MUFONET-BBS NETWORK - MUTUAL UFO NETWORK ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS

MUFONET-BBS NETWORK - MUTUAL UFO NETWORK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS - WIRE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄż ł=START= XMT: 18:42 Tue Oct 08 EXP: 19:00 Fri Oct 11 ł ł ł łARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND EVIDENCE OF INDIAN FARMING ON CAPE COD ł ł ł łBOSTON (OCT. 8) UPI - University of Massachusetts ł łarchaeologists digging on Cape Cod have unearthed the first ł łphysical evidence of farming by Indians in New England, the ł łschool said Tuesday. ł ł ł łThe team from UMass-Boston found a field consisting of what ł łappear to be more than 40 individual corn hills, said ł łStephen Mrozowski, assistant professor of anthropology and ł łdirector of the university's historical archaeological ł łprogram. ł ł ł łMrozowski said the team made the ''unprecedented and ł łsignificant'' discovery on the southern shore of Cape Cod, ł łbut declined to give the exact location. The owners of the ł łproperty had asked that their privacy be respected, he said.ł ł ł łThe corn hills, which are believed to date back some 400 ł łyears, are the first physical evidence of Indian agricultureł łin New England, Mrozowski said. Historians have had to relył łsolely on the recorded observations of European explorers ł łand early settlers. ł ł ł ł''Until now, the only evidence we have had that the Indians ł łof New England practiced agriculture have been historical ł łaccounts written by early explorers and settlers of the ł łregion,'' Mrozowski said. ł ł ł ł''Old corn hills have been found in Massachusetts from time ł łto time, but we have never been sure if they were the resultł łof Native American or English agricultural efforts. This is ł łthe first time we have found corn hills in an archaeologicalł łcontext that we can date with a fair degree of certainty,'' ł łhe said. ł ł ł łThe items the archaeologists found confirm historical ł łaccounts that Indians grew corn and beans in that area of ł łCape Cod, Mrozowski said. ł ł ł ł''The initial discovery and the research we now are ł łundertaking will give us the first opportunity to look at ł łhow Native Americans treated their environment,'' he said. ł ł''It will also allow us to look for the first time in detailł łat Native American agricultural practices.'' ł ł ł łThe corn hills apparently were farmed by members of the ł łNauset tribe, Mrozowski said. ł ł ł łAlso found at the site were glass trade beads, pipes for ł łsmoking, fabric and ceramics that apparently were carried był ł17th century English explorers, he said. Some stone tools ł łand small pieces of iron which may be the remains of farmingł łimplements were also found at the site, he said. ł ł ł łMrozowski said he plans to spend the winter analyzing ł łmaterials taken from the site, with the help of a team of ł łgraduate students and biology Professor Lawrence Kaplan. He ł łplans to resume digging at the site next summer. ł ł ł ł=END= ł