Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1914-10-21
PREHISTORIC
ELLSWORTHITES.
EVIDENCES OF THREE AGES OF
MAN.
WALTER b. SMITH, OF BANGOR, WRITES
INTERESTINGLY THE STORY TOLD
BY RELICS.

Paper delivered by Walter B. Smith, OF Ban
gor, before Bangor Historical society.
Wherever man has lived since first he
learned to utilize fire or to pound with a
stone, there, too, may generally still be
found tangible evidences of his abiding
Mixed with the sands OF the Penob-
scots shores and the soil OF its banks
are to be found, here and there, various
little articles and fragments OF mans
MISUNDERSTANDING objects OF metal and
OF stone representing both historic and
prehistoric times, mixed and mingled and
forming component parts OF the soil. Yet
it is not difficult to distinguish the metal
and the glass products of the white man
from the stone Clipped weapons OF his
predecessors. Nor La it hard to realize
that several centuries have interviewed
during historic times between the lost AK
OF the modern lumberman and the old
French and Dutch trading axes; between
the recent hoe and the clumsy English
hoes that Capt. John Smith tried to sell
the Indians; between late cartridge shells
and the gun fints of former times.
HOW RELICS ARE CLASSIFIED.
When, however, we attempt to classify,
according to age, the products OF aborigi-
nal man the task becomes far more diff
cult, though we are convinced that his
occupancy of this valley has been many
fold the three centuries OF the white man.
Every collector of prehistoric relics as
be plods over plowed fields, digs in the
ground, or assists the natural crumbling
of raw-edged river banks in his search for
specimens, is, in time, sure to be impressed
with the fact that some articles which he
finds are far Older than others.
1t is difficult for him to explain this diff
ference Ii is not always that these OBJ
iects which he considers the most ancient
are less skillfully made, are buried deeper,
or that invariably they look older. But to
him, at least, they exhibit signs OF great
disparity in point of age.
And il is these '.signs" and what they
teach regarding the antiquity OF man in
the Penobscot valley that are here con-
sidered- not from the standpoint OF the
museum student, but rather from that of
the field worker-the impressions OF the
more or less observing collector.
Ii is believed by the writer that we may
recognize at least three horizons, or Gull
ture periods OF prehistoric man in this
valley and its contiguous territory. With
out making any attempt to correlste these
periods with the well-recognized divisions
OF the Stone Age in Europe, we will call
them professionally, and for the purpose
OF local working basis:
/. The Algonquin period.
ii. The Red Paint period.
Ill. The Pre- Eskar period.
| ALGONQUIN PERIOD.
The Algonquin period, which is the
most recent, ended with the coming OF
Europeans and the beginning OF historic
times on this river. How far back ii ex-
tended is Of course unknown, but there
are indications that it was not many
centuries. The descendants OF its people
are with us to-day. They retain some OF
the legends OF their ancestors, some OF
their craftsmanship, but the art of chip
ping stone and fashioning it into weapons,
implements and tools, has, through de-
sire, become lost.
Nor can they add to the knowledge OF
the white man anything regarding the
ancient uses of such objects; yet we have,
! no doubt, a fairly accurate knowledge OF
at least the commoner weapons and tools
OF this period, owing to their abundance
hereabouts, to the rather meager writings
OF early observers and to stories that have
been handed down from explorers and
first settlers. We know very little, how
ever, OF the purposes OF those rarer forms
which we classify as charms, ceremonial
stones ard problematicaI forms.
KINDS OF TOOLS.
OF the many forms of stone artifacts
made and used by the people Of this
period, perhaps grooved axes, arrow
points, spearheads, knives, scrapers, ham,
merstones, celts, pestles, pipes and pot
terry are the most characteristic, although
gouges, plummets, ornaments and cere-
moniais were not unknown.
Some OF their ancient cemeteries have
been found and the methods of their bur-
ials studied. This is of Importance in
differentiating this period from that
which preceded it.
RED POINT PERIOD.
What people occupied the area under
discussion during this period is unknown.
II they were Algonquin, their descendants
did not continue their burial methods nor
the manufacture OF some of their most
gracefully shaped implements into that
time which we have here called the Al
gonquin period.
The reasons for considering this period
distinct from the Algonquin are based
upon c. Q. Willoughby's explorations of
ancient cemeteries at Bucksport, Orland
and Ellsworth in 1892 and 1884; upon
Prof. Warren K. Moorehead's explora-
tions OF similar cemeteries at Orland
and Passadupkeag in 1913; upon the lat
!, ter gentlemsn's lecture before this society
last spring, and upon the writer's investi-
CATION of like burials at Ellsworth Falls,