The Rock Shelter at Saw Mill Ridge, Ivoryton
Archaeological evidence throughout the Shoreline and Lower Connecticut River Valley shows that the region has been occupied by Indigenous people for over 12,000 years. During those thousands of years, the area has constantly been transformed by dramatic climatic, ecological and environmental changes. From the end of the Ice Age, Connecticut’s Indigenous residents constantly adapted to those changes and thrived due to their deep connection with the environment. As they did, their culture evolved to meet the challenges into four distinct cultural periods based upon their lithic technology, settlement patterns and dietary evidence. The periods include the Paleo-Indian Period (12,000 to 9,000 years ago), the Archaic Period (9,000 to 3,000 years ago), the Woodland Period (3,000 to 400 years ago) and the Contact Period (400 years ago to the present).
In June of 2018, Essex Historical Society (EHS) received a package from Casper, Wyoming, sent by Bishop Kenneth H. Kinner who once served as Vicar at All Saints Episcopal Church in Ivoryton from 1960 until 1963 as well as at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Westbrook from 1958 until 1963. During that time, Bishop Kinner developed an interest in local history and in particular, the history of the Native people of the region. This led him to seek out Native sites to investigate as an amateur archaeologist. One of the sites was the Saw Mill Ledge Rock Shelter in Ivoryton in 1959. The package he sent to EHS included not only twenty-four stone projectile points and other lithics, but a detailed description of the rock shelter and the excavation that uncovered them along with two photographs of the shelter at the time of the dig.
In November 2018, Dr. Brian Jones, then State Archaeologist of Connecticut, examined the artifacts and identified them by type and material in order to determine the age of each within the context of the archaeological periods. His analysis indicated that twenty of the artifacts came from the Middle and Late Archaic Periods (5,000 to 3,000 years ago), two from the Early Woodland Period (3,000 to 2,000 years ago), one from the Middle Woodland Period (2,000 to 1,000 years ago) and one from the Late Woodland Period (1,000 to 400 years ago). All the lithic material was identified as quartz or quartzite, the most common local Connecticut stone utilized to make projectile points and only one was chert or flint, a stone found outside the region.
Bishop Kinner’s notes indicated that the rock shelter was located on the Falls River approximately 40 feet from the eastern bank and 150 feet above sea level. He wrote that all the lithics were recovered under the overhanging section of the ledge in a scattered pattern that did not indicate they were stored there for later use, but more than likely dropped. Indigenous people since the Paleo-Indian Period had utilized overhanging rock shelters as camp sites to protect themselves from the weather on a temporary or even seasonal basis and the indication is that the Saw Mill Ledge shelter was no exception. According to the materials recovered, Dr. Jones concluded that the shelter was used on a temporary basis by small groups of hunters mostly during the Middle and Late Archaic Periods.
The artifacts open a window into an interesting aspect of the Archaic Period in that it is known from archaeological evidence that there were two distinct cultures occupying Connecticut simultaneously during the period, the Laurentian Culture and the Narrow Stem Culture. These have been identified based on the type, shape and size of the projectile points they made and used as well as their preferred occupation sites. The lithic technology of both cultures appears to have originated outside of Connecticut and either arrived with the influx of migrants, was introduced to the Indigenous population by trade or a combination of both. To date, there is no evidence of conflict between the cultures despite their coexistence in the region.
The Laurentian Culture originated in what is now parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada and Northern New England while the Narrow Point Culture can be traced to the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Interestingly, the originating areas have stone resources other than quartz and quartzite utilized locally indicating that those who made the rock shelter their temporary camp were of a well-established local population. The Saw Mill Ledge Rock Shelter also presents an interesting look at the Archaic Period because both cultures utilized it as a shelter at some point. Of the twenty projectile points, six are from the Laurentian Culture and twelve are from the Narrow Point tradition. This breakdown in numbers is of interest because each of the cultures tended to utilize very different environmental areas within Connecticut; the Laurentian tended to occupy coastal and river valley regions while the Narrow Point Culture occupied inland upland and wetland regions. The fact that the majority of lithics, 20 Narrow Point to six Laurentian, indicates that during the Middle and Late Archaic Periods the Narrow Point people in fact migrated into areas occupied by the Laurentian Culture to hunt and take advantage of the resources available along the coast and lower river valley.
The shelter is approximately six miles from Long Island Sound and even closer to the Connecticut River. The time period, 5,000 to 3,000 years ago, coincides with a dramatic change in the climate as the region suffered through a hotter and drier period that more severely impacted the traditional inland home of the Narrow Point people as their wetlands and small rivers began to dry up. This may have necessitated the move, even temporarily, towards the shore and lower river valley.
By the time the Woodland Period began 3,000 years ago, the climate had stabilized into what existed until recently, the late 20th century, bringing ecological and cultural changes for the Indigenous people. Although the collection contains only four projectile points from the Early to Late Woodland Periods (3,000 to 400 years ago), they indicate that the Indigenous people continued to utilize the shelter. Bishop Kinner observed signs of numerous camp fires and charcoal which, if analyzed, might have revealed further indication of the ages of occupation dates, but that was not done. Nevertheless, the story of the Saw Mill Ledge Rock Shelter is intriguing as it serves as a window into the prehistoric past of Ivoryton and the region.
Why did two distinct Indigenous cultures exist side by side in Connecticut for thousands of years?
This is a question that has intrigued archaeologists for many years and continues to do so. Of the two cultures, Laurentian and Narrow Point, the Laurentian appears to be a bit older with the earliest known site dating back 5,000 years. The earliest Narrow Point site appeared about 300 years later. Thus they were present in Connecticut for all intents and purposes simultaneously. Although each took advantage of distinct environments within the state, the Laurentian along the coast and rivers and the Narrow Point people occupying the upland wetlands such as lakes and marshes, both maintained their distinctive stone tool technologies which appeared to suit those locations best. The Narrow Point utilized the local Connecticut quartz and quartzite as shown from the points from the Saw Mill Ridge Rock Shelter while the Laurentian Culture used the same material but also more exotic stone from outside the state such as chert from the Hudson Valley, thus maintaining a trade network beyond the local area. Both cultures maintained base camps or villages that were seasonal and sometimes year-round. Smaller groups would venture out to take advantage of the resources each season provided as evidenced by the rock shelter used temporarily by hunting parties. Yet questions remain.
Why were there so many more Narrow Point projectile points than Laurentian present even though the site is in an area more traditionally occupied by the Laurentian Culture? Did both cultures barter tools? Did they get along peacefully? Did they intermarry? Did their territories overlap? Or given the fact that the two cultures co-existed for thousands of years, were the projectile points dropped at random times when used during all those years? Perhaps we will never know for sure.
For more information about the Follow the Falls project or to read the full version, please see our Follow the Falls series.