Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, Vol. 54, No. 1 ...

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BULLETIN OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, VOLUME 54(1),1993
EASTERN WOODLAND MORTUARY PRACTICES
AS REFLECTED IN CANINE BURIAL FEATURES AT THE LAMBERT FARM SITE
WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND
Ephemerality is the common denominator
for all life which has been, which is now, and
which will be, hosted by our planet. The finite
nature of existence cannot be excluded from the
equation of life. Hamlet's query is perhaps
among our species' most eloquently worded
expressions of the knowledge of our own mortali­
ty. As far as we know, we are unique among
living things in our ability to realize the prophecy
reflected in the death of others. It is a critical
part of what makes us human and it is fundamental
to the science of anthropology.
Anthropological approaches to mortuary
practice are dynamic and interactive. The subject
is entirely cross-cultural and unbounded temporally.
As we consider mortuary practices, those of
us who are archaeologists seldom find more fertile
opportunities to link material remains with their
meanings. We are challenged in these instances
to go beyond applications of field technique and
descriptive analysis, into our larger anthropologi­
cal fold in order to transcend the tangible. We
are afforded the opportunity to gain insight into
ideas, symbolism, spirituality, and ceremonialism,
the binding threads of culture.
In the undulating topography two kilome­
ters inland from Narragansett bay (Figure 1),
well-drained sandy soil interlaced with fresh water
springs made the Cowessett hills attractive farmland
in the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the
subsistence farms scattered across these hills was
that of the Lambert family. As was common to
Copyright 1993 Alan Leveillee
Alan Leveillee
all the farms in the area, arrowheads were often
collected from plowed fields here. In 1981
archaeologists from Rhode Island College conducted
limited sub-surface testing at the farm as
part of a larger regional survey and planning
study. Sufficient data were collected to indicate
a significant prehistoric site was present, and a
national register nomination was prepared (Mor­
enon 1981). In 1984, during a relative boom in
the housing industry, the farm was purchased by
a development partnership. Because of the funding
structure of 17 proposed house lots, the
archaeological site on the property was unprotected
by federal, state, and local CRM regulations.
In an attempt to mitigate the inevitable
adverse effects to the site, the developers, the
Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission,
the Warwick Historic District Commission, and
The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc. entered
into an unprecedented agreement. Working
through the Educational Programs Department of
the Lab, Jordan Kerber and I agreed to serve as
co-principal investigators for a 3-112 year field
program of data recovery. The project was to be
conducted under permit with no direct cost to the
developer. We agreed that if the development
could progress in phased stages, allowing excava­
tion of selected areas prior to construction im­
pacts, we would conduct an archaeological study
through field schools, weekend workshops, and
with professional staff funded by grants. In
November 1990 fieldwork was completed. Cata­
loguing and preliminary analysis are now ongoing.
Through the course of the program, over 300
individuals have participated in the tightly con-
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