Danbury Site

Danbury Site Excavations, 2004
Brian Redmond, Curator of Archaeology
Mark Kollecker

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History held its summer field school, “Archaeology in Action,” at the Danbury site (33OT16) from June 14 through July 23, 2004. The site is located along the north shore of Sandusky Bay in Ottawa County, near the town of Danbury. This location was slated for development into lots for summer homes and an adjacent marina by the United States Construction Company, owned and operated by brothers Greg and Gary Spatz. During the summer of 2003, a wealth of prehistoric archaeological remains and human burials were uncovered during grading operations. Even though no federal or state regulations applied to the archaeological remains since the project was privately funded, the Spatzes delayed development of four lots so that the Museum could conduct investigations of this important site in 2004.

(See related web article: “Saving the Danbury Site” for more background information)

In preparation for the 2004 excavation, a bulldozer was used to remove approximately 30 cm (1.0 feet) of topsoil thereby exposing the subsoil and any undisturbed remains of prehistoric settlements. These remains most often took the form of organic soil stains from storage pits, cooking pits, burials, or post molds. After the initial grading by the bulldozer, numerous feature stains were encountered, and twenty of these were identified as human burials due to the presence of human bone. The burials were mapped and measured in preparation for salvage excavation.

Plan map of Burial Feature 04-01 (ossuary)

As the burials were excavated, it became clear that several distinct types were present. These included extended burials, where the individual was placed on the back with the legs fully extended; flexed burials, where the body was placed on its side with the legs and arms drawn tightly against the body; secondary burials, where the individuals bones were removed from a previous burial and placed in a new pit (possibly wrapped in some type of bundle); and multiple burials which consisted of any combination of these types. One interesting type of multiple burial, called an “ossuary,” was encountered. Designated as Burial Feature 04-01 during the excavation, this feature contained as many as 12 bundle burials. The ossuary was a kind of reburial pit that contained the remains of individuals who had either died off-site–thus requiring special processing of the remains for transport–or persons who were disinterred from their original grave for placement in the common burial pit. Such communal burial treatment may have served to honor individuals of special importance or rank within the society. If this was the case, then the elevated status of these individuals was not symbolized by the inclusion of any elaborate grave goods with the burials. The only deliberate grave inclusion in the ossuary was the lower shell (plastron) of a turtle which may represent an offering of food (turtle meat?) for the deceased. Alternatively, ossuary burial may simply reflect the reunion of related individuals, such as a family group, in a common grave.

Early Woodland rim and base sherds

Although most burials were encountered at the subsoil/topsoil interface (about 30 cm below surface), a few were considerably deeper. One in particular, Burial Feature 04-21, was encountered at 80 cm (2.6 feet) below the ground surface. This bones of this individual were poorly preserved which suggests that it may date to an earlier time period than the better preserved remains.

Although no detailed examination of the human remains has yet been conducted, it is apparent that the burials contained both males and females who ranged in age from infants to adults. It is most likely that the differing burial styles relate to the different time periods during which the site was occupied. The human remains will be cleaned in the Museum’s Archaeology Lab before being sent to the Ohio State University for study. After study, all human remains and associated grave goods will be returned to the site for reburial in a designated area.

Even though most of the time was spent removing the burials, several other aspects of the site were also investigated. Probably the most important finding concerns the extent of the Early Woodland occupation of the site. This occupation, which dates from approximately 500 B.C. to 100 B.C. is chiefly identified by a distinct type of grit tempered, cord marked pottery. This type of pottery, known as “Leimbach Thick,” is flat-bottomed with straight, expanding sides and is cord marked inside and out. Many pieces of this pottery were recovered from midden fill, small storage pits, and one circular, flat bottomed cooking pit. The presence of a midden, an accumulation of living debris, and features with Early Woodland pottery, indicate that the Early Woodland occupation of the site was much more intensive than originally suspected. Large, well preserved Early Woodland sites are not common in northern Ohio.

The summer excavations also recovered representative samples of the much later pottery type called “Fort Meigs Notched Applique.” Fragments of this shell-tempered ware were found in several small trash pits and in the fill of numerous burial features. Fort Meigs Notched Applique pottery was made between approximately AD 1450 and 1550 in northern Ohio. The relatively high frequency and wide spatial distribution of this distinctive ceramic reveals that the Danbury site was home to a very substantial population of Native Americans–perhaps a permanent village–at the very end of the pre-Contact era. By AD 1650, all indigenous peoples of northern Ohio left the region for parts unknown.

Fort Meigs Notched Applique Strip rim

Overall, the amount of artifacts recovered from the Danbury site excavations is quite low. Chert flakes, the debris left behind in the manufacturing and maintenance of stone tools, were the most numerous artifact type encountered. And yet, the densities of these artifacts were much lower at Danbury than at most other prehistoric settlements in the region. This scarcity of stone tool-making debris is probably due to the fact that fishing with nets, rather than hunting with stone-tipped spears or arrows, was the most common pastime during all periods of prehistoric occupation at the site. The focus on fishing was most evident in the recovery of thousands of small fish bones and scales in the midden deposits of the site. Among the small number of stone tools found this season were two notched projectile points dating to the Late Archaic period (ca. 3000 to 1000 B.C.), as well as a triangular arrow point and knife dating to the Late Prehistoric period (ca. AD 1200 to 1650). Analysis of all this material is ongoing at the Archaeology Lab.

Late Archaic points (l) and Late Prehistoric points (r)

The Archaeology in Action program will return to the Danbury site in the summer of 2005 to continue the investigation. These excavations will focus on better defining the boundaries and nature of the Early Woodland usage of the site and its relationship to the later occupations.

For information about participating in this program contact Brian Redmond at x3301 (bredmond@cmnh.org).