Chapters in the Archeology of Cape Cod, II: The 1983 Excavations at 19BN281

Site 19BN281 is a Late Archaic habitation near High Head (Pilgrim Heights) in North Truro, Massachusetts. The site is on land of Cape Cod National Seashore in the town of Truro. The site is near the outer end of Cape Cod, where the land narrows to a width of two kilometers before expanding again to the northwest. The site was discovered and tested as part of the National Park Service's general archeological survey of the seashore. In the context of the survey's results, 19BN28l is of interest for several reasons. First, 19BN28l is virtually a single component Late Archaic small stemmed point tradition (Squibnocket complex) site. In this respect, the site differs from most other archeological localities on outer Cape Cod, which are typically multicomponent sites and are often dominated by evidence of earlier occupancy. Second, much of the site is buried beneath a layer of aeolian sand. This sand blanket appears to have reduced the disturbance the site suffered resulting from historic period agriculture and uncontrolled collecting. Parts of the site have never been plowed so the stratigraphy and artifact distributions at 19BN281 are in better condition than at most other prehistoric localities on the outer Cape. In addition, unlike most other prehistoric sites examined by the National Park Service survey (e.g., 19BN308 at Fort Hill), 19BN28l has no dense shell deposits. The location of 19BN28l and the spatial pattern of which it is part are unusual. At Nauset Marsh and Wellfleet Harbor, sites are strung along bay and marsh shorelines in a linear fashion, and they rarely extend more than a couple of hundred meters inland from the shore. Site 19BN28l is several hundred meters from the nearest salt water or tidal marsh. The site is also part of a dispersed (non-linear) distribution of archeological localities at High Head. However, it is presently unclear whether 19BN28l is a discrete archeological entity or whether it is merely a dense patch in a continuous scatter of artifacts that covers many tens of hectares at High Head. These characteristics mean that 19BN28l has the potential to inform archeologists about some facets of Late Archaic life ways better than most other sites in the seashore. Because of the large field effort to examine this site, it should be possible for the first time to develop a picture of the Late Archaic small stemmed point tradition on the outer Cape. This report describes and analyzes the results of excavations at 19BN28l and focuses particularly on the results of the 1983 field season. It provides a detailed study of the stratigraphy and artifacts at a single prehistoric site and in this way complements other, more synthetic, reports (McManamon 1982, 1984) on the results of the archeological survey at Cape Cod National Seashore. The report is guided by questions about several aspects of the site and life ways of its former occupants: 1. When was the site used, and were all parts of the site used at the same time? 2. Did the people who lived at 19BN281 use all parts of the site in the same way? 3. Why did people live at 19BN28l, and what did they do while they stayed at the site? 4. How did 19BN28l evolve from a place inhabited by hunters and gatherers several millennia ago to the archeological entity it is today? Particularly, what is the origin of the aeolian layer, and what are the possibilities that such buried sites occur elsewhere in the seashore?遗址19BN281是一处坐落于马萨诸塞州北特鲁罗市海岬高地（朝圣高地）附近的晚古风期（Late Archaic）居住址。该遗址位于特鲁罗市境内的科德角国家海岸（Cape Cod National Seashore）辖区范围内，地处科德角外端附近——此处陆地先收窄至2公里宽度，随后向西北方向再度延展。该遗址是美国国家公园管理局（National Park Service）针对该海岸开展的全域考古调查（archeological survey）项目中，被发现并进行试掘的遗址之一。结合本次调查的成果来看，遗址19BN281具备多重值得研究的价值： 其一，19BN281几乎属于单组分晚古风期带柄细石叶点传统（斯奎布诺克特组合，Squibnocket complex）遗址。这一特征使其区别于科德角外岸的绝大多数考古点——后者多为多组分遗址，且往往以更早阶段的居住遗存占据主导地位。其二，遗址的大部分区域被一层风成砂（aeolian sand）所覆盖。这层砂质盖层似乎有效减轻了历史时期农业活动与无序文物采集对遗址造成的破坏。遗址部分区域从未遭到翻耕，因此19BN281的地层（stratigraphy）与遗物分布状况，优于科德角外岸绝大多数史前考古点。此外，与美国国家公园管理局此次调查中涉及的其他史前遗址（如福特希尔遗址19BN308）不同，19BN281未发现密集的贝壳堆积。 19BN281的区位及其所属的空间分布模式较为特殊。在诺塞特沼泽（Nauset Marsh）与韦尔弗利特港（Wellfleet Harbor）区域，考古遗址多沿海湾与沼泽岸线呈线性分布，且距离岸线的内陆延伸距离极少超过数百米。而19BN281距离最近的咸水或潮汐沼泽仍有数百米之遥。同时，该遗址亦是海岬高地片区分散式（非线形）考古点分布的组成部分。但目前尚无法确定，19BN281是一处独立的考古单元，抑或仅是海岬高地数十公顷范围内连续分布的遗物密集区中的一处斑块。 上述特征使得19BN281，较该海岸区域的绝大多数遗址，更有助于考古学者揭示晚古风期先民部分生活风貌。鉴于针对该遗址开展了大量野外工作，我们首次有可能勾勒出科德角外岸晚古风期带柄细石叶点传统的整体面貌。本报告对19BN281的发掘（excavations）成果进行系统描述与分析，尤其聚焦1983年野外作业季的收获。本报告针对单处史前遗址的地层与遗物展开详细研究，以此补充此前关于科德角国家海岸考古调查成果的综合性报告（麦克马纳蒙，1982、1984）。本报告围绕该遗址及其原居住者的生活方式，围绕以下若干核心问题展开： 1. 该遗址何时被使用？遗址内所有区域的使用时段是否一致？ 2. 居住于19BN281的先民，是否以相同方式使用遗址内的所有区域？ 3. 先民为何选择19BN281作为居住点？他们在该遗址停留期间开展了哪些生产生活活动？ 4. 数千年前作为狩猎采集者（hunters and gatherers）居所的19BN281，是如何演变为如今的考古遗存的？具体而言，该风成砂层的成因是什么？这类埋藏遗址在该海岸区域其他区域出现的可能性有多大？