[MassHistPres] Boundary walls

[Tucker, Jonathan]

From Terra Firma #5:

 

“THE LAST WORD: DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF STONE WALLS, PILES AND CHAMBERS

 

“The stone walls built by New England farmers helped define property lines, divide fields, woodlots and pastures, and

shape animal pens. Coincidentally, the walls may match cardinal compass points or celestial phenomena – but for

practical purposes rather than sacred. It was also common to construct cold cellars and pile surplus rocks within

pastures for later use or sale.

 

“Some have suggested a Native American origin for these features. There is no archaeological evidence to support

this conclusion. When historians and archaeologists have researched stone walls, piles and chambers, they have

invariably demonstrated that these features are associated with the activities of European settlers and have no

Native American (or other) origin. In addition, Native American advisors have been involved in a number of excavations

and have confirmed these findings. However, archaeologists do find stone features on Native American sites,

hearths for example. But they rely on context to make the determination where, during a controlled scientific excavation,

archaeologists analyze the entire site, all artifacts associated with the feature, and its placement in the soil.

This provides the cultural and geological context needed to interpret and date the entire site.

 

“Archaeologists also consider ethnographic and ethnohistorical information. For example, Native American oral traditions

record that people did place small stones or twigs on a sacred spot as they passed by. Over time this might

result in a small pile of pebbles, tiny cobbles, or sticks, but not large piles. Conversely there is a strong, documented

ethnohistory of stone building traditions among the European settlers of Massachusetts. Together, archaeology and

ethnohistory provide conclusive evidence that stone walls, piles and chambers are not the work of ancient cultures.”

 

I once made the mistake of asking a distinguished archeologist about “monks’ caves” during a lecture at UMass.  The temperature in the room dropped about 15 degrees, and her answer was terse, dismissive, and bordered on contemptuous.  Unless you excavate Henry Sinclair’s personal seal in the presence of the assembled board of the Massachusetts Archeological Society, best to assume it’s just a root cellar.

 

Jonathan Tucker

Planning Director

Amherst Planning Department

4 Boltwood Avenue, Town Hall

Amherst, MA  01002

(413) 259-3040

tuckerj at amherstma.gov    

 

 

 

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Barbara
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 9:42 PM
To: A.J. & Donna Juarez
Cc: MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Boundary walls

 

Another interesting aspect!

 

What of the stone structures that have been attributed to early travelers from Europe?

 

Barb


----- Original Message -----
From: "A.J. & Donna Juarez" <ellis6065 at charter.net>
To: "Barbara" <beb100acrewood at comcast.net>
Cc: MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 4:22:30 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Boundary walls

What of the Native American stone prayer structures found throughout New England, are these structures considered stone walls?  There is an effort out of Ware to identify and preserve these sites. aj

On Dec 21, 2009, at 3:42 PM, Barbara wrote:

	 

	
	The discussion on stone walls and boundary walls is very intriguing.

	 

	In my former life I was a title examiner for an attorney and a deed researcher for a land surveyor.  I am interested in a definition of historic stone boundary walls as well as a legal definition of the same. 

	 

	Stone walls have been important in designating types of land boundaries during most historic periods of time.  In past centuries a wall might have been a legal boundary between abutters or delineate individual fields for one land owner.  Today those same stone walls may or may not delineate legal boundary lines of ownership for individual lots of land. 

	 

	Even a short length of stone wall or remains of a fence including a solitary post could be important in determining a property line. 

	 

	What criteria would a HC use to determine if an ancient stone wall was a boundary wall and what time period ( historic or current ) would qualify it to meet that criteria?  Legally this could be very complicated for the owner, town planning boards and a Commission. 

	 

	In my opinion all ancient stone walls especially in New England are important historically and should if at all possible be preserved and protected.

	 

	Thanks for any input and available sources of information,

	 

	Barbara Bailey, Wareham

	 

	 

	 

	 

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