Piscataway
Defining Attributes
The Piscataway is a small, narrow, teardrop-shaped point.
Chronology
The chronological placement of the Piscataway point is controversial, which is probably due in part to its morphological similarity to the Rossville and other teardrop points. McNett and Gardner (1975) and Dent (1995) place it in the Late Archaic period, based upon its stratigraphic position below other Late Archaic types like the Vernon at various sites along the Potomac and Patuxent rivers. Steponaitis (1980) suggests a date range of 4000 to 3000 BC (approximately 4850-3750 BC in calendar years), while Wanser (1982) prefers 4000 to 3500 BC (roughly 4850-4350 BC in calendar years). Others place it in the Woodland period. At the Pig Point site in Anne Arundel County, Piscataway points were found in Archaic and Early Woodland contexts, the most recent of which was radiocarbon dated to 350 BC, while the oldest was associated with Otter Creek points (Luckenbach et al. 2010; Luckenbach 2014, personal communication). McLearen (1991) suggests the Piscataway appears along the lower Potomac by approximately 900 BC. At the Broad Creek site (18PR131) in Prince George’s County, Piscataway points were often found in association with Early Woodland period Accokeek pottery (Siegel et al. 2004), and they were present mostly in Early Woodland contexts at the Higgins site in Anne Arundel County (Ebright 1992). In southern New Jersey, teardrop points have been found in association with radiocarbon dates ranging from 3430 ± 250 BP to 2000 ±85 BP (approximately 1750 BC to 25 AD calendar), with most of the dates falling within the Early Woodland period (Mounier and Martin 1994). Stephenson and Ferguson (1963) place it in the Late Woodland period because of its association with Potomac triangular points and Potomac Creek pottery at the Accokeek Creek site. Overall, the evidence suggests that teardrop-shaped points known as Piscataway and Rossville were used in the Mid-Atlantic region during the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods, and perhaps later.
Description
Blade
The blade is a long and slender triangle with straight or convex edges and a lenticular, often thick, cross section. The edges are occasionally beveled.
Haft Element
The base is rounded or pointed. The stem is small and contracting, with an oval cross section. Very weak shoulders separate it from the blade.
Size
Length ranges from 29 to 49 mm (and occasionally longer), with an average of 37 mm. Width ranges from 10 to 21 mm, with an average of 14 mm. Thickness ranges from 5 to 10 mm, with an average of 7 mm.
Technique of Manufacture
Well-made by pressure flaking on all surfaces.
Material
In a sample of 577 Piscataway points from the lower Patuxent drainage, Steponaitis (1980) reported that 96% were quartz, followed by quartzite (3%), rhyolite (0.8%), and chert and argillite (0.1% each). In the area surrounding Zekiah Swamp on the lower Potomac, Wanser (1982) found that 78% of 268 Piscataway points were quartz, with 15% quartzite, 5% rhyolite, and small quantities of chert, jasper, and other materials. At the Accokeek Creek site in Prince George’s County, most of the 301 examples were quartz, with rare quartzite and rhyolite specimens (Stephenson and Ferguson 1963). At the Broad Creek site, also in Prince George’s, 96% of the 25 Piscataway points were quartz, with the remainder quartzite (Siegel et al. 2004). In the Monocacy River drainage, 57% of 44 Piscataway points were rhyolite, with 30% quartz, 11% quartzite, and 2% chert (Kavanagh 1982). In the middle Potomac Valley, quartz Piscataway points are most common, but rhyolite and quartzite are sometimes used (Hranicky 2002).
Discussion
The Piscataway point is found from Virginia to New Jersey, although other teardrop or lozenge-shaped points are reported in the Northeast and Southeast (Stephenson and Ferguson 1963; Wall et al. 1996). McNett and Gardner (1975) and Steponaitis (1980) suggest it may have developed out of the earlier Guilford point, a Southeastern type.
The Piscataway tends to be narrower than the similar Rossville point, with a smaller stem and shoulder. But the relationship between the two types needs to be explored; it is possible that they represent morphological variations within a single type, or that generalized teardrop-shaped points appeared and disappeared at various times in the Late Archaic and Woodland periods.
The Piscataway is also reminiscent of the Will’s Cove point, thought to be an Early Woodland type, identified in Virginia by Bottoms (1979). The primary difference is the tapered stem of the Piscataway point versus the square stem of the Will’s Cove.
Defined in Literature
This Piscataway was defined by Stephenson and Ferguson (1963) from points recovered at the Accokeek Creek site in Maryland. They noted its resemblance to the Rossville, but distinguished it as a type because it seemed to occur in contexts that were far later than the Early Woodland period Rossville.
References
1979 The Will’s Cove Projectile Point. Quarterly Bulletin of the Archeological Society of Virginia 34(1):48-49.
1995 Chesapeake Prehistory: Old Traditions, New Directions. Plenum Press, New York.
1992 Early Native American Prehistory on the Maryland Western Shore: Archeological Investigations at the Higgins Site. Maryland State Highway Administration Archeological Report Number 1. Report prepared for the Maryland State Railroad Administration.
2002 Lithic Technology in the Middle Potomac River Valley of Maryland and Virginia. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.
1982 Archeological Resources of the Monocacy River Region, Frederick and Carroll Counties, Maryland: Final Report. Maryland Geological Survey, Division of Archeology, File Report 164.
2010 Archaic Period Triangular Points from Pig Point, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology 26:165-180.
1991 Late Archaic and Early Woodland Material Culture in Virginia. In Late Archaic and Early Woodland Research in Virginia: A Synthesis. Edited by Theodore R. Reinhart and Mary Ellen N. Hodges. Special Publication 23, Archeological Society of Virginia, Richmond.
1975 Archaeology of the Lower and Middle Potomac. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, American University.
1994 For Crying Out Loud!: News About Teardrops. Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology 10:125-140.
2004 Phase II and III Archeological Investigations in a Portion of Site 18PR131, Prince George’s County, Maryland. Report prepared by John Milner Associates for Land & Commercial, Inc.
1963 The Accokeek Creek Site: A Middle Atlantic Seaboard Culture Sequence. University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, Anthropological Papers n. 20, Ann Arbor.
1980 A Survey of Artifact Collections from the Patuxent River Drainage, Maryland. Maryland Historical Trust Monograph Series 1. Maryland Historical Trust and Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD.
1996 The Lithic Technology of the Trenton Complex. Trenton Complex Archaeology Report 13. The Cultural Resource Group, Louis Berger & Associates, East Orange, N J. Prepared for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
1982 A Survey of Artifact Collections from Central Southern Maryland. Maryland Historical Trust Manuscript Series 23. Maryland Historical Trust and Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis.