A Review of Cape Cod Archaeology

Although Indian artifacts in large numbers have been found on Cape Cod, information on the circumstance and chronological order attending the original distribution of these artifacts is somewhat limited and uneven. Little evidence is available from excavations on the upper or east-west part of the Cape, save for one report dealing with a series of relatively late shell heaps. The lower or north-south
portion of the peninsula, however, is fairly adequately known. This paper is based, therefore, largely on data from the latter area, as gathered from published matter and from a considerable amount of unpublished material in my hands and in the large collection secured by the late Howard Torrey and now displayed in the Peabody Foundation, Andover, Mass. There is evidence in varying degrees of completeness from 23 excavated sites,of which eight have revealed two or more periods of occupation. From this information we have been able to build up what seems for lower Cape Cod, and probably also for the whole Cape, an essentially correct idea of the sequential stages of native culture, starting in pre-ceramic times and ending in the historic period.

尽管科德角（Cape Cod）已出土大量印第安人工制品，但关于这些遗物原生分布的具体情境与年代序列的相关信息仍较为有限且分布不均。科德角的上段或东西向区域的考古发掘中几乎未留存相关证据，仅一篇报告涉及了一系列相对较晚的贝丘遗存。而该半岛的下段或南北向区域则已有较为充分的研究认知。因此，本研究主要依托该区域的相关数据：这些数据既来自已发表的学术文献，也涵盖了笔者手中的大量未刊资料，以及已故霍华德·托里（Howard Torrey）生前征集、现陈列于马萨诸塞州安多弗市皮博迪基金会（Peabody Foundation）的大型考古藏品。23处已发掘遗址均提供了完整程度各异的相关证据，其中8处遗址显示存在两期或多期人类居住活动遗存。基于上述资料，我们已得以构建起一套基本准确的本土文化发展序列框架：该序列始于前陶瓷时代，终于历史时期，既适用于科德角下段区域，亦大概率适用于整个科德角地区。