Cedar Swamp Archeological District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Cedar Swamp Archeological District
|
|
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Location | Westborough and Hopkinton, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Area | 2,675 acres (1,083 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 88000587 |
| Added to NRHP | May 23, 1988 |
The Cedar Swamp Archeological District is a special place in Westborough, Massachusetts and Hopkinton, Massachusetts. It's a huge wetland area, over 2,600 acres big! This swamp is important because it holds many clues about how people lived long ago.
Archaeologists have found lots of interesting things here. These finds show that Native Americans lived and used this area for thousands of years. They likely valued the cedar trees that grew in the swamp. Because of its rich history, the Cedar Swamp area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. This means it's a protected site important to our country's history.
Exploring Cedar Swamp's Past
The Cedar Swamp Archeological District is mostly in eastern Westborough. It covers a large swampy area. Even though highways like I-90 and I-495 pass through parts of it, many ancient sites remain untouched.
Amazing Discoveries
One very interesting discovery was made on an island within the swamp. This site was found in 1974. Later, between 1984 and 1986, archaeologists carefully dug there. They found a large area where ancient people threw away their trash. This is called a "refuse midden." They also found a hearth, which is like an old fireplace. Scientists used a method called radiocarbon dating to find out how old the hearth was. It turned out to be from around 200 BCE! This means people were cooking and living there over 2,200 years ago.
Archaeologists also found special stone tools at this site. These tools are called Neville and Stark projectile points. They were likely used as tips for spears or arrows.
Another important site is near a stone outcrop on the northern edge of the swamp. Here, archaeologists found lots of evidence that people made stone tools. They used rocks from the outcrop to create their tools.
How We Learned About Cedar Swamp
People first started looking for old artifacts in Cedar Swamp in 1939. These were often amateur archaeologists, meaning they studied history as a hobby. More serious collections of artifacts began in the 1960s.
In the 1970s and 1980s, local and state groups worked hard to study the sites in the swamp. All this effort led to the area being recognized as a National Register site in 1988. The items found in Cedar Swamp show that people lived there from the Archaic Period all the way to the Late Woodland Period. This covers a very long time in history!
