 points or point fragments, 52 bifaces or biface fragments, 11 drills or drill fragments, 1 core, 4 scrapers, 17 “bladelets”, 71 unifaces, 75 utilized flakes, 38 pieces of block, 1,495 pieces of shatter, 570 primary flakes, and 2,638 secondary flakes. Diagnostic points included 3 Kirk corner-notched, 1 Kirk stemmed, 11 Brewerton eared, 13 Brewerton corner-notched, 1 Normanskill, 1 Susquehanna Broadspear, 12 Bare Island, 5 Adena blade-like points manufactured from Vanport (Flint Ridge) chert, 2 similar Adena points manufactured from local materials, 1 Jack’s Reef notched, 5 Madison/Potomac, and 2 Levanna points. The groundstone items in the lithic assemblage included 11 ground and pecked hematite or limonite fragments, a round abraded stone of uncertain function, two small groundstone axe/adze pieces, and a badly weathered hematite celt. This last object is rather uncommon in Maryland and may have some relation to the Adena-like points (although they are not unheard of at other Late Woodland sites). The four use-modified tools are probable hammerstones.
The Friendsville site exhibited excellent faunal preservation, resulting in the recovery of a total of 21,265 bone, antler, and shell artifacts. Of these, approximately 358 bear evidence of modification (mostly burning). Several domesticated species are represented in the assemblage, possibly attesting to an as yet poorly documented contact or historic period occupation at the site. As no published description of the faunal remains exists (though there is an incomplete draft report), these domesticated animals are not segregated out in the count provided in the table above. The vast majority of the animal bones are of native species such as deer, dog, rabbit, beaver, groundhog, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, chipmunk, wild turkey, dove/pigeon, passenger pigeon, frog/toad, salamander, box turtle, snake, and fish. A bare minimum of 325 of these native species bones are burned. Shell artifacts include snail, mussel, clam, and marginella fragments. Some faunal artifacts were worn as ornamental objects or used to manufacture tools. Seventeen tubular bird bone beads and bead fragments, 3 drilled deer phalanges, 2 drilled dog canines, and 1 cut bear canine were used for adornment. Two marginella bead fragments and one shell pendant were also recovered. One antler was used for pressure flaking on lithic materials, while 5 bone awls and one beamer were probably used for hide processing.
The excavations at Friendsville revealed the presence of a large Late Woodland village, dating predominantly to between AD 1,000 and 1,200, on the western bank of the Youghiogheny River in Garrett County, Maryland. While the site primarily appears to represent part of the developing Monongahela cultural sphere in the Upper Ohio River Valley, it also contains evidence of intermittent occupations from the Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Terminal Archaic, and Middle Woodland Periods. Friendsville is one of the few Late Woodland villages recorded along the Youghiogheny River in Garrett County. The presence of artifacts and features associated with the Monongahela Complex demonstrates influence from Native American groups north and west of the area. Native American ceramics from this site could be further analyzed to better understand the local pottery technology, which differed from that found at other nearby contemporary settlements. Detailed research on other assemblages within the overall site collection is certainly warranted, but further work at the site is unlikely to yield significant data. Although only an estimated 14% of the site has been excavated, a majority of the site was either destroyed or deeply buried during construction of the two highway segments.
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