Cultural Resources Data Recovery Report of the The Naima Site (NYSM #11658), Including the Ebenezer Smith House, Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County, New York

The project area is to be impacted by a highway reconstruction project proposed by the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT). The majority of archaeological sites along the Nissequogue river and within the region in general, are either poorly documented or consist of ephemeral or isolated finds (Parker 1922). It is along the headwaters of this short river that the Naima Site is strategically located, as this area provided access to multiple ecological zones, including riverine and woodland contexts, which thereby increased the variety of available resources. The Naima Site, therefore, has a high potential for producing valuable data in the study of resource exploitation strategies and micro- and macro-regional settlement system patterning.
The historic occupation of Long Island initially focused on coastal environments, specifically those situated alongside protected bays and harbors (e.g., Port Jefferson, Northport), as early communities focused on coastal resources for economic, subsistence, and transportation requirements. The community of Hauppauge, within which the site is located, is part of the larger Town of Smithtown.
The project area in general, has high research potential in terms of investigating and understanding the early occupation of Long Island, including the establishment and development of socio-economic differentiation, the rural economy and subsistence, and the historic participation within regional and macro-regional networks. Previous work at the site, in the form of both a Phase I reconnaissance survey (Mazeau et. al. 2006) and a Phase II site examination (Mazeau 2007a) , revealed a multi-component site consisting of potentially intact prehistoric deposits followed by an eighteenth to twentieth century historic occupation. Prehistoric artifacts, which total 2,179 specimens, include debitage, formal and unfinished tools, fire-cracked rock, pottery, and two ground stone artifacts. The work to be performed by the New York State Department of Transportation will affect both components of the site.