Walker Prehistoric Village Archeological Site facts for kids

The Walker Prehistoric Village Archeological Site is a very old village site located near Poolesville, Maryland in Montgomery County, Maryland. This special place is a large village from the Late Woodland period. It sits on Selden Island in the Potomac River.

Archaeologists dug here in the 1930s and 1940s. They found amazing things like parts of a strong fence, shapes of old houses, and different kinds of pits. They also found burials inside the house areas.

Discovering the Past at Walker Village

Archaeologists are like history detectives. They carefully dig up old sites to learn about people who lived long ago. At the Walker Prehistoric Village, they found clues about how people lived during the Late Woodland period. This period was a time when people in North America started to live in more settled villages and grow crops.

What Did Archaeologists Find?

During their digs, archaeologists uncovered many interesting features. They found a 40-foot section of a palisade. A palisade was a tall, strong fence made of wooden posts. It was built around a village to protect the people inside from enemies or wild animals.

They also found circular patterns on the ground. These patterns showed where houses used to stand. People built their homes in a round shape. There were also different kinds of pits. Some were shallow and oval-shaped, while others were deeper and cylindrical, like a tube. These pits were likely used for storing food or for cooking.

Ancient Homes and Burials

The circular house patterns tell us about the homes of the people who lived here. Imagine a village with many round houses, all protected by a big wooden fence! Inside some of these house areas, archaeologists found flexed burials. This means people were buried with their bodies bent, often in a fetal position. It was a common way to bury people in many ancient cultures, and sometimes they were buried right inside or very close to their homes.

Selden Island Pottery

Selden Island is not just known for this village site. It also gave its name to a special type of ancient pottery called Selden Island ware. This pottery dates back to an even earlier time, between 1000 and 750 BCE, which is part of the Early Woodland period.

What is Selden Island Ware?

Selden Island ware is a unique kind of ceramic (pottery) that archaeologists have found in many places. It has been discovered from Virginia all the way to Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania. This includes the areas of Maryland that have hills (piedmont) and flat lands near the coast (coastal plain). Finding this pottery in so many different places shows that the people who made it, or traded it, traveled widely.

Protecting History

The Walker Prehistoric Village Archeological Site is very important for understanding the history of people in Maryland. Because of its historical value, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. This is a list of places in the United States that are important to history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. Being on this list helps protect the site so that future generations can also learn from it.