Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

same contexts, such as at the Frontenac Island Site in Cayuga County (Funk, 1983:329; Ritchie,
1944:260-273, 292-310; 1945; 1980:36-79; Tuck, 1978:29). The defining characteristic of the
Narrow Point is a series of narrow-stemmed and narrow side-notched projectile points, including
types such as Lamoka (known from throughout New York). The only other common element of
Narrow Point Tradition assemblages appears to be a “general scarcity of uniface tools” (Funk,
1983:324). Sites in the Lamoka phase of the tradition also sometimes yield distinct ground stone
‘beveled adzes,’ along with ornaments and tools made from antler and bone. The Lamoka Lake
site in western New York is the largest, most productive, and perhaps best-known of the Narrow
Stemmed Tradition sites in the study area (Funk, 1983:327).
Late Archaic sites in New York can be divided into four general classes: small open camps, large
camp sites, quarries/workshops, and rockshelters/caves (Ritchie and Funk, 1973:337-338;
Stothers and Abel, 1993; Stothers et al., 2001:242-246). Small open camps are typically located
“inland from large waterways, frequently on small streams, on marshes, or near copious springs”
while the larger camps are “on major bodies of water, near good fishing grounds” (Ritchie and
Funk, 1973:337-338; also see Funk, 1983:327). Quarries and workshops are located near raw
material sources. The oldest known burial/mortuary sites in the state date to the Late Archaic and
include Frontenac Island (Ritchie 1945).
Transitional/Terminal Archaic
In the Northeast, the Transitional/Terminal Archaic is defined as the time before the adoption of
clay vessel technology during which people were making stone containers, which were primarily
made from soft soapstone/steatite (Ritchie 1980:150; Ritchie and Funk, 1973:71; Tuck,
1978:37). Obviously the timing of these developments varied from one part of New York State
to another, but typically-used dates fall in the range of ca. 3,700 B.P. to 2,700 B.P. The
definitional basis for this time period is highly problematic since recent research has
demonstrated that contexts with early ceramic vessels temporally overlap with those that have
steatite containers entirely (Hoffman, 1998; see Ritchie, 1980:157). In central New York, the
Transitional Archaic is represented by the Frost Island phase (Ritchie, 1980:156-164).
Besides the soapstone containers, the Transitional Archaic in New York is associated with a
series of Susquehanna tradition broad-headed stone spear points that were initially developed in
the Southeast (Funk, 1983:331; Trubowitz and Snethkamp, 1975:19; Witthoft, 1971; some
researchers associate Genesee and Snook Kill points with the broad point tradition (Funk,
1983:331; 1993:224; Stothers et al., 2001:238). Examples of these projectile points in New York
include: Susquehanna Broad, Perkiomen Broad (found throughout the state, outside its most
northerly areas), and ‘Turkey-tail’ blades/points (found in the western part of the state) (Justice,
1995:167-170; Ritchie, 1971; Stothers et al., 2001:238). In addition to steatite vessels and
projectile points, other typical Transitional Archaic artifacts include: chipped stone scrapers,
drills, and gravers (many of which have bases similar to Susquehanna tradition projectile points,
suggesting expedient reuse); possible ‘strike-a-lights’; netsinkers manufactured from pebbles;
hammerstones; rectangular shale gorgets; ‘cupstones’; adzes; and anvils (Ritchie, 1980:151,
159).
Transitional Archaic sites in New York tend to “occupy a riverine setting, never far from the
main stream” and are typically small or “occur as superimposed components marking a
succession of temporary sojourning places by the same group” (Ritchie, 1980:157; see also
Northern Border Activities H-21 July 2012