An Archaeological Wonderland in Rhinebeck?
by Jane Dodds

Not too long ago my husband returned from a tour of a prehistoric site with an archaeologist friend, and, determined to discover a site on his own and pillage it, I mean, apply some of his newfound knowledge, immediately set off across the road to investigate a largely bare field that had recently been plowed for fall planting. Not more than a half hour passed before he returned with what was recognizably a projectile or knife point and two other pieces of chipped-looking flat rock. These, he was certain, had also been worked by some of our ancestral neighbors or passers-through. Ever competitive, I reminded him of my own recent find in the vegetable garden of a purple aluminum coin dated 1987 and featuring a relief portrait of William Shatner with two bunches of grapes and the name Bacchus semi-circling his head. (Research revealed that he had led the Krewe of Bacchus New Orleans Mardi Gras Parade the year the coin was minted.) But, still, I was a little awed by his find—which turned out to date from approximately 3,900 years ago. I was also reminded just how archaeologically rich this region is.

No accident that. Major river valleys, particularly of estuarine rivers, such as the Hudson, have been intertwined with civilization from its outset. When Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609, native people had already inhabited the area for some 11,000 years, and settlements of Algonkian-speaking people thrived along and near its shores and those of its tributaries. The Hudson River basin offered its residents abundant and diverse wild game and plants, fertile soil for growing crops, and the river and waterways feeding into it functioned like a highway system. Europeans were quick to grasp the advantages of the area and soon displaced the native groups that survived the contact period. Settlers echoed the natives' settlement pattern and utilization of natural resources. In the process, both built and natural features were profoundly altered or destroyed. "Disturbance" to the land proceeds at a steady clip today, but thousands of prehistoric archaeological sites continue to exist within the Hudson River Valley. A recent inventory of recorded sites in Dutchess and Columbia counties alone counted 464, and sites holding material remains of the historic period are at least as plentiful.

In our local area, the presence of a designated national historic landmark district ensures regular archaeological investigation because New York State requires an archaeological study prior to any major changes to the land or new construction within these districts. That requirement recently engendered investigation of the land comprising the Thompson-Mazzarella Park adjacent to Rhinebeck's Starr Library and town pool, for which several new playing fields and other features are proposed. The park lies within the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, a 32-square-mile parcel stretching from Germantown to Hyde Park. The investigator: Bard College's archaeologist-in-residence and director of its archaeology field school, Dr. Christopher Lindner.

Initial study of the parkland's surface hinted at an archaeological wonderland: a large area holding prehistoric artifacts from 1,000 to 5,000 years ago, and building ruins from the 18th to 19th centuries. The prehistoric site has the potential to make an important contribution to the prehistoric record. The majority of the artifacts found so far date from 5,000 years ago, a time about which little is known. Only one other Hudson Valley site dating to that period is more productive, but is now topped with houses.

The site has already yielded abundant artifacts. A local man familiar with archaeological methods has collected some 100 projectile points or flint knives turned up by plowing over the past fifteen years. And having barely scratched the surface (literally), Dr. Lindner made the discovery not only of scraping and cutting tools, projectile points, and drills for making tools and clothes, but of a true rarity, an atlatl, a tool invented before the bow and arrow that was used to throw spears farther and with more force than when thrown by hand alone. The atlatl, still in use in this hemisphere when the first Europeans arrived, was used for both warfare and hunting. Because it allows a hunter to stand at a greater distance from potentially dangerous prey than when employing a spear or dart without it, the atlatl was thought to have been used during the Pleistocene era for hunting megafauna like the woolly mammoth. Five thousand years ago, with no megafauna left, perhaps it was used to hunt black bears or white-tailed deer. But it is also easy to imagine children, in a foreshadowing of the park that has come thousands of years later, using atlatl-souped-up spears in their play or for target practice. The mind wanders—and hopes to see what is found here put in a broader context than a display case.

A Good Place To Live
It is generally thought that prior to agriculture, which came to the Hudson Valley in the form of corn about 1200 years ago, people migrated between warm-weather waterside camps and cold-weather inland camps. Because the Rhinebeck site is inland, but still quite close to the river, it is not possible to say yet if people occupied it during the fall and winter, and then moved for the warm months, say, to Cruger Island in Tivoli Bays, where archaeologists have found evidence of camps dating to the same period. In the end it may be determined that it was a permanent settlement, which Dr. Lindner believes may have also occurred prior to agriculture. Still, excavation may uncover signs of seasonal occupation, such as seasonally-indicative plant and animal remains associated with storage or fire pits. Charred nut shells, for example, could point to fall/winter occupation. Excavation below plow level may also reveal buried features, such as hearths, middens, and burials, which could provide a sense of the settlement's layout. The size of the surface debris scatter already raises the possibility that more than one band may have occupied the site simultaneously. Deeper digging may also yield evidence—such as postholes—of how people sheltered themselves, and possibly even other layers of occupation.

At the time of this writing, Dr. Linder is engaged in a comprehensive site survey and analysis that will show where artifacts are dispersed and where they are concentrated. The survey may lead the Town of Rhinebeck to preserve specific places for future study. Or it may persuade the town to proceed with a thorough archaeological excavation in the near term.

Not far from the field holding the prehistoric material is a root cellar formed of stacked stones dating from either the 18th or 19th century that is dug into the earth at the top of a ravine draining into a wetland. Leading from the structure are the rudiments of a trail, which Dr. Lindner believes may have led to a mill on the Landsman Kill. Located nearby are the remains of a building's stone foundation. Further archaeological investigation and archival research should be able to flesh out more of this story, but it is clear at this juncture that both native peoples and settlers recognized a good place to live when they found it.

A last note: Dr. Lindner advises that there is no evidence to support the story enjoying some circulation (at least at the Black Swan in Tivoli) that stone root cellars used by old world settlers and their descendents were originally built by native Americans for use as solar observatories.

Jane Dodds is the interpretive director of 4274 Design Workshop, an exhibition design and museum planning firm located at 42°N 74°W, outside of Tivoli. This is the first of two articles about archaeological investigations in our area.