St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 257- 262:

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Draft Statement of Significance of the Boucher Cemetery Site
for inclusion in the National Register if Historic Places

Prepared by
Peter Thomas, Archaeologist
US Department of Homeland Security

NPS Form 10-000-n

(8-86)

Approval No.1024-0016

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number_8 Statement of Significance_Page 1 or 4  Boucher Cemetery Site, Franklin County, VT

Boucher Cemetery Site, Franklin County, VT

Introduction

The Boucher Cemetery Site is regionally significant for the exceptional insights it provides into aspects of Native America cultural live in the distant past, particularly those related to burial practices and pan-regional social and economic exchange networks. This site is the most professionally studied Early Woodland Period burial ground in Vermont and, with but few exceptions, in all of New England and eastern Canada. In an archaeological context, it is a key site with respect to understanding the Middlesex Mortuary Complex in northeastern North America - a complex closely related to the Adena, Delmarva and Meadowood Provinces. A suite of AMS radiocarbon dates (uncorrected) ranging from 858 B.C. to A.D. 100 indicates that the Boucher site was used intermittently throughout the entire Early Woodland Period, or for nearly 1,000 years. Mortuary goods found within the site are typically exotic and the use of long-distance exchange to acquire such items must have involved extensive networks of social interaction, which, in addition to the movement of goods, likely resulted in the flow of ideas on a regional level. The preservation of textiles, cordage, and leather items provides an extremely rare opportunity to study the techniques used to create every-day items and the craftsmanship of their makers.

The Boucher Cemetery Site is also important because it is emblematic of two competing paradigms in our modern world. One is typically employed by academicians who derive explanations of the past through historic and scientific methodologies; the other finds oneness with the past through commonly held knowledge and beliefs shared by ALLEGED Native American community members. There is a profound spiritual link felt by members of this community with those ancient Native Americans buried nearby. Initial disturbance of the Boucher Cemetery site in 1973 and the long interval of study before reburial of both the human remains and associated artifacts in 1990 greatly affected the spiritual and physical well-being of ALLEGED Abenaki residents and severely strained relations between professional archaeologists and members of the ALLEGED Abenaki community. After more than three decades, both groups have reached a substantial level of ...

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... accommodation and understanding. Today, both professional archaeologists and ALLEGED Abenakis are working together to protect and preserve the Boucher Cemetery site and other known, or as yet undiscovered, burial sites located nearby. Boucher is only one of an undetermined number of mortuary sites that extend intermittently to the east and in a broken chain along the same landform downstream for another 3/4 mile. Boucher encompasses only a very limited part of a larger sacred landscape within which deceased Native Americans have been buried for at least the part 3,000 years.

Narrative

The Boucher Cemetery Site (VT-Fr-26) is one of four apparently coeval, Early Woodland period, mortuary sites known from the lowlands of Vermont, east of Lake Champlain. The other sites are referred to as the Swanton or Hempyard (VT-Fr-1), East Creek (VT-Ad-26) and Bennett (VT-Ad-298) sites. The first and last are known from old collections of artifacts recovered in disturbed contexts. While human remains and an extensive collection of associated burial goods were "professionally" recovered from the East Creek site in the late 1930's, no excavation notes have survived, if they were ever taken. Of the four, the Boucher Cemetery site is by far the most thoroughly recorded and studied.

The Boucher site was accidentally discovered and partially destroyed during the excavation of a house foundation in April, 1973. Archaeological salvage operations were undertaken by the University of Vermont under the direction of Louise Basa. After the plowzone was removed to expose the upper portions of intact features, a volunteer field crew excavated an area of 340 m" between April and September. Many of the intact burials were removed en masse for subsequent excavation at UVM, the last of which was carried out in 1988. At least 84 confirmed burial pits were encountered and over 100 individuals may have been buried at the site.

Based on what he perceived to be Adena-related mortuary sites in New York State and elsewhere, Ritchie (1937-1951) defined a "Middlesex focus". He concluded that this complex, later referred to as the "Middlesex phase," either reflected the infusion of elements of Adena culture, which was centered in the upper Ohio River valley, or involved an actual migration of Adena people into the northeast (Ritchie and Dragoo 1960). Early Woodland cemeteries from throughout the far Northeast have been commonly referred to as Middesex sites since that time. The distribution of Middlesex related mortuary sites is, for the most part, restricted to the far Northeast, essentially from east-central and eastern New York, New England, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada.

Early radiocarbon dates from the Boucher site, in addition to early dates from Augustine Mound (New Brunswick) and Rosenkrans (New Jersey), now strongly suggest that the Middlesex burial complex was well established before Adena-related artifacts entered existing trade networks in considerable quantities after about 500 B.C. This does not mean that Adena-related stone artifacts and Midwestern raw materials were not important elements of late Early Woodland trade; both are well represented at Boucher and other Middlesex sites. Rather, an extensive regional trade in copper, shell and some stone artifacts, typical of those found in Middlesex burials, dates back to the late Archaic period. This has led Heckenberger, Petersen and Basa (1990) to conclude that the impetus for the Middlesex mortuary complex can be sought more locally than the Ohio valley or Great Lakes region, probably in the well-established Late Archaic ceremonial complexes of the far Northeast. This inference is further substantiated by a sourcing study of nine copper beads from the Boucher site using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Of the nine samples, seven ave a high probability of being derived from sources of copper in Nova Scotia, particularly Cumberland County or Cap D'Or. Two were evidently made from copper originating in Isle Royale located near the northwest shore of Lake Superior (Levine 2006). Radiocarbon dates from the Boucher and elsewhere also indicate that Middlesex cemeteries were still in use into the first millennium A.D., after the apparent collapse of Adena to the west.

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Given the wide region within which Native American peoples interacted at this time, it is not surprising that, in addition to ties with the Adena "culture" of the Midwest, the Middlesex complex has strong affinities to several other mortuary complexes known from northeastern North America. The Delmarva Adena complex located in the Delmarva Peninsula and Chesapeake Bay area of the Middle Atlantic region is characterized by traits remarkably similar to those of the Middlesex complex. In fact, assemblages from the two complexes are almost indistinguishable. A similar relationship exists with the mortuary components of the Meadowood phase generally found in central and western New York and southern Ontario. Another similar complex, but with the addition of burial mounds as a significantly visible element, is found scattered from New Brunswick (Augustine Mound) and Nova Scotia (Skora Mound) westward to the Long Sault Mounds on the St. Lawrence River near the outlet of Lake Ontario. In short, although some regional clusters may yet be differentiated that identify more closely related peoples, the extensive trade characteristic of the Early Woodland period throughout the broad Northeast, as well as what was likely some degree of shared ideology, tends to mask the variability in mortuary practices used by interconnected peoples. The Boucher site has played a pivotal role in challenging earlier ideas about the source and time depth of elaborate burial practices in Vermont and elsewhere.

Practices of interment at the Boucher Cemetery Site were noticeably varied. Some individuals were cremated prior to burial. The remains of others were evidently stored in some manner, thus allowing the flesh to decompose before burial in bundles of dis-articulated bones. Others were interred directly in the ground shortly after the time of death. A minimum total of 43 inhumations, of which two were bundle burials, and 17 cremations were encountered. Of the 17 cremations, three contained the remains of two individuals each. All remains were placed in graves that ranged in depth from 3 to 6 feet. Such a variety of practices is repeated at other cemeteries of the time throughout the region.

Based on a detailed analysis of the characteristics of the graves and the quantity and/or types of goods included, no discernible pattern was found that suggested that the mode of burial was dependent upon age, gender or status of the individual. This has led to speculation that such sites as Boucher were sacred locations of extended families or other kin groups that were used over hundreds of years, and that the presence of cremations and secondary bundle burials stems from the fact that some members of this kin group died at considerable distances from their formal burial site. Thus, their remains were treated in a different method until a more ritualized interment could occur (Hackenberger, etc al 1990); Heckenberger, Peterson and Basa (1990).

A variety of mortuary artifacts, including numerous shell and copper beads, blocked-end tubular pipes for smoking tobacco, projectile points, bifaces, gorgets, celts, a boatstone, and Vinette 1 ceramic vessels, were among the accompanying artifacts. These goods attest to the highly ritualized treatment of the deceased, both here and at less documented cemeteries of the time throughout the larger region, as such goods were undoubtedly acquired at considerable cost to the living.

The quantity and variety of such artifacts also attest to the wide-ranging exchange networks that operated during the Early Woodland period. For example, a total of 119 flaked stone tools were recovered at the Boucher site. A number are made from local Hathaway formation chert or Champlain Valley quartzite, but roughly 52% consist of exotic items manufactured from raw materials drawn from distant sources, including New York State cherts, such as Normanskill, Eastern and Western Onondaga cherts, as well as Flint Ridge and Wyandot chert from Harrison County, Indiana. Fine-grained Mistassini quartzite and argillite, probably derive from northern and southern Quebec, as well as Kineo rhyolite, sourced from northern Maine, are also present.

Other types of artifacts were imported from equally distant sources. Of 19 blocked-end tubular smoking pipes, at least 15 are made of "Ohio fireclay"; the remainder are made from unidentified materials. One "boatstone" or gorget was manufactured from a banded slate derived from the upper Great Lakes region. By far the largest number of artifacts recovered consists of 6,732 copper artifacts, predominately beads, and substantial quantities of shell beads. As noted ...

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previously, sourcing studies of nine copper beads concluded that there is a high probability that seven of the beads are derived from copper sources in Nova Scotia, particularly Cumberlad County or Cap D' Or, and that two are made from copper originating on Isle Royale located near the northwest shore of Lake Superior (Levine 2006). The shell beads derive from four species of marine shell: the Common Rice Olive (Olivella floralia), the Common Atlantic Marginella (Marginella apicina), the knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica), and the Northern Quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria). The whelk and quahog could have been obtained frm peoples living along the coast of southern New England. The Olivella and Marginella shells were traded from at least as far south as Virginia and the Carolinas. In short, Boucher site provides clear evidence that the world of the Native Americans living in the Champlain Lowlands during the Early Woodland period extended far their visible horizons. The trade/exchange networks that were operating at this at this time not only brought exotic items to them to them for inclusion as burial items, but had tentacles extending into much of North America east of the Mississippi River.

Copper salts from the beads acted as a fungicides and led to the preservation of textiles, cordage and leather items that are extremely rare in the archaeological record and attest to the exceptional craftsmanship of community members. Fiber cordage, derived from milkweed and basswood, is identified in single-, two-, three- and four-ply fragments. Fragments of 23 individual woven objects were identify and exhibit at least four different types of twining. While most textiles were constructed of cordage made from plant fibers, at least two incorporated animals hair as the active weft element. Textiles were used to create clothing, shrouds, smaller bags, one of which was decorated with a geometric motif. At least two hide garments and three hide bags were included with the deceased. The extant assemblage from the Boucher Cemetery site constitutes one of the largest collections of perishable artifacts of this antiquity known from anywhere in eastern North America. The people living here clearly possessed a sophisticated perishable fiber industry. The regularity and delicacy of many of the structural elements and patterns evident in the textiles provide testimony to the high level of proficiency of the weavers (Heckenberger, Petersen and Basa 1990).

In sum, the archaeological recovery of human and mortuary remains from the Boucher Cemetery site in 1973, their analysis in the years following, and the subsequent publication of the results have provided Euro-Americans in Vermont and elsewhere with an unprecedented view into the lives of Native Americans living in northeastern North American some 2-3,000 years ago. There can be little doubt that this site greatly expands our knowledge of the past and challenges us all to give serious consideration to how complex and dynamic the cultures of Native American peoples were at a time for which we have no written records.

The history of the discovery, recovery, analysis and eventual reburial of the Boucher Cemetery remains clearly reflects the existence of two competing paradigms in our modern world. One is typically employed by academicians who derive explanations of the past through historic and scientific methodologies; the other finds oneness with the past through commonly held knowledge and beliefs shared by ALLEGED Native American community members. Profound disjuncts can occur. For example, just because the archaeological data can show no direct cultural links between the individuals buried at the Boucher Cemetery and the Native American community of Abenakis living in the Highgate-Swanton area today, due in large part to deficiencies in both methodology and the lack of primary data, it does not negative the fact that there is a profound spiritual link felt by members of this ALLEGED community with those ancient Native Americans buried nearby. Initial disturbance of the Boucher Cemetery site in 1973 and the train of subsequent differing opinions over the treatment and potential re-internment of both the skeletal remains and associated burials goods strained relations between professional archaeologists in Vermont and the ALLEGED Abenaki community for nearly three decades. It has taken considerable effort by both parties to reach a substantial level of accommodation and understanding (Blum, Petersen and Wiseman 2006). This pattern of conflict and the gradual accommodation of divergent belief systems with respect to "a burial site of archaeological import" and what is essentially a "sacred or traditional cultural property" reflects a broad trend in the history of modern archaeology that has and is still occurring across the entire Nation.

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At present, both professional archaeologists and ALLEGED "Abenakis" are working together to protect and preserve both the Boucher Cemetery site and other known, or as yet undiscovered, burial sites located nearby. Boucher is but one of an unknown number of mortuary sites that extend intermittently to the east and in a broken chain along the same landform downstream for another 3/4 mile. At least 31 burials and associated mortuary goods have been recovered from only two small areas along this stretch of the Missisquoi River. Remaining areas are simply unexplored. Unexplored burial beyond the boundaries of the Boucher Cemetery site date from the Early Woodland early Middle Woodland, Late Woodland and early Historic Periods. It is perhaps revealing that an early 18th -cetury Jesuit mission was also established on this hallowed ground and the one of the recovered burials found nearby was accompanied by a crucifix. Boucher is but a part of a larger sacred landscape within which deceased Native Americans have been buried for at least the past 3,000 years and whose protection will help to insure the spiritual and physical well-being of the present-day ALLEGED Abenaki community.

Missisquoi Jar Casting Proposal


David Skinas, USDA/NRCS
Chief April St. St. Francis-Merrill, Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi
November 2, 2010 

In July of 2009 in intact ceramic vessel, the Missisquoi Jar, dating to circa AD 300 was recovered from from the Boucher Cemetery site during an archaeological investigation that was conducted to with the Town of Swanton's Native American Site's District zoning law along [REDACTED]. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in partnership with the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi St. Francis.Sokoki band and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation lead this effort that recovered this extraordinary artifact. It is extremely rare to recover large ceramic sherds from precontact Native American sites in the Northeast which makes this find of an intact vessel all the more significant. The jar is considered sacred by the Missisquoi community because it is associated with the Boucher Cemetery site where over 80 human graves were unearthed in 1973 and later reinterred to the site in 1996. The Missisquoi Jar was lying on its side with two stones that positioned the pot to a specific orientation. The vessel either contains a cremation burial or was intentionally placed on top of a body that was buried but the bones have long since dissolved in the acidic soil of the site. There was no archaeological evidence gathered during the investigation to suggest that this artifact was associated with an encampment or habitation. Ceramic vessels typically found in habitation sites were placed upright so that the contents could be easily accessed by the inhabitants. That was not the case with the Missisquoi Jar.

The Missisquoi Jar is being stored temporarily at tribal headquarters in Swanton and must be reinterred on the site across the road from where it was unearthed before the ground freezes. Once this sacred item has been reburied we will no longer have the opportunity to examine or admire it again. Because the vessel is sacred it cannot be displayed or even have photographs of it distributed or published. We believe that because this jar is associated with a burial in one of Vermont's most important cemetery sites that funds from the Vermont Special Sites Fund should be used to make a cast of the pot. The casting would be undertaken in two phases. The first ...

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... step is to take a mold of the pot at tribal headquarters before it is reburied. The cost of that effort is estimated at $2,994 (see below). The second step is to actually recreate the vessel at the lab over the course of the winter. This phase of casting cannot be accurately estimated until the mold has been completed, but it should also cost about $3,000 to make a single cast. The big advantage is that once the mold has been taken more than one copy of the jar can be made in the future, and those copies could be used for displays at the Missisquoi Museum in Swanton, the Chimney Point Historic Site Museum and/or the Vermont Historical Society. To not take advantage of this opportunity before the vessel is reinterred would be a mistake that cannot be undone.

(This grant was approved by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and funded by the Special Sites Burial Fund. A mold of the vessel was successfully completed in December 2010)

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 249 - 256:

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[REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol

[REDACTED] Project,

Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont

David Skinas

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

July 9, 2008

The Town of Swanton's [REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol (Zoning Bylaws Section 3.17 Native American Sites District) requires that an archaeological investigation shall be conducted on house development projects where ground disturbance will reach or exceed 18 inches below surface to ensure that any unmarked human graves are not inadvertently disturbed during house construction. The [REDACTED] Native American Sites District, located in the Towns of Swanton and Highgate, contains an extraordinary collection of ancient Abenaki burial grounds and habitation sites, some of which have been exposed and disturbed over the last 35 years largely resulting from residential development. The most notable of these cemeteries are [REDACTED] the [REDACTED] where thousands of human skeletal remains representing hundreds of Abenaki ancestors have been documented dating back at least 2500 years ago and as recent as the 19th century. Mnay more burial grounds are expected to exist within this portion of the Missisquoi Abenaki traditional homeland and the zoning law was enacted to help protect these extremely sacred areas. When necessary archaeological studies are conducted the Vermont Burial Fund is used to help pay for these investigations to alleviate the town and landowners from any financial burden.

[REDACTED] owns a resident within the [REDACTED] Native American Site District (Fugure 1) in the Town of Swanton and filed an Application for Building Permit #49-2008 to construct a 28 foot by 20 foot addition to his existing house (Photo 1). The property is located at [REDACTED] out 800 feet south [REDACTED] and approximately 150 feet north of the Missisquoi River (Figure 2). Construction of the house addition foundation would require excavation to a depth of six and a half feet which triggered the need for an archaeological monitoring investigation.

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Figure 1. Project location shown on the East Alburg and Highgate Center USGS quad maps.

On June 26, 2008 I [David Skinas] monitored the excavation of the house addition foundation (Photo 2). A straight-edge bucket was used on the excavator that removed soil below the plowzone in a 4-6 inch increments (Photo 3). An approximately four foot deep water line trench that extended from the well to the house was exposed, and a narrow twelve inch deep cable trench was also observed during the excavation.

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Figure 2. Location of the house addition.

There was no evidence of any unmarked human burials, grave shaftes, inhumations, cremations or red ochre features observed during the controlled monitoring of the house addition. No precontact Native American artifacts were identified, but a possible cultural feature similar to a fire pit was exposed in the top three inches (7cm) of the B horizon that was located at about 8 feet west of the existing foundation wall and approximately 10 feet north of the south wall (Photo 4). The approximately 16 inch (40 cm) diameter feature was quickly cross-sectioned and in profile the stain ranged in depth from 2-8 inches (5-20 cm) below surface with the deeper end located along the northern edge of the feature. No stone tools, waste flakes, other artifacts, calcined bone or unburned bone were contained within or near the feature to confirm that this soil stain was the result of a precontact or contact period Native American activity. In the northwest corner of the addition a decayed tree stump stain was exposed. No other soil anomalies were observed during the investigation. It does not appear that construction of the [REDACTED] house addition will disturb or destroy any unmarked Abenaki burials.

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Photo 1. Location of the house addition marked in orange paint, facing south.

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Photo 2. Shows the extent of the house addition foundation, facing north.

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Photo 3. Shows the straight-edged bucket removing a 46 inch of the upper B horizon.

[Image]

Photo 4. Shows the top of the dark, charcoal infused soil stain identified in the upper B horizon.

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2008 Reinternment of Abenaki Human Remains found at the Medical Examiner's Office

On December 20, 2007 the State Archaeologist contacted Chief April St. Francis-Merrill of the Missisquoi Abenaki asking her to take charge of and properly re-inter the remains of several Native American burials contained within three boxes that had just been discovered in the State Medical Examiner's Office. This transfer of remains to the Missisquoi tribe was conducted with the knowledge and approval of the State Archaeologist and the Vermont Division for Historic preservation. All necessary burial transit and reinterment permits were obtained from the City of Burlington, Town of Alburg and Town of Highgate. These boxes had little locational information describing where these human remains came from but some notations on the box labels indicated that they originated from Alburg, Colchester and the Monument Road area of Highgate. Prior to the removal of the burials from the Medical Examiner's Office staff from the UVM Consulting Archaeological Program inventoried the remains. The results of that inventory are presented below:

Medical Examiner's Unidentified Skeletal Remains Inventory

Visited Jan 11 2008

Alexandra Martin

Rob Ingraham

UVM Consulting Archaeological Program

This designation of skeletal elements will serve as a basic inventory of the human remains and non human artifacts that were most recently stored at the Burlington VT Medical Examiner's Office. Two bankers' boxes contained a miscellany of bones with little to no provenience information and unknown relation to one another. To get a sense of what was present, we laid out the skeletal elements from each box and analyzed the contents of each bag or singular element within. Each element was photographed and recorded on an Isolated Bone Recording Form. We could not assume that elements within each bag were necessarily associated with one another or with singular elements also in the box; therefore, our minimum numb of individuals may seem broad. In some cases, we assigned a bag number to skeletal elements previously stored with one another for ease of reference. In all cases, we attempted to discern as much information about the remains as possible before their imminent return to the Abenaki Tribal Council.In box 3, we dealt with a total of 15 separate bags and 2 isolated elements. We estimate an MNI of 58, though the number of individuals represented in this box more likely approximates 17 or so. This box also contained a number of non human remains, including skeletal elements primarily of Odocoileus virginianus (deer), but also Lutra Canadensis (otter), Bos taurus (cow), Ursus (bear) and other unidentified small mammals. Among the deer bones were multiple modified bone tools.On these deer bone tools were catalog numbers Jess Robinson recognized as being from UVM's Fleming Museum. Robinson located an American Anthropologist article entitled "Aboriginal Remains in the Champlain Valley" by G. H. Perkins (1909). This article refers to ...

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... these bone tools and features a few of them in plate XXXIV (617). Perkins reports that the artifacts were recovered by D. B. Griffin from the "bank of a large creek that flows into Mallets bay" (615).Griffin and Mallet's Bay are also present on another skeletal element in Box 3, a fragmented human skull enclosed in a bag labeled "Bones from Clay in Mallets Creek Indian Encampment D.B. Griffin 1910." Few of the other human remains in this box are identified by excavator or original site, but several bags are contained in bags labeled "from graves on Missisquoi River, Highgate VT." Please refer to the table of Elements for a complete list of the inventory in this box.In Box 11, there were 9 previously established identification numbers and 5 elements with no bag or tag of any kind. We determine an MNI of 19. Among the separately bagged elements in this box, the only group spanning several bags with the same catalog number (20) was determined to be almost positively from the same individual. Although there were few elements to pair, this individual had a level of osteoarthritic osteophyte growth that related the elements to one another.There were no catalog numbers on the bones in this box; only one element was identified with writing on the bone itself. A complete skull that seems to have been treated for display has writing on the frontal bone reading "2161 Swan Creek retain" "1523cc." No further information on a Swan Creek burial has been located as of yet. Please refer to the table of Elements Present for a complete list of the inventory in this box provided below.

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The 2009 Trombley Recovery Project, Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vt.

In July of 2009 a 1700 year old intact ceramic vessel was recovered during an archaeological investigation triggered by the Town of Swanton's Monument Road Unmarked Burial zoning. This zoning law is designed to identify and protect unmarked burials from destruction during house development along Monument Road where many Abenaki burial grounds have been disturbed over the last 30+ years. Staff from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Scott Dillon of the Vt. Division for Historic Preservation worked in collaboration with Chief April St. Francis-Merrill, of the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, the Town of Swanton and the landowners to conduct this investigation. This project is located at the edge of the significant 2,000+ year old Boucher Cemetery site VT-FR-26. Shovel test pits were excavated at 5 meter intervals within the project area. The ceramic pot was encountered at 34 cm below surface and was laying on its side facing westerly wedged in that position with one and perhaps two stones. The absence of habitation remains one the site suggests that this isolated vessel was placed on an Abenaki burial and either the bones have completely dissolved in the acidic soils or the vessel contains a cremation burial. The pot was successfully extracted from the ground in one piece and brought to tribal headquarters in Swanton for safe keeping and analysis. John Crock and Jess Robinson of the UVM Consulting Archaeology Program assisted Scott Dillon and me to document the vessel. The pot's pseudo scallop shell decorative style dated the Missisquoi Jar to Peterson's Ceramic Period 2 at approximately AD 300. As the jar slowly dried several cracks formed on the exterior making the vessel extremely fragile. Under the direction of Steve Shapiro, the State Medical Examiner, we conducted a CT scan of the vessel to determine the stability of the pot, produce a three dimensional image of the vessel and more importantly to analyze the contents to determine if any burned bone or other evidence of human remains were contained in the jar. The results of the CT scan are phenomenal and more analysis is planned. This imaging technology allows us to examine the jar without having to remove the contents that would destabilize the vessel.Unfortunately, the housing project was allowed to proceed with an approved zoning permit because only one burial was encountered. The Swanton Unmarked Burial zoning that is limited to Monument Road requires that more than three graves must be found within a 1,000 square foot square area before a project can be stopped. I did monitor the excavation of the house foundation, utility lines and septic area but no other graves or artifacts were observed. Because of the Missisquoi Jar may be assocatied with a burial it is against the Abenaki  belief system to display such sacred objects. We hope to provide the VAS membership with the images of the CT scan in the near future.

David Skinas USDA NRCS    Chief April St. Francis-Merrill

                                                               St. Francis/Sokoki Band

                                                               Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 245 - 248

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[REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol: Parent Project,
Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont
David Skinas
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
July 2007

The town of Swanton's [REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol (Zoning Bylaws Section 3.17 Native American Sites District) requires that an archaeological investigation be conducted on house development projects where ground disturbance will reach or exceed 18 inches below surface to ensure that any unmarked human graves are not inadvertently disturbed during house construction. 

[REDACTED] of Swanton own a one-acre parcel on [REDACTED] (Figure 1) in the Town of Swanton and have filed an Application for a Building Permit to construct a single-family, one-story, three-bedroom residence, having dimensions of 72 feet in length and 47 feet in width. The property is located on the Southerly side of [REDACTED] in the Native American Sites District (Figure 2). Construction of a foundation and associated power, water, septic tanks and sewer lines would involve excavation to a depth of more than 18 inches.

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Figure 1. Project location shown on the East Alburg and Highgate Center USGS quad maps. 

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Figure 2. Location of house, power, water, septic tanks and sewer lines excavation.

On May 30, 2007 I monitored the excavation of the house foundation. A straight-edged bucket was used on the excavator that removed soil below the plowzone in 4-6 inch increments. A buried barn foundation with concrete walls was exposed along the eastern end of the excavated foundation (Photo 1). The landowner remembered going to an auction at this barn in the 1970's. This farm and barn does not appear on the  1871 F. W. Beers Atlas of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties but does show up on the 1916 St. Albans, VT USGS quadrangle map. Sometime between the 1970's and present time this barn had been razed. On June 5, 2007 I returned to monitor excavation of the power, water and sewer lines once their locations had been determined. The septic would be placed in an area previously disturbed by the razed barn and installation of an 8 foot wide by 3-4 foot deep stone lined waterway (Figure 3 and Photo 2). The concrete floor of he barn's milk house was exposed midway along the sewer line that had to be avoided.

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Photo 1. View of the barn foundation along the east third of excavated area, facing east.

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Photo 2. Shows the stone-lined ditch to the left of Chief April St. Francis [Merrill] and two contractors, Zoning Administrator Ron Kilburn is to the right. Photo taken during the preconstruction meeting, facing south.

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Figure 3. Shows the location of the razed barn and stone lined ditch.

There was no evidence of any unmarked human burials, grave shafts, inhumations, cremations or red ochre features observed during the controlled monitoring of the house foundation or the power, water and sewer lines. No precontact Native American artifacts or cultural features related to other domestic or task-specific activities were identified. The monitoring effort only took about three hours of time during portions of two days to complete the investigation. It does not appear that construction of the [REDACTED] house and associated infrastructure will disturb or destroy any unmarked Abenaki burials.

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 239 - 244:

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[REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol
Taylor Archaeological Investigation,Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont
David Skinas
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
May 9, 2006

The landowners applied for a building permit from the Town of Swanton to replace the existing trailer with a house. The area of potential effect is located about 60 feet south of the 2004 radar study plot (Figure 1). Elevation changes in the ground surface suggested that extensive fill had been placed around the trailer during initial construction in 1981 (Photo 1). The new house would overlap the footprint of the trailer by approximately 6-12 feet to the north and south, and extend another 26 feet to the west into the driveway (Photo 2). A concrete foundation will be ...

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Figure 1. Auger Core Distribution at the [REDACTED] Project.

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... built three feet below surface. On May 9, 2006 I extracted five three-inch diameter auger cores to determine the presence and extent of fill within the area of potential effect (Figure 1). Approximately three feet of fill was observed over a truncated B horizon in all of the auger samples that ranged in depth from 3 feet 3 inches below surface at its deepest point in Core 2 and 2 feet 10 inches at its shallowest depth in Core 4. This fill is the same material identified in the 2004 study plot that was probably placed during the establishment of the trailer in 1981.A shovel was used to expose the edge of the septic tank and fill was observed out to this point of the backyard located 28 feet south-southwest of the trailer. The surface drops a foot or more to the south of the septic tank (Photo 1). Based on the current building design there will be no disturbance to the intact subsoil. The project area is also located 380 feet from the closest natural drainage in an area that is not considered to have a high potential to contain unmarked precontact or historic period Abenaki graves. The landowner has agreed to halt excavation slightly above or at the top of the truncated B horizon and not intrude into it. He will also notify me when construction will begin so I can have the opportunity to observe the excavation. If these conditions are met then it is highly unlikely that any unmarked Abenaki burials will be inadvertently disturbed during construction.

[Image]

Photo 1. Shows the backyard of resident and change in elevation at shovel-septic area. Stake between steps and fuel tank marks SE corner of foundation, facing west.

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[Image]

Photo 2. Front yard of residence facing west. The stake in center foreground marks the NE corner of foundation.

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The Alburg Gravel Pit Project: an Abenaki Cemetery and Village site.
David Skinas
USDA NRCS
March 2007

In late summer of 2000 an unmarked burial was discovered during the excavation of gravel in Alburg, Grand Isle County, Vermont. The state police were notified and the state archaeologist determined that the remains were archaeological in nature and not the result of a recent homicide. The site was listed as [REDACTED] in the Vermont Archaeological Inventory. The UVM archaeologist established that the remains were Native American and the Abenaki Tribal Council was notified to deal with the burial according to their tradition. At the time the governor's office believed this body was an isolated burial and not part of a larger cemetery.

A second burial eroded out of the gravel pit wall in March or April 2001 about 30 meters from the first burial. The administration still maintained that these two burials did not constitute a cemetery. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) in partnership with the Vt. Division for Historical Preservation and Abenaki tribal representatives conducted a non-intrusive ground penetrating radar study to locate additional graves in June of 2001. The radar results were inconclusive because of the many rocks contained within the gravelly soil and the calcareous composition of the soils did not produce reliable radar signals. Although the radar study was not helpful in locating additional graves it was believed that many other unmarked burials existed in the gravel deposit. The recovery of a pottery sherd during the study suggested that this site was also used for habitation. An agreement between the partners on how to best deal with the site could not be reached and communication broke down. No further investigations were conducted at the site between June 2001 and September 2006 but gravel extraction continued around the burials. 

On September 5, 2006 John Hall, the Commissioner of Housing and Community Affairs, set up a meeting with the landowner and myself to try and resolve the impasse. As a member of the Missisquoi Task Force on Native American Affairs I [David Skinas] also represented the Abenakis at this meeting. The landowner wanted to get to the last deposit of good gravel on his property located in the area where the burials were found.

An on-site agreement was reached by the three of us whereby: 1) I would monitor controlled excavation of the overburden to determine if additional burials existed on the knoll. Controlled excavation is defined as using of a straight edge bucket to peel back the soil in a think layer 3-6 inches thick. 2) If only two more human burials were identified during the monitoring operation they would be exhumed and re-interred nearby. If more than two additional burials were found...

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... in the ground during monitoring then the site would be designated as a cemetery by the state and all ground disturbance would be abandoned. 3) The state would then seek funding to compensate the landowner for the value of the gravel that he could no longer access for commercial uses.

The monitoring operation began on September 14, 2006. Within two days of the monitoring operations two intact Abenaki graves exposed and designated burials 3 and 4 (burials 1 and 2 came out in 2000 an 2001). These two bodies were lying in a flexed position. A fire pit contained burned bone of deer and beaver was located about a meter from burial 3. Two ornately decorated broken pots were also recovered from the fire pit that dated to 1400-1600 AD. It appears that the body was buried in a wigwam which was a typical mortuary practice for this time period. The third intact grave (burial 5) was identified soon after that confirmed the site as an Abenaki cemetery and not just a location of random burials. The three intact graves and two bodies that had fallen out of the pit walls in 2000 and 2001 were found within a 100 foot diameter area. All excavation was halted in this area and moved 200 feet to the south to try and find the cemetery boundaries so an access road could be cut to the southern gravel pit without disturbing more burials. The remains of post molds from the frame of a wigwam, long house or other structure was uncovered at the southern end of the site. A fire pit and smaller diameter post molds were found within the structure that probably represent drying racks, bed frame or other domestic furnishings. The fourth intact burial (#6) was found in a flexed position about 15 meters south of the wigwam where the access road was being cut. All excavation was halted at this point because the cemetery appeared to extend further south along the remainder of the property where the good gravel was located. A third fire pit with burned bone and pottery sherds was also discovered eroding out of the pit wall about 10 meters from the last burial.

The two bodies uncovered in 2000 and 2001 had been reburied by gravel pit workers in 2003 (we estimate) in a trench along the property boundary. We excavated that trench and recovered those remains so that they would be re-interred according to Abenaki custom. The UVM forensic anthropologist who examined the intact graves also analyzed these burials and found that there were three bodies and not just the two as initially thought. Together with the four intact graves found during the excavation in 2006 a total of seven burials have been found at the site. Abenaki oral history speaks of a refuge village that was established in the interior of Alburg that the tribe retreated to during periods of pressure from the colonists such as after Roger's Raid and the American Revolution. There is a strong possibility that this site is what is left of that refuge village. 

The [REDACTED] remains extremely important archaeological deposits and at least seven human burials, and undoubtedly many more, from the Late Woodland Period dating around 1400-1600 AD. Archaeological sites have intact cultural features such as fire pits and house remnants have the potential to provide extraordinary information about settlement patterns and subsistence preferences. The presence of an intact Abenaki cemetery from this time period is of exceptional significance making this site clearly eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

In November money from the state burial fund was used to begin restoring the cemetery to over the graves and archaeological features and to stabilize the vertical pit walls that would otherwise ...

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... erode during the winter. Wet and cold weather halted the restoration effort in December but will commence again in the spring. The site has been largely stabilized and will be protected from the harsh winter weather. The last piece of the project is to obtain funds to compensate the landowner for the loss of commercial gravel. NRCS conducted a topographic survey and used their geologist to map the depth and extent of the various grades of gravel. The Landowner and I then sat down and applied fair market prices for the in-ground value of the material. The total compensation needed is $-----. The Vermont Housing and Conservation board is willing to put in $----- which is the limit of their annual conservation fund, but need to find a match for the remaining $-----.

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 213 - 238:

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The 2004 Monument Road Ground
Penetrating Radar Study in the
Towns of Swanton and Highgate, Franklin
County, Vermont


[Image]


David Skinas
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services
May, 2005

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Introduction 

Lands along [REDACTED] the towns of Highgate and Swanton contain many archaeological habitation sites and burial grounds that possess a rich and extensive record of Native American occupation during at least the past 6,000 years (Figure 1). Over the last 30 years, and probably longer, the development of several homes on [REDACTED] [Monument Road] has disturbed hundreds of unmarked burials in several Abenaki cemeteries. The unintentional disturbance of yet another extensive cemetery in May of 2000 prompted town officials, Monument Road landowners and the Abenaki Tribal Council to work together to develop a policy that would allow for the use of non-intrusive technologies to search for unmarked graves prior to issuing a building permit.

[Image]

Figure 1. [REDACTED] [Monument Road] Study Area on the East Alburg and Highgate Center USGS quads.

In July and October of 2004 the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in partnership with the [David Skinas] [REDACTED] [Monument Road] Working Committee, the Abenaki Tribal Coucil, Vermont Land Trust and US Forest Service [David Lacy], conducted two ground penetrating radar studies on sex privately owned lots located along and adjacent to [REDACTED] in the Towns of Highgate and Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont (Figure 2.) Landowners of four of the properties were not seeking building permits and volunteered to have their land investigated. A zoning permit was required for the other two properties, one for a single family home and the other for a six lot subdivision.

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When suitable radar targets were identified some were selected for ground-truthing which entailed the excavation of a 50 cm square shovel test pit (stp) by stratigraphic layers. Sometimes stps were joined together to better expose the radar anomaly. Each soil layer was sifted through a 1/4 inch mesh hardware cloth and all artifacts or other collected specimens were labeled according to shovel test pit number and soil layer.

[Image]

Figure 2. Location of the 2004 radar study plots.

July 2004 Study

James Doolittle, NRCS geophysicist based out of Pennsylvania conducted a ground penetrating radar survey during the week of July 19-23, 2005 in Swanton. Portions of four properties were selected for a radar investigation and one other site initially surveyed in 2002 was rescanned a second time at a tighter sampling interval. See Appendix 1 for a detailed report of the Doolittle ground penetrating radar methodology and results. The Archaeology Consulting Team from Essex Junction, Vermont was contracted to assist in the excavation of radar targets to determine the origin of selected soil anomalies.

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[REDACTED]

The [REDACTED] Study plot is located in Swanton on the back lawn of the residence immediately south of the swimming pool (Figure 3). The landform is located approximately 7 meters above and about 3.5 meters east of a relict channel of the Missisquoi River. This environmental setting is similar to other landforms along [REDACTED] where Abenaki burials have been found. Soils within the project area are mapped as Windsor Loamy fine sand. A 19 meter long by 14 meter wide grid was established. The southeast corner was set as the 0,0 origin of the grid. Traverse lines were 19 meters long, oriented in essentially a northwest-southwest direction, and spaced 50 centimeters (cm) apart.

[Image]

Figure 3. Location of the [REDACTED] adjacent to an oxbow.

Two radar targets were identified during the survey and plans were made to ground truth these anomalies later in the summer. When the excavation crew was available in September to excavate the radar targets the landowner was not available to provide permission to dig on his land. Based on the orthophotograph this landform was thought to have been closer to the edge of the relict river channel than in actually was. Also, the extraction of several soil cores verified landowner information that there had been considerable disturbance around the residence and utilities. No radar targets were excavated at the [REDACTED] plot.

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[REDACTED] lot:

This study area is located on the front lawn of the [REDACTED] residence immediately south of [REDACTED] (Figure 4.) Soils within the project area are mapped as Windsor Loamy fine sand. A 30 meter long by 7 meter wide grid was established with the southwest corner as the 0,0 origin. Traverse lines were 30 meters long, spaced 50 cm apart and oriented in essentially an east-west direction.

[Image]

Figure 4. Location of the [REDACTED] Areas along Monument Road. 

The radar revealed a one to two foot thick upper soil layer composed of several fill episodes that resulted from road construction and landscaping around the residence. The landowner stated that prior to house construction the front lawn area was a low, wet depression that required extensive amounts of fill layers created considerable background noise that made the identification of discrete radar anomalies difficult. The one target that was located appeared to be too long and linear to represent an unmarked burial and probably picked up a reflection from be too long and linear to represent an unmarked burial and probably picked up a reflection from a utility trench. The extraction of several three-inch diameter auger cores confirmed that a large ...

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... quality of fill had been deposited within the study plot. No targets were excavated at the [REDACTED] plot because of the extensive fill material that capped a wet, much-like soil. It is highly unlikely that any Abenaki graves would have been buried in this soil type. [REDACTED] The [REDACTED] lot is located in Swanton on front of the residence in the area immediately south of [REDACTED] east of the [REDACTED] (Figure 4). Soils within the project area are mapped as Windsor Loamy fine sand. The dimensions of this grid were 21meters long and 6 meters wide. The 21 meter long traverse lines were oriented in essentially an east-west direction and spaced 50 cm apart. Because of the Holbrook plot is located immediately adjacent to the Taylor site, the radar revealed a similar one to two foot thick upper layer composed of fill resulted from construction and landscaping. The difference in soil composition, density and moisture of the varying fill deposits created sufficient background noise that made recognition of discrete radar anomalies difficult. As with the Taylor radar results, those targets that were observed appeared to be too long and linear to represent unmarked burials and probably represent utility trenches. Several auger cores taken within the study plot verified that the soil profile consisted of a think fill layer over truncated B/C horizon. No targets were excavated at the Holbrook site because of extensive disturbance, presence of coarse fill material and lack of promising targets. It is likely that any burials would be located in the wet, mucky soils that existed here prior to road construction and house development. 

[REDACTED] ot:

The [REDACTED] is located in Swanton along the Missisquoi River in a pasture (Figure 5.) This landowner plans on building a single family home. The landform sits about 15 meters above the river and slopes up gently to the north-northeast. Soils within the project area are mapped as Windsor loamy find sands. The study plot is located on the precontact Native American site listed as [REDACTED] the Vermont Archaeological Inventory. The area was initially surveyed in 2002 but at a one meter sampling interval. One promising target was excavated (WF 1) which revealed a rectangular slab of red sandstone at 60 cm below surface. It was extremely odd to find such a large, angular stone at this depth within an alluvial soil where few stones are expected. Because the 2002 study showed some promising targets a second scan at 50 cm intervals was conducted in 2004 to better define target locations and extent. The same 34 meter long by 26 meter wide survey grid was rescanned. The southwest corner was set at 0,0 grid origin. Traverse lines were 34 meters long, spaced 50 cm apart and oriented in a more or less north-south direction.

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[Image]

Figure 5. Location of the [REDACTED] above the Missisquoi River.

The radar located three interesting anomalies on the [REDACTED] lot in 2004 that warranted subsurface investigation. Five shovel test pits were excavated to explore these targets (Figure 6). Shovel test pits 1, 3, and 4 were joined together in an ell to better expose a radar anomaly in the northwest corner of the grid. The excavation of stp 1 revealed a large rodent burrow (Feature 1) that was first encountered at about 44 cm below surface midway through the B horizon that extended another 35 cm into the C horizon. One chert flake was found in the buried plowzone and 47 flakes were recovered from the Feature 1 rodent burrow (Table 1). Stp 3 extended stp 1 to the north and stp 4 extended stp 3 to the west from an ell. Four flakes and two biface fragments were recovered from the plowzone of stp 3, one biface fragment was a midsection-base and the other was a tip. These pieces articulated with each other (Photo 1) and there was evidence of retouch and possible wear on the broken edge of the midsection-base fragment. Thirty-nine flakes were recovered from the B horizon. There was no evidence of Feature 1 in either stp 3 or 4. A second feature was observed in the western half of the B horizon of stp 4 where another five flakes were recovered (Table 1). The churned up soils of Feature 2 is the result of a tree tip and is not attributed to a human burial or other cultural feature. The large number of flakes and broken biface recovered from stps 1, 3 and 4 represent stone tool manufacture or maintenance activities conducted sometime during the precontact period.

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Stp 2 was extracted over the radar target identified in the southeast corner of the grid (Figure 6). One fire' cracked rock was recovered from the buried plowzone of stp 2. Excavation of this anomaly revealed a concentration of lamellae which a pedgenic process typically found in this soil type. Stp 5 was placed over the third radar target located about 2.5 meters southeast of stp 1 (Figure 6). Only 2 flakes were identified from the B horizon. The radar identified a 20th century post mold along the west wall of stp 5. Some decayed wood of the post was observed within the mold suggesting a relatively recent age of this anomaly.

[Image]

Figure 6. Shovel test pit distribution at the [REDACTED] lot, also shows the 2002 test pit WF 1.

[REDACTED]ults:

No human remains were identified at the [REDACTED] by the ground penetrating radar. Artifacts from a precontact Native American habitation site, listed as [REDACTED] the Vermont Archaeological Inventory was identified within the radar grid. One hundred and eighteen chert waste flakes, one fire cracked rock and one broken chert biface were recovered from the five test ...

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... pits excavated over the three radar targets. Most of the artifacts (99.5%) came from the conjoined test pits 1, 3 and 4. The biface was probably intended to be fashioned into a projectile point but after breaking appears to have been used as a knife based on some limited retouch and use-wear observed on the broken edge (Photo 1). Based on the artifacts and features documented at the site, it appears that stone tool manufacture and/or maintenance, butchering, food preparation and cooking were some of the domestic activities carried out by the inhabitants of [REDACTED] diagnostic artifacts were recovered to provide a relative date(s) of occupation.

[Image]

Photo 1. Chert biface recovered from the plowzone of stp 3. 

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Table 1. [REDACTED] Plot Artifact Catalog for [REDACTED].

[See Image for details]

Length, Width and Thickness are recorded in centimeters. Mass was recorded in grams. All lithic debitage is black.gray/tan chert common in the Hathaway and Claredone Springs geologic formations.

October 2004 Survey

Kent Schneider, US Forest Service archaeologist from Atlanta, Georgia and Dean Goodman, a geophysical consultant from San Diego, California, conducted a ground penetrating radar survey during the week of October 18-21, 2005. Portions of two properties located in Highgate were selected for a radar investigation. See Appendix 1 for a detailed report of the Schneider-Goodman ground penetrating radar methodology and results. The Archaeology Consulting Team from Essex Junction, Vermont was contracted to assist in the excavation of radar targets to determine the origin of selected soil anomalies.

[REDACTED] Radar Study: 

The [REDACTED] lot subdivision was divided into two plots based on proposed building lot configuration and topographic relief within the meadow (Figure 7). Soils in the study area are mapped as Windsor loamy fine sands that consists of very deep, excessively drained soils formed in sandy glacial outwash. A large portion of a three acre meadow was cleared using a brash hog ...

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... to facilitate the radar survey. The surrounding wooded sections of the proposed development could not be surveyed with the ground penetrating radar. In these cases where radar cannot be used, a qualified consultant is needed to monitor the mechanical excavation of house foundations and septic areas to ensure that no human remains will be disturbed. Thirty-two radar targets suspected of being unmarked burials were identified by the survey. Thirty-one 50 centimeter (cm) square test pits were excavated to ground truth twenty-three of the targets. Two test pits were excavated as control units, one in each study area. Each shovel test pit was excavated by stratigraphic layer and all sediments were sifted through a 1/4 inch mesh hardware cloth.
The functionality of analytical software to post-process radar image data has advanced considerably over the last five years. The GPR Slice software used in the October study produced radar images that can be left with the principal investigator to further analyze the data once the radar team has completed the survey. In the past, after the radar operator left the field so too went the post-processed radar results. The GPR Slice software produced animations of two-dimensional plan and profile images and three-dimensional animations of the radar reflections along the x axis. Te overall goal of the study is to identify radar signatures that represent unmarked burials.

[Image]

Figure 7. Location of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] Study Plots located north of [REDACTED].

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Once a certain class of targets can be attributed to specific cultural features or natural phenomena, ground-truthed by controlled excavation, then these anomalies can be ignored or focused on in future studies. To better categorize related anomalies an attempt was made to associate similar radar images with these pedogenic, natural or cultural processes. Radar anomalies identified during this study were separated into four groups based on image color, configuration and reflection characteristics to determine if they had similar origins. These groups are:

Group I: reddish/yellowish colored image within a dark reflection.

Group II: hyperbolic reflection of dark shapes, usually spherical (Photo 3).

Group III: interface image of dark linear, semi-circular or circular features (Figure 17).

Group IV: reflection voids that appeared to penetrate through strata (Figure 18).

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED] located just west of [REDACTED] approximately 600 feet north of [REDACTED] (Figure 7). An unnamed drainage that flows into the Missisquoi River runs along the southern edge of the study plot. A 40 X 70 meter grid was established to encompass the areas that would be disturbed by construction of residential houses and septic areas. The northeast corner of the grid was established as the 0,0 datum. Traverse lines were 70 meters long, spaced 50 cm apart ...

[Image]

Photo 2. Looking east from NW corner of [REDACTED] showing radar scan in progress. Dean Goodman pulling radar, Kent Schneider taking notes.

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... and oriented in essentially an east-west direction (Photo 2). The radar identified eleven suspicious targets that may represent burials. These targets were separated into Groups II, III and IV, and eight of the eleven targets were selected for subsurface investigation (Table 2). Six shovel test pits were initially excavated to determine the origin of the soil anomalies, and an additional six test pits were dug to better expose two radar targets of interest (Figure 8). One shovel test pit was excavated away from any targets as a control unit (stp 1-13).

Table 2. [REDACTED] Radar Groups and Ground Penetrating Results

[Image - Chart]

[REDACTED] Results:

No human graves were identified at the [REDACTED] study plot. One precontact Native American habitation site was identified based on the recovery of 12 small ceramic sherds, 66 waste flakes, 12 calcined food bone fragments and one cultural feature interpreted as a hearth (Figure 9, Photo ...

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3). This site has been listed as [REDACTED] in the Vermont Archaeological Inventory. Based on the artifacts and features at the site, it appears that stone tool manufacture and/or maintenance, food preparation, cooking and other domestic activities were carried out by the occupants of [REDACTED]. The presence of ceramic sherds suggest the site was occupied at least once (and probably multiple times) during the Woodland Cultural Period anywhere from 400 to 2,500 years ago.[REDACTED]

[Image]

Figure 8.[REDACTED] radar grid and shovel test pit distribution.

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[Image]
Photo 3. Group II, Target G, Feature 1 dissected hearth in Stps 1-3 and 1-5.

[Image]
Figure 9. Plan view of Feature 1 hearth in Stps 1-3, 1-5 and 1-12.

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[REDACTED]

The [REDACTED] study plot is located about 20 meters west of [REDACTED] which is separated by a shallow relict drainage swale (Figure 7, Photo 4). A tributary of the Missisquoi River runs along the southern edge of the study area. A ell-shaped 39 x 58 meter grid was established in the meadow to include areas that will be disturbed by construction of residential houses and septic areas (Figure 10.) The northeast corner of the grid was established as the 0,0 datum. Traverse lines were either 58 or 39 meters long, spaced 50 cm apart and oriented in essentially an east-west direction. A 36 x 5 meter extension of the Spear 2 grid was established at the S39 W32 coordinate to explore deposits in a wooded section of the parcel along the drainage (Figures 7 and 11). The radar identified twenty-one targets that may represent unmarked burials. These targets were separated into Groups I, II, and IV (Table 3). Fifteen of the twenty-one targets were selected for subsurface investigation. Fifteen test pits were initially excavated to determine the  origin of the recessive soil anomaly, and two additional test pits were dug to expose two radar targets of interest. One shovel test pit was excavated away from any targets as a control unit (Stp 2-16).

[Image]

Photo 4. Looking west from NE corner of [REDACTED] grid.

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[Image]
Figure 10. [REDACTED] radar grid and shovel test pit distribution.


[Image]
Figure 11. [REDACTED] radar grid extension and shovel test pit and distribution.

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Table 3. [REDACTED] Radar Groups and Ground Truthing Results

[Image]

[REDACTED] results:

The ground truthing of fifteen radar targets with seventeen test pits and [REDACTED] did not encounter any Native American burials or habitation deposits. All of the soil anomalies investigated were the result of tree tips, rodent burrows, burnt or decaying tree roots or other pedogenic processes typically associated with the Windsor soils series (Table 3). One possible cultural feature was identified in stp 2-10 but because of the lack of associated artifacts this feature could not be attributed to a Native American origin.

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[REDACTED] 

The [REDACTED] study plot is located on [REDACTED] in Highgate, Vermont (Figure 12). This site is situated on a somewhat higher landform adjacent to a relief channel of the Missisquoi River that has the potential to contain Native American graves. Soils within the project area are mapped as Belgrade silt loam. An ell-shaped 30 x 20 meter grid was established in the backyard of the residence (Figure 13). The northwest corner of the grid was established as the 2,0 datum. Traverse lines were either 30 meters long, spaced 50 cm apart and oriented in a north-south direction. The radar identified one target that may have represented an unmarked burial. Shovel test pit 1 was excavated to determine the origin of the suspicious soil anomaly.

[Image]

Figure 12. Location of the [REDACTED] along [REDACTED] road. 

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[Image]
Figure 13. [REDACTED] Radar plan and shovel test pit distribution.

[Image]
Photo 5. Looking south at the [REDACTED] plot and excavation of stp 1.

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[REDACTED] Results:

The somewhat higher landform adjacent to the relict channel of the Missisquoi River was not a natural landform. The extraction of eight 3-inch diameter auger cores to the north and within the study plot encountered an upper layer of fill. This fill was brought in from an outside source or was waster material from foundation excavation used to raise and level the back yard above the wetter soil. Approximately 20-30 cm of fill was placed on a moist-silty soil similar to the adjacent marsh soil within the relict river channel. The excavation of stp 1 revealed the extent of fill placed in the back yard (Photo 6). No anomaly was identified in the test pit and the amount of gravel in the fill may have produced the false radar target. No further excavation was conducted at the [REDACTED] site because it is highly unlikely that any Abenaki burials would have been placed in this low-lying moist soil.

[Image]

Photo 6. [REDACTED] stp 1 north wall profile.

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October Study Results 

Group 1 targets are a reddish/yellowish colored image within a dark reflection. Five targets from this group were excavated (Tables 2 and 3). Stp 2-02 exposed a large deposit of cemented iron oxide-manganese concretions from a decayed tree stump/roots (Figure 14, Photo 7). Stp 2-03 encountered course C horizon sands that intruded into the upper soil layers as a result of a tree fall. The other three test pits revealed strong mottling and an iron-rich layer in the lower C horizon. A soil core was used to sample three other Group 1 targets that proved to be a mix of B and C horizon sands from recent excavation of monitoring wells for the housing development project.

Group II targets are hyperbolic reflections of dark usually spherical shapes. Twelve anomalies from this group were excavated. Eight targets represented precontact Native American domestic activities, decayed/burned roots or rodent burrows (Figure 15). No soil anomalies were observed in the other four test pits. The hearth feature from Spear 1, Target G was attributed to this group. This feature contained a large quantity of charcoal and waste flakes but the radar was most likely responding to the bowl-shaped soil structure caused by repeated firing of the hearth (Figure 9, Photo 3). Although no soil anomaly was identified in Stp-01, Target E, a concentration of small charcoal chunks and twelve fragments of ceramic sherds were recovered (Table 2). It is unknown if the radar signal picked up this subtle cultural deposit or was responding to a faint soil feature that was not recognized during the test pit excavation.

Group III anomalies are interface-like images of dark linear, semi-circular or circular features (Figure 16). Two targets were attributed to this group. Stp 1-04 revealed a mottled, very compacted lamellae and hard pan in the C horizon. This anomaly was interpreted as a naturally formed water down feature. The other target in this group appeared as a semi-circular dark stain near the top of the B horizon. Stp 1-07 sampled Target 1 but no anomaly was noted in the test pit. Four additional stps were dug extending in four directions from stp 1-07 but no linear or circular anomaly was observed. However, due to time constraints the additional four stps were not excavated into the C horizon to verify the presence of an anomaly. A wooden post mold with fragments of wood was identified in the northwest corner of stp 1-07 in the plowzone. It is possible the radar picked up this relatively recent soil disturbance and that the semi-circular feature represents a section of a historic-modern period fence line.

Group IV targets are voids in the radar image that penetrates through strata (Figure 17). This void signature was thought to represent burial shafts. Five anomalies attributed to this group were excavated. No soil anomalies were observed in stps 1-06 and 2-01. A somewhat darker soil stain infused with charcoal flecks was identified in the corner of the B horizon in stp 2-10 but no artifacts were found in association with this deposit to attribute the anomaly to Native American origin. A root burn was uncovered in stp 2-12, and the upwelling of course C horizon sand was observed in stp 2-15.

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Conclusions

Separating radar targets into four groups based on similar reflection characteristics did not provide the results expected. Soil anomalies such as rodent burrows, tree tips and decayed-burned roots were represented in all four radar groups. The project goal of recognizing unmarked burial signatures was not achieved because no human remains were detected. The ground penetrating radar technology is one of many tools available to assist the archaeologist in identifying buried cultural deposits. The radar is picking up subtle soil anomalies such as post molds, rodent burrows, or dens, tree tips and decayed or burnt roots. Since many unmarked burials in the [REDACTED] Study Area are expected to produce low contrast signals, the radar demonstrated that it can detect subtle soil disturbances and should be able to identify the faint grave shafts of Native American burials. The only way to know with any degree of confidence if the radar is missing signatures of human remains is to have a qualified consultant monitor the mechanical excavation of house foundations and septic areas by carefully removing subplowzone soils in 6-8 inch lifts to carefully expose unmarked graves. This final step in the archaeological investigation process is crucial to evaluate the ability of ground penetrating radar to detect graves in the [REDACTED] [Monument Road ?] Study Area.

Recommendations

In other applications ground penetrating radar has proved successful in locating distinct buried archaeological deposits such as stone foundations, wells and organic rich living floors. In many case studies the radar has been instrumental in identifying Native American and Euro-American graves from the precontact and historic periods.

Some of the targets examined during this study did not reveal any soil anomalies. This could be an error in accurately relocating specific target locations once the radar has left the field. If the radar is not available for ground truthing specific targets of interest should be rescanned with the radar in different directions to better pin point and flag that target with survey stakes or pins. Conversely, it is also possible that no soil anomalies ever existed where the radar indicated such a deposit to exist.

The effectiveness of ground penetrating radar technology as applied to the landforms within the [REDACTED] [Monument Road ?] Study Area has progressed significantly over earlier studies but greater resolution of the radar imagery is needed. Upon completion of each radar study, it is imperative that monitoring of the mechanical excavation of house foundations, septic areas or improvements to existing residences needs to be conducted by an archaeologist or qualified professional following established guidelines to ensure that human remains from any time period are not inadvertently disturbed or destroyed. Except for the two study plots requiring a building permit, the remaining ten areas studied in 2002 and 2004 were scanned because of landowner willingness to learn if burials exist on their properties. These landforms were not necessarily thought to have a high potential to contain unmarked graves but were investigated to satisfy landowner concerns about potential human remains being located on their property. The fact that no burials were identified on these low sensitive landforms is not surprising. Future radar studies should focus on landforms that have a high potential for containing human graves.

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Photo 7. Group 1, Target B: redoximorphic tree stump/root in Stp 2-2.

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Figure 14. Plan view of Group 1, Target B in Stp 2-2 from [REDACTED] extension.

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Figure 15. Plan of Group II Target M in stp 2-17 from [REDACTED]

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Figure 16. Radar profile of Group III, Target H in [REDACTED]

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Figure 17. Radar profile of Group IV, Target A in [REDACTED]