Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18PR321 PD #1
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The PD #1 Site (18PR321) is the remains of a domestic occupation dating from the late 17th to mid-18th centuries, as well as several occupational loci dating from the Early Archaic to Late Woodland prehistoric time periods. It is located within the Patuxent River Natural Resources Management Area in southern Prince George’s County, Maryland. The site is situated at the northern end of a broad terrace overlooking the brackish Patuxent River. A standing barn and an access road are present on a portion of the site. Several seasonal drainage features originate on the higher terraces above the project area and empty into the Patuxent.
The underlying geologic formation consists of the Pleistocene-aged Patuxent River Terrace Deposits composed of inter-bedded sand, gravel, and minor silt-clay. Surface soils are composed of the well-drained Collington fine sandy loams and Matapeake silt loams. Recent vegetation regimes included thick grass cover providing some protection to the terraces and floodplain from erosion. Marsh grass and rushes grow at the mouth of the tidal tributaries. Typical fauna of the region consists of white-tailed deer, fox, squirrel, and raccoon, numerous waterfowl and shore birds, and a variety of amphibians and reptiles.
The site was first identified during a reconnaissance archeological survey of the middle portion of the Patuxent River conducted by the Maryland Geological Survey in early 1988. This study was part of a larger preliminary planning study involving several properties (4,000 acres total) under the control of the Department of Natural Resources. The site was found during surface survey of the cultivated portions of the river’s floodplain. Site 18PR321 was identified as a multi-component occupation dating from the Middle Archaic to Late Woodland prehistoric time periods, and to the 18th and 19th centuries.
Researchers returned to Site 18PR321 in June of 1988 to conduct Phase II testing. The archeological investigation was performed to assess potential impacts to the site expected as a result of shoreline erosion control projects in the Natural Resources Management Area. Field conditions at 18PR321 consisted of vegetated and cultivated areas and dictated the use of surface and sub-surface methods. The cultivated portion of the site was examined using controlled surface collection with units aligned on a grid. Collections measured 5 square meters. All artifacts were collected from each unit and bagged with north and east grid provenience designations. The vegetated portion of the site area was tested using 50 cm by 50 cm shovel test pits (STPs) aligned on the existing (surface collection) grid and placed at each 5 meter grid node. The STPs were excavated by natural soil horizons down to sterile subsoil. All soil was screened through hardware cloth. A total of 53 shovel tests were excavated.
After the surface collection was completed, a series of 1 X 1 meter units was excavated within an area slated for the creation of a construction road for the erosion control improvements. These 18 test units were placed to determine the presence of features or undisturbed deposits below the plowzone. Only the soil from the southwest quadrant of each test unit was screened through hardware cloth. Excavation work focused only on the portion of 18PR321 to the north of the extant access road and barn, and did not examine parts of the site to the south.
Stratigraphic context at 18PR321 is poor. With few exceptions, all artifacts recovered from the 53 STPs and 18 one meter excavation units were confined to the plowzone. No artifacts or features were present in any of the units below the plow disturbed layer. Cross site profiles indicate severe erosion and deflation of the profile at the terrace edge overlooking the Patuxent River.
Both prehistoric and historic artifacts were encountered in the plowzone deposits at 18PR321. The historic artifact assemblage at the site consisted of 4 activity items, 116 architectural objects, 2 clothing items, 2,064 kitchen-related artifacts, 1 personal item, 168 tobacco-related artifacts, 1 arms object, and 24 miscellaneous objects. The activity items were 3 pieces of flint ballast and a wrought iron hook. Architectural objects included 62 brick pieces, 12 burned brick pieces, 2 fragments of roof slate, 7 fragments of green-tinted window glass, 1 cut nail, 5 wrought nails, and 27 unidentified nails. The clothing remains were pieces of leather. Kitchen-related artifacts were 179 ceramic sherds (50 tin-glazed, 1 creamware, 6 pearlware, 1 whiteware, 13 buff-bodied earthenware, 1 refined red earthenware, 9 white salt-glazed stoneware, 25 brown salt-glazed stoneware, 7 buff-bodied salt-glazed stoneware, 1 miscellaneous stoneware, 64 redware, and 1 unidentified sherd), 115 bottle glass fragments (1 coke bottle, 13 green glass, 23 olive amber glass, 5 emerald green glass, 69 olive green, and 4 other shards), 7 burned bones, 1 butcher-cut bone, 11 other animal bones, 1,750 fragments of oyster shell, and 1 piece of clam shell. The personal artifact is a coin or token of some sort. The tobacco-related artifacts are 115 kaolin pipe stems and 53 pipe bowls. The arms artifact is a gunflint. The miscellaneous objects are 5 pieces of melted/burned glass, 4 other glass fragments, a piece of olive green flat glass, 11 unidentified metal fragments, a piece of plastic, and 2 pieces of coal. The highly visible presence of bottle glass and pipe fragments suggests that, in addition to functioning in a domestic context, the site may have served some sort of public function (i.e. there is significant evidence of smoking and drinking). Though no records have been found to indicate use of the site as a river landing in the 17th and 18th centuries, it is documented as such in the subsequent 19th century.
The prehistoric assemblage included 4 projectile points, 4 bifaces, a spokeshave, 10 cores, 2 retouched flakes, 286 other flakes, a hammerstone, 75 pieces of fire-cracked rock, and 10 ceramic sherds. The diagnostic lithic artifacts were a rhyolite Selby Bay point, jasper Kirk corner-notched point, a quartz Halifax point, and a quartz Savannah River point. The primary lithic raw material was quartz, followed by rhyolite, chert, quartzite, jasper, silicified sandstone, chalcedony, and argillite. Diagnostic ceramics were 1 Accokeek sherd, and 2 Potomac Creek sherds, while the remainder were shell-tempered but otherwise unidentifiable. Four distinct artifact clusters were noted in the field, despite a general scatter of lithics across the entire site. Fire-cracked rock concentrations are more discrete within these clusters.
The archeological investigation in the northern portion of 18PR321 revealed the presence of a historic component dating primarily from the late 17th to mid 18th centuries. The historic occupation is interpreted as a rural domestic occupation with perhaps some public use related to the river landing location the site occupies. The prehistoric component is recognized by at least four distinct clusters or occupational loci within the overall artifact scatter at 18PR321. The time span of occupation at the site is long, dating from the Early Archaic to Late Woodland periods, with site function interpreted as resource procurement locales. All of the artifacts, both prehistoric and historic, were recovered from a disturbed context and no evidence was recovered from excavation units or shovel test pits to indicate the possibility of undisturbed deposits below the plow zone.
These data suggest that the northern portions of Site 18PR321 are plow-disturbed and of little research value. Future work in the southern portion of 18PR321 is warranted if future improvement projects in the area might impact the site. No investigations have been conducted south of the access road and standing barn.
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