Page 164 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

figure 23
Copper scrap from Choptico.
figure 22
Flint strike-a-light and gunflint from Choptico.
the same time as the copper scrap from the Sec- owocomoco site indicated that the source of the copper was not one of European provenance (see figure 11 and table 4). The bead contained about 93% pure copper with only trace amounts of oth- er elements such as zinc, nickel, or lead common in European-traded copper made of alloys.
The Choptico reservation site provides an excellent window into the persistence of native identity in the 17th century and into the early 18th century. Though European-made goods were found spatially in the same contexts as Native-made materials, they were in surprisingly fewer numbers considering the proximity of the settlement to encroaching English colonists. The preference for white clay pipes over Native-pro- duced pipes is an interesting contrast. The site also represents a persistent place in the minds of local residents as well. Rico Newman, a member of the Choptico Band of Piscataway Indians, traces his family history to the property through his great-great grandmother, who was said to have been born there some time in the 19th century.59 Although the Choptico people may have disappeared from the records after 1712, they remained near the site into the 19th century rather than having completely disappeared from the landscape.
Mattapanian Fort
The Mattapanian people are another of the many groups that fell victim to English encroachment and a disappearance from the documentary record. The Mattapanian were also one of the several groups for which the Choptico reservation was initially established. Whether they ultimate- ly moved there is uncertain, but what is known was that during the 17th century they had already relocated once and established a fort near freshes of the Patuxent River.
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wrought iron nails, flint debitage and gunflints, bottle glass, and copper scrap (see figures 22 and 23).The wrought nails ranged in size from 1.27 to 3.44 inches. In general, these nails are considered to be fairly short and may not be architectural in nature. Instead, they could have been used to fasten wooden boxes. A single finished gunflint and a single flint strike-a-light were recovered from the site. The gunflint shows evidence of being bifacially reworked, a technique believed to be characteristic of Indian manufacture during the 17th century.58 No lead shot was recovered, but the presence of a gunflint and other European flint debitage suggests that there were likely some firearms at the site.
Four pieces of copper scrap were recovered from the site along with a single rolled copper bead. It was originally thought that the copper bead was made from European-traded copper. Surprisingly, XRF-testing of the bead done at