An account of some kjoekkenmoeddings, or shell-heaps, in Maine and Massachusetts

by Jeffries Wyman

I.

Any one who would take the trouble on going to a strange city, to examine the rubbish in its suburbs and streets, and carefully collect and compare the fragments of pottery, pieces of cloth, of paper, cordage, the bones of different animals used as food, worked pieces of stone, wood, bone, or metal, might gain some insight into the modes of life of the inhabitants, and form a fair conception of the progress they had made in the arts of civilization. Even after a city has become a ruin, and centuries have passed by, such examinations have been attended with fruitful results. A savage tribe, dwelling for a long period on one and the same place, would inevitably leave vestiges of the manner in which they lived, though these would, of course, be fewer in kinds just in proportion as the people were nearer to a primeval condition.

The former dwelling-places of the Aborigines of the United States are nowhere more plainly indicated than along the seaboard, where some of the tribes passed a portion, at least, of each year, in hunting and fishing; some no doubt living there permanently, while others, it appears, made visits only at stated periods.[1] The clam, the quahog, the scallop, and the oyster, entered largely into their food, and the castaway shells of these, piled up during many years, have not only become monuments of their sea-shore life, but have largely aided in the preservation of the bones of the animals on which they fed, and also of some of the more perishable implements used in their rude arts.

The shell-heaps on the Atlantic coast long since attracted notice. Dr. C. T. Jackson, and afterwards Professor Chadbourne, visited the remarkable one at Damariscotta, in Maine; Sir Charles Lyell has particularly described another on St. Simon’s Island, in Georgia,[2] and quite recently Mr. Charles Rau, of New York, has given a full and instructive account of the examination of another at Keyport, New Jersey.[3] We have ourselves examined two on the sea-coast of East Florida, and still others in considerable numbers on the banks of the upper St. John’s, in the same State. These last-mentioned heaps consist wholly of the shells of fresh-water species. We may have something to say of them hereafter, but at present shall only speak of such as were visited on the coast of Maine and Massachusetts during the summer and autumn of the year just passed. Of the localities where these are situated, and of the structure of the heaps, we shall speak as briefly as possible; but shall enter somewhat fully into details, in connection with the implements and the remains of animals found in them. It is to be understood, however, that the heaps here described are only a very small portion of those to be seen along the coast of these two States, and which offer an ample reward to any who will take the trouble to examine them.

II.

Frenchman’s Bay. Mount Desert is the largest of the islands on the indented coast of Maine, and forms the western shore of Frenchman’s Bay. Many shell-heaps are scattered over this and the adjoining islands and the main land. Williamson,[4] without particularly designating them, mentions the existence of several from one to two acres in extent, and states that “a heavy growth of trees was found upon them by the first settlers.” We have examined two. The first of these is in Gouldsboro’, on the main land, and near the water’s edge on the eastern shore of the bay. It is said to cover an acre of land, but being under cultivation was examined only near its border, where a pit was sunk showing a deposit of clamshells about two feet in thickness. Among these were found the bones of several animals, including those of the deer, elk, and beaver, but no implements of any kind. Stone implements have, however, been found by those who have cultivated the soil of this neighborhood.

A more complete examination was made of a second deposit on one of two small islands, neither of which are named, about a mile west of the place just mentioned.[5] This heap is seen on a bank, at a height of about six feet above the high-water mark, varies in thickness from a few inches to about three feet, and extends along the shore about two hundred and fifty feet, and from thirty to forty feet inland. A section through the heap at its thickest part showed that it belonged to two different periods, indicated by two distinct layers of shells. The lowest, a foot in thickness, consisted of the shells of the clam, whelk, and mussel, all much decomposed, and mixed with earth. Above this was a layer of dark vegetable mould, mixed with earth and gravel, and from six to eight inches in thickness. Above this was a second layer of shells, of the same species as those just mentioned, but in a much better state of preservation, and with less intermixture of earth; this deposit was in turn covered by another layer of earth and mould, and these now sustain a growth of forest trees, but none of them of large size. From the state of things just described, it would seem that the place had been reoccupied, after having been once abandoned long enough for a vegetable mould to be formed, and a layer of earth from some neighboring source to be deposited over it. Charcoal was found in considerable quantity, scattered among the shells, and the remains of an old fireplace were uncovered. The bones of animals, and the various kinds of implements ([Pl. 14], figs. 3, 4, 5; [Pl. 15], figs. 10, 11) obtained during the excavations, will be described in another page.

III.

Crouch’s Cove. This is situated on Goose Island, in Casco Bay, about fifteen miles north-east of Portland. The whole island is at present covered with a growth of spruce trees (Abies nigra), excepting a narrow strip on the seaward side, and on this, at the southerly end of the island, are several shell-heaps of different sizes. The longest of these is about one hundred and fifty feet in length, forty in width, and varying in thickness from a few inches to nearly three feet. Considerable portions have been washed away, and the contents scattered along the shore. The shells are mostly deposited evenly, but here and there are raised into small knolls, and all are covered with turf. This deposit has been carefully examined by Mr. C. B. Fuller, of Portland, by whom large collections have been made, and a portion of which were unfortunately destroyed by the great fire of 1866. Mr. Edward S. Morse has more recently made a partial examination, and obtained many valuable specimens, which will be mentioned farther on.

Our examinations[6] were begun on the bank and carried inland, until about 375 square feet of surface, and more than 700 cubic feet of material had been moved. Mr. Morse has given the following account of the shells found in this, and some of the smaller deposits near by. He enumerates the following species: “Common Clam (Mya arenaria), Quahog (Venus mercenaria), Large Scallop (Pecten tenuicostatus), Large Mussel (Mytilus modiolus), Cockle (Purpura lapillus), Beach Snail (Natica heros), Whelk (Buccinum undatum), Periwinkle (Littorina litoralis); and also the following, for which there are no common names: Nassa obsoleta, Natica triseriata, and Macoma fusca. The following land snails were also met with: Helix albolabris, Sayii, alternata, lineata, striatella, indentata, multidentata, Zua lubricoides, and Succinea Totteniana.”