Mentor Lagoons Site

Excavations at Mentor Lagoons: The 2002 Archaeology Field Experience Program
Mark A. Kollecker

Test excavations at the Mentor Lagoons 4 site

During the spring and fall of 2002, the Archaeology Field Experience program conducted excavations at the Mentor Lagoons 4 site located on the property of the Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve in Mentor, Ohio. Over 1,450 greater Cleveland area school children in grades 5 through 12 participated in this investigation. Numerous artifacts and features such as fire hearths and roasting pits were identified. One important aspect of the site is that a large portion has never been disturbed by plowing.

The site appears to have been occupied during two different time periods. The first occupation occurred at the end of the Late Archaic period (ca. 1600-1000 B.C.) and probably continued through the Early Woodland period to no later than 100 B.C. Artifacts from this time period include the Late Archaic small, notched projectile points and the Early Woodland Leimbach Thick pottery fragments. Leimbach Thick pottery represents the earliest type of pottery made in this area. Another unusual artifact that dates to the Late Archaic period is a fragment of a steatite, or soapstone, bowl. Artifacts made of steatite, which occurs naturally in eastern Pennsylvania and the Washington, D.C. area, are very scarce on sites in northeast Ohio. The first non-perishable containers and cooking vessels were of steatite.

Prehistoric pottery from the Mentor Lagoons 4 site Stone tools from the Mentor Lagoons 4 site Pit filled with fire-cracked rock and charcoal Lake Erie shoreline at Mentor Lagoons

The site was also later occupied by the Whittlesey culture around approximately A.D. 1000-1600. Artifacts from the Whittlesey period include triangular, Madison-type projectile points and a type of pottery known as Reeves Horizontal. Other artifacts discovered that can not be dated to any specific prehistoric period include drills; chert knives; an unusual chipped and ground slate tool probably used as a knife; and netsinkers, stones with indentations chipped into opposing edges which were used to weight fishing nets.

Several features were identified at the Mentor Lagoons 4 site. These include small, fire- reddened patches of earth with charcoal that are interpreted as fire hearths and larger pits filled with fire cracked rock and charcoal interpreted as roasting pits. Some small fragments of Leimbach Thick pottery were found within two of the roasting pit features indicating that they date to the Early Woodland period. The exact use of the pits remains uncertain, but it is most likely that they were associated with the processing of foods such as nuts or fish. The presence of any type of features on sites of this age is rare because most of them have been disturbed or destroyed by agricultural plowing. The fact that a large portion of this site has never been plowed no doubt accounts for the preservation of these features.

During the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods this site probably served as a seasonal hunting, fishing, or food processing camp. A few small family groups of probably no more than 20 individuals total would meet there to conduct these subsistence activities returning each year at the same time. This type of utilization may have occurred over a period of hundreds of years. By the time of the Whittlesey occupation of the site, people had begun to settle year round in large villages located near the mouths of major rivers. They would have come to this site for short stays while on hunting or fishing excursions or as a camping spot while traveling through the area.

The archaeological investigation of the Mentor Lagoons 4 site has provided a rare glimpse into the lives of some of the prehistoric occupants of northeast Ohio. The site captures a unique period in time when Native Americans in this area are first beginning to produce pottery after using steatite bowls and cooking vessels. It is remarkable that a large portion of the site has escaped the ravages of agricultural plowing or development and that the site will remain protected within the Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve. It is also remarkable that hundreds of area school children were able to obtain a unique educational experience participating in the investigation of this site through the Archaeology Field Experience program.