Page 158 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

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Distribution
of artifacts at Torp’s Lament.
tic materials from the site date from the Middle Archaic through the Late Woodland. Like the Accokeek Creek and Secowocomoco sites, the majority of the diagnostic artifacts recovered from the Nottingham South site date to the Late Woodland period. Like other Patuxent sites, such as Cumberland and Torp’s Lament, the majori- ty of the Late Woodland ceramic wares were Townsend-type, with a staggering 2,243 sherds recovered from the surface survey. The next most prevalent Late Woodland wares were Potomac Creek and Sullivan Cove types.
The Mattapanian settlement was located closer to the Piscataway Capital of Moyaone than any of the other Patuxent settlements. Mataponi Creek which is named for the settlement, sits just north of the Nottingham South site. The head of this creek is located about two miles from the run of Piscataway Creek, on which the Accokeek Creek Site lies. An overland route between the two settlements following creek courses is there- fore plausible, potentially putting the Mattapa- nian in closer contact to the Piscataway than the Pawtuxent. This may help to explain the presence of large quantities of Potomac Creek ceramics
and the presence of similarly decorated Sullivan Cove wares. This proximity may later explain the ultimate whereabouts of the Mattapanian after they disappear from record during the second half of the 17th century.
Effects of Colonization
By the time the Maryland English arrived on the scene in 1634, the native social and politi- cal landscape was already in a state of flux. The Virginia English had been actively trading and raiding into what is now Maryland for sever- al decades. The Maryland English were guided through this landscape by Captain Henry Fleet, a trader and interpreter who had spent a lot of time in the Potomac Valley. Settlements that had likely been visited by Captain John Smith in 1608 were mostly, if not completely, abandoned such as Moyaone, Potomac Creek, and Secowocomoco. The Piscataway did not venture far from Moya- one, but their former site was exposed directly on the river and susceptible to attack by marauding Virginia English and northern Iroquoian groups. It is unknown what happened to the people of
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