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Lab number
GSC-1452
Field number
CMC- 402
Material dated
marine shell; coquillage
Taxa dated
Mya arenaria
Locality
on the south shore of Minister's Island, Passamaquoddy Bay, Charlotte County, New Brunswick
Map sheet
21 G/03
Submitter
D. Sanger
Date submitted
July 4, 0097
Measured Age
410 ± 130
Normalized Age
820 ± 190
δ13C (per mil)
-0.0
Significance
Late Prehistoric; Préhistorique récent
Context
directly beneath plow zone, N15/W41, 15-20 cm depth
Associated taxa
Mollusca: Mya arenaria; see also GSC-1445
Comments
BgDs-10, Minister's Island: This is a shell midden site spanning a long time range, from Late Archaic to Late Prehistoric. Pearson (1970) tested the site with a 7 sq m excavation, and collected Y-1293, the oldest of eight dates now available. Sanger's (1987: 105-109) 85 sq m excavation a decade later was designed to explore the meaning of the early date obtained by Pearson and also to search for buried semi-subterranean houses. In addition to four such houses, Sanger found a mass grave containing the remains of 12 individuals. Similarities between the artifacts in this grave and those in the Adena-related Augustine mound, "in addition to other Late Archaic and possible Early Ceramic Period evidence, probably explains the early date ... recovered by Pearson" (Sanger 1987: 106). The four houses belong to the Middle and Late Ceramic periods, and the shell midden itself to the Late Ceramic period. Comment (D. Sanger): Suggested ages were based on estimate of A.D. 1000 as terminal date. Results of GSC-1452 and GSC-1445, however, clearly indicate that the site was occupied up to the late prehistoric period. GSC-1580 seems too recent for the associated artifact assemblage. Possibly the hearth was contaminated by recent charcoal. GSC-1581, representing a minimum date for a mass burial, is extremely useful as the burial is suspected to be Late Archaic. GSC-1674, also very useful, tends to confirm the suspicion that GSC-1580 from the same site is too young. It now appears that dentate-stamped pottery persisted in the Passamaquoddy Bay area until A.D. 900, at which time cord-wrapped stick became the predominant decorative technique. Comment (R.E. Morlan): Normalizing GSC-1452 and GSC-1445 to -25 parts per mil causes them to conform to Sanger's original estimate of a terminal date for this site.

References