[MassHistPres] Boundary walls

[Mitch Mulholland]

Nicely said Jonathan!!
Mitch Mulholland

Tucker, Jonathan wrote:
>
> 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 <mailto: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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