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Sea Levels and Archaeology in the Long Island Sound Area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Bert Salwen
Bert Salwen*
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
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Abstract

Two coastal sites on Long Island, the Stony Brook site and the Baxter site, are examined in the light of Fairbridge's data on sea level fluctuations during the last 7000 years. In each case, the coastline at the time of occupation is reconstructed, and inferences are made about the ecological setting. Archaeological data pertaining to subsistence pattern are then reviewed in the light of the probable local environment at the time of occupation. Orient culture occupations at both sites date from about 2900 B.P., when sea level is believed to have been about 10 feet below the present level. The Orient component midden at Stony Brook contains more oyster shell than any other species of mollusk, while that at the Baxter site contains a large percentage of clam shell and almost no oyster. This difference cannot be explained on cultural grounds, but can be shown to reflect local environmental factors existing under conditions of lowered sea level. The midden contents at other times of occupation are found to be consistent with the corresponding sea levels.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , July 1962 , pp. 46 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1962

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