Michele Troutman (Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc. and Binghamton University) and Sean McHugh (Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc. and Monmouth University)
A Peculiar Pre-Contact Encampment: The New Brunswick Avenue Pre-Contact Site (28-Mi-293)
Abstract: Richard Grubb and Associates, Inc. completed survey work in the Bound Brook drainage in New Jersey and identified the New Brunswick Avenue Pre-Contact Site (28-Mi-293). The site contained an initial occupation during the Early Woodland followed by a late Middle Woodland/Early Late Woodland period occupation. Artifacts recovered included lithic debitage, bifaces reminiscent of Meadowood, a Levanna triangular projectile point, and three biface fragments fashioned from Onondaga chert. As a result of Phase III data recovery, several specialized analyses were conducted that consisted of geomorphological assessment, lithic analysis, feature soil sample flotation, accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon assay, and an archaeobotanical analysis. The results of the specialized studies, including the detailed study of the lithic technological organization, showed that it was a deeply deposited ephemeral campsite, containing evidence of tool rejuvenation and subsistence activities. Specifically, it could be hypothesized that the exploitation of small wetland areas represents a component of a subsistence strategy within a relatively confined area. Combined with data from the Bound Brook drainage and settlement models developed within New Jersey, Site 28-Mi-293 represents continuity in a component of a settlement pattern that has been in place since at least the Late Archaic period.
This presentation was a part of the Saturday morning session of the ASNJ 2024 Conference: Early Inhabitants: Native American Sites in New Jersey
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