

As indicated by the thousands of artifacts found at the Pine Hawk, Native Americans made tools while camped there. The artifacts found included stone points to make darts of spears, small scrapers to work hides, and tiny flakes of stone left over from making these tools. The method of hunting in the early periods from 7,000-3,000 years ago was to throw a dart with a spear thrower. A spear thrower is a 2-foot notched stick that fits into the end of the dart and propels it forward. Hand-held spears were used for fishing. Bows and arrows did not come into use until about 1,500 years ago.
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The Pine Hawk artifacts indicate that small groups of people were traveling along the Assabet River camping briefly to hunt, work hides, fish, and make more tools. Many groups stopped over a period of four thousand years from 7,000-3,000 years ago (Archaic periods). There were fewer after that, and perhaps only a single group using pottery camped 2,000 years ago (Middle Woodland period). That they all stopped in the same place shows that the location was important and it was probably a good fishing and hunting spot. Hickory and hazel nuts in a storage pit indicate that some people were there in the fall. Knapping refers to the shaping of stone to produce flat-faced stones. |