Native Archeology

• NATIVE
• COLONIAL

Native archaeological collections held by Plimoth Plantation include tens of thousands of artifacts from dozens of sites from southeastern Massachusetts and beyond.

The museum owns artifacts both gathered and excavated by founder Harry Hornblower and his mentor, Jesse Brewer. The collections consist of projectile points, fishing weights, hammer stones, celts and other stone tools from the Archaic Period through the Contact Period, as well as clay pots. Wampanoag artifacts range from the South Shore, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.

The Hallett Collection, compiled by amateur archaeologist Leaman Hallett, includes hundreds of artifacts gathered locally, particularly from inland areas of southeastern Massachusetts.

Almost all of the colonial sites excavated by the Plimoth Plantation have a Wampanoag component, from the Middle Archaic to the Contact periods. The English colonists chose to settle sites that had fresh water and good soil for growing crops—sites that had been occupied by Wampanoag people over thousands of years.

A Wampanoag site on the Plimoth Plantation grounds (the Eel River Spring Site) was excavated in 1991, 1992 and 1994 by the late Professor Barbara Leudtke and the University of Massachusetts field school. They recovered evidence of 6,000 years of occupation through artifacts such as stone tools, bone, pieces of pottery, and shells.

In 2006, the Fiske Center at the University of Massachusetts excavated a series of test pits at Plimoth Plantation to prepare for the construction of a new pathway to the Wampanoag Homesite. The Eel River Farm Site yielded stone tools and projectile points, particularly from the Archaic period.

Plimoth Plantation has inventoried its Native collections in compliance with Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and is working with the Wampanoag Repatriation Confederation to identify any artifacts which might be sacred.

hours: Plimoth Plantation's Administrative offices, Education Department and Creative Gourmet are open 9 AM to 5 PM, M-F
address: 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA 02360 USA
telephone: 1 + 508 746 1622