Roads, Rails, and Trails - Secretary of the Commonwealth

Bone was found in abundance inside the dwellings. The
archaeologists recovered more than 5,000 bones, mostly tiny
fragments, from 19-NT-50, and nearly 9,000 were found in 19-
NT-68. They found most of the fine pieces of bone using a
method called “flotation." In this procedure, soil samples taken
from a site are added to water; lightweight organic material
such as tiny bones and seeds float and are skimmed off the top.
Because of their highly fragmented state only about 5% of the
bone bits could be identified as to species.
The species that were identified were an interesting mix
of marine and terrestrial animals. White tailed deer was the
most common, although their importance might be
overestimated somewhat because they have large, easily
identified teeth (teeth with their hard enamel surfaces preserve
better than other bones). But it was interesting that among a
people known for their fishing and whaling prowess, deer
should be the single most common species represented in the
bones. Certainly the Native people of Nantucket could do more
than just fish. There were plenty of fish and marine mammals
identified as well, including cod, tautog, seal, dogfish, and
sturgeon. Other animals from land or fresh water included
raccoon, river otter, turtle and muskrat. In the dwelling at NT-
68 were the bones of animals of European origin: cow, pig, and
sheep/goat (a term archaeologists use because sheep and goat
bones are almost indistinguishable). These remains, as well as
a few pieces of ceramics of English origin, and radiocarbon
dates, strongly suggest that this dwelling was occupied after the
English first settled the island in 1659.
One interesting find among the animal bones was the
talon bone of a bald eagle. This was at one time almost
certainly part of an ornamental or ceremonial item. The largest
bird of prey in Massachusetts, bald eagles were once common
here, especially along the coast. After European settlement
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their numbers plummeted as deforestation made nesting sites
scarce, and first hunting and later pollution drove them to
extinction within the Commonwealth in the early twentieth
century. In the 1980s, bald eagles were successfully
reintroduced in the Quabbin Reservoir, and have spread from
there to many other places where there are mature forests and
large bodies of water. In recent years these magnificent birds
have again been seen over Nantucket and it is hoped that they
may soon begin to nest here.
This talon bone from a bald eagle evokes a time when the
great birds soared over the shores of Nantucket. Perhaps one
day they will nest here again.