Page 143 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

CHAPTER FIVE
Native Settlements and Colonization: AD 900 – 1712
By Scott M. Strickland
The following chapter discusses the impact colonization had on native peoples in Maryland during the 17th century. The chapter begins with the broader patterns of native settlement leading up to the arrival of the Virgin- ia, and then the Maryland English in the Ches- apeake. Following the settlement of St. Mary’s City in 1634 native lifeways began to morph and their traditional ways of life were disrupted. How native people adapted to these new circumstances is of particular value to archaeologists and histo- rians looking to understand the process of colo- nization and the mechanisms native people used to maintain their distinct identities.
Pre-Contact Settlement Patterns
Archaeologists refer to the period of time before European colonization (or Contact) as the Late Woodland period. This period, running from around AD 900 to 1600, is noted for a gradu- al increase over time of sedentary settlement, or the establishment of more permanent habitation, with people living in one place for longer peri- ods of time. This trend began during the Middle Woodland period (500 BC to AD 900), but really accelerated in the centuries before contact with Europeans. The ability to settle more permanently was made possible through domesticated agricul- ture and the creation of food surpluses. Stability and security of food resources allowed for sus- tained population growth. Increasing populations led to the development of larger group territories, complex economies, and hierarchical social struc- tures. Different strategies and infrastructure are required to ensure that adequate food supplies were maintained and kept, especially food stores for future use. Archaeologically, these food stores are manifested through the presence of subsur- face storage pits, ceramic pots, or above-ground granaries.
Piscataway oral tradition as recorded in
colonial records from 1660 tell the tale of a leader known to them as Uttapoingassinem. Uttapoin- gassinem is said to have come from the Eastern Shore to unite the groups of the Potomac Valley. While the Piscataway do not explicitly state when this took place in terms of calendar years, they re- tell the story in relation to how many generations of Piscataway leadership have passed since that point.1 This puts the arrival of Uttapoingassinem in Piscataway consciousness by AD 1300. This rough estimation corresponds to changes seen in material culture in the Coastal Plain.
Prior to about 1300, the dominant ceramic type found within the southern Maryland coastal plain was Townsend ware, a shell-tempered ce- ramic produced from about AD 950, which was continually manufactured possibly as late as the early 18th century. By 1300, however, grit- and/ or sand-tempered ceramics known as Potomac Creek and, later, Moyaone ware types began to emerge throughout the region. The introduction of grit/sand-tempered wares did not, however, imply universal adoption throughout the region. Townsend type wares continue to predominate throughout portions of southern Maryland, par- ticularly in present-day St. Mary’s County. The Patuxent River watershed is noted for continu- ing the manufacture of shell-tempered wares but with stylistic decorations more characteristic of Potomac Creek wares. These wares, dubbed Sulli- van Cove wares, are a unique phenomenon to that region and to areas along the Chesapeake coast in present-day Calvert and Anne Arundel counties.2
At around the same time that Potomac Creek wares begin to appear in the coastal plain, palisaded villages in Maryland’s Piedmont re- gion were being abandoned. The people inhabit- ing these Piedmont villages had been producing their own type of grit-tempered ware known as Shepard wares, which are considered analogous to Potomac Creek. After the abandonment of these Piedmont villages, limestone-tempered wares
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