CHARCOAL AND BOTANIC IDENTIFICATION, AMS RADIOCARBON AGE DETERMINATION, AND CERAMIC RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES FROM SITE RI 935, PROVIDENCE COUNTY, RHODE ISLAND

Site RI 935 lies at the confluence of the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers in Providence, Rhode Island. Two excavation areas, Carpenter’s Point and North Shore, revealed pre-contact deposits indicating occupation within the Middle Archaic Period and especially during the Late and Transitional Archaic Periods. Intensive use of this area also is noted around and after ~ AD 1000 (Late Woodland). Charcoal and charred botanic samples from 11 features were submitted for identification and AMS radiocarbon age determination to refine/revise the previously defined site history (Heather Olson, personal communication April 12, 2017). Ceramic residue analysis, including recovery and identification of pollen, phytoliths, and starch, when present, was requested for five pottery fragments. In addition, two ceramic sherds were examined for FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic) evidence of foods cooked in the vessels they represent.