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US Route 301 Archaeology Update

Written on: May 14th, 2013 in Archaeology Updates US301

Phase III fieldwork at the Warwick Site ended on May 9^th, with the completion of 33 test units.  Fifty-nine square meters, or roughly 635 square feet, were excavated during the Phase I through III fieldwork.  All artifacts have been returned to the lab for cleaning and detailed analysis.  The artifacts will be measured, weighed, and classified by type of stone, reduction stage, and shape.  Reduction stage refers to extent to which tools have been shaped and thinned, and to the point in tool manufacturing when flakes were removed.  For example, during the initial stage, as the tool is roughly shaped, flakes tend to be large and the weathered exterior of the stone, termed the cortex, is often present.  In contrast, sharpening a finished tool tends to produce small flakes that lack cortex on the flake.  In addition, points will be classified by reference to standard sources, like William Ritchie’s A Typology and Nomenclature for New York Projectile Points and Noel Justice’s Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Midcontinental and Eastern United States; on-line information posted by Delaware’s Historic Preservation Office (http://history.delaware.gov/archaeology/points/start.shtml) and Maryland’s Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum will also be consulted (http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Maryland_Projectile_Points/index-projectilepoints.html).  The information will then be typed into a data base for analysis.