The Bourne Stone - Bourne, Ma



The Bourne Stone - Summer 2012

I first became interested in the Bourne Stone years ago, when I learned that no one really knew who made it or what its writing meant. It was one of the first real unsolved New England mysteries that caught my attention. This was before I realized there were literally thousands of unsolved New England mysteries. Still, the Bourne Stone is unique, if not frustrating. As I learned when I began researching the stone’s history, everyone seems to find a place for the Bourne Stone to fit within their particular view of the discovery and colonization of the New World. What is left are a lot of theories, but very few verifiable facts.

What researchers really know about the stone is very basic and does not extend too far into the historic record. The stone, which currently resides at the Jonathan Bourne Historical Society, is a 300 pound block of granite. What makes this block stand out from others are the strange characters carved into it. According to the Bourne Historical Society, the stone was originally used as a doorstep to one of the Indian Meetinghouses established by Thomas Tupper, an early resident and missionary of Sandwich.

It was originally difficult to nail down exactly which Indian Meetinghouse the stone was supposedly first placed at, as references to it do not often appear in historic writing. In addition, according to information provided by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, there were several Indian meetinghouses erected in Bourne. The first church created for the natives was established in 1675 by Thomas Tupper and Richard Bourne near Burrying Hill in Bournedale. A plaque was created to commemorate the area where this initial church stood. The wife and I saw this plaque when investigating Chamber Rock. This building, however, did not apparently contain the Bourne Stone.

The plaque at Burying Hill

The second Indian Meetinghouse was built in 1688 by a carpenter named Edward Milton. The construction of the meetinghouse was funded by Judge Samuel Sewall, who would later become infamous for his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials between 1692 and 1693.

According to Sewall’s Letter-Book, Judge Sewall had appointed Thomas Tupper to oversee the construction of this meetinghouse a year earlier. Sewall’s letters certainly describe how the meetinghouse was built, but definitely make no reference to the presence of a mysterious stone being added to the doorstep of the church building. Still, it was at this location, according to RA Lovell in Sandwich: A Cape Cod Town, where the Bourne Stone was eventually found. This second meetinghouse was located near a traditional Wampanoag cemetery, on the southern edge of Great Herring Pond. The cemetery in Bourndale was easy enough to find and visit, however I could not see any trace of the foundation of the second meetinghouse.

Map showing Indian Meetinghouse - Sandwich: a Cape Cod Town

Old Indian Burial Ground- Bourndale 2012
The Second Meetinghouse was built near this cemetery

I can’t seem to find any written native or colonial reactions to the stone or its writing. However, popular folklore indicates that the writing on the Bourne Stone was initially placed face down to prevent the local natives from panicking when they saw it. Though I can’t source this information, I still found the story interesting. However, just as many sources seem to indicate that the writing on the stone only appeared after its use as a doorstep.

As to the fate of the Second Indian Meetinghouse, Lovell relates the local folklore, which states that it was eventually infested with blacksnakes (somewhat disgusting). The building was moved to the eastern shore of the Great Herring Pond. After the removal of the church, the stone seems to have been moved a short distance to the residence of a Herring Pond Wampanoag named Andrew Jackson. However, some sources state this home was built on the foundation of the meetinghouse. Regardless, this home burned down in 1932. When the property was sold to someone outside the family and tribe, the stone was donated to the newly created Aptuxet Trading Post Museum for future preservation and study. By this time, the writing on the face of the giant block was well known, but all memory or record of its original purpose upon creation had been lost. As of now, it can be viewed at the Jonathan Bourne Historical Center.

Certainly, since its removal to the museum, people have wondered and guessed at the meaning of the writing covering the surface of the stone. Some have claimed the writing was of native origin, many thought it was left by Norse explorers, some have claimed it was Celtic, and still others have gone to great pains to prove that the writing was left by Carthaginian explorers to New England.

Perhaps the most accepted and well recognized explanation for the Bourne Stone attributes the strange writing to the Norse explorers, including Leif Erikson, who might have reached as far south as Cape Cod in 1000 AD. According to the Cape Cod Times, Frederick Pohl and Norse runic expert Olaf Strandwold examined the stone’s writing. Strandwold believed the markings were in fact runic and could be translated as, "Jesus amply provides for us here in Heaven." Pohl, however, also admitted that translations may vary.

Although the Norse theory is perhaps the most well spread, when researching the Bourne Stone, two names and two additional theories continued to pop up again and again. In fact, when looking into the Bourne Stone, it would seem impossible not to encounter the theories and writing of Edmund B. Delabarre and Barry Fells. Both men investigated the writing on the stone and believed they had conclusively teased out their origins, though neither of them believed the Norse created the writing.

Chronologically, Delabarre began researching the Bourne Stone first. Edmund Delabarre was a professor of psychology from Brown University. He focused on the fields of shape perception and the mental processes related to involuntary movements. Although neither a historian nor an archeologist, Delabarre intensely studied both Dighton Rock and the Bourne Stone. He presented most of his theories concerning these two New England curiosities between 1919 and 1940.

Edmund B. Delabarre

Delabarre outlined his theories in at least two articles. One, he wrote for Old Time New England magazine, entitled The Indian Petroglyph at the Aptuxet Trading Post in Bourne, Massachusetts. The second article he wrote for the Rhode Island Historical Commission, it is titled Miguel Corte-Real: The First European to Enter the Narragansett Bay. Both pieces were written in 1936, very soon after the Bourne Stone was donated to the Aptuxet Museum.

As the title of one of Delabarre’s papers suggests, he believed that the Portuguese explorer Miguel Corte-Real accidently began exploring New England between 1502 and 1511. Most historians agree that Corte-Real had been on mission to find his brother Gasper, who had never returned from a previous expedition to the New World. Like his brother Gasper, Miguel was never heard from again. Most believe he and his crew were lost somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean or along the coast of Newfoundland.

However, Delabarre theorized that Corte-Real entered the Narragansett Bay after sailing south in search of his brother. From there he entered the Taunton River and finally ended his voyage (perhaps shipwrecked) at Assonet Neck in Freetown, Massachusetts. Delabarre believed that Dighton Rock, which once sat beside the Taunton River, bears the name of Corte-Real as evidence of his presence in New England. Not only did the Portuguese explorer carved his name into Dighton Rock, but Delabarre insisted Corte-Real also included the year 1511, the coat-of-arms of the Portuguese king, and a message in Latin which explained that he had become king or Sachem of the local natives.

Dighton Rock

Delabarre further explained that the Portuguese sailors with Corte-Real may have intermarried and fathered children with women of the Wampanoags. He used the writings of the Italian explorer Giovanni Da Verrazzano as further evidence to support his case. According to Verrazzano’s Voyage Along the Atlantic Coast of North America, 1524, Verrazzano explored the Narragansett Bay in 1524, eventually encountering the Rhode Island Wampanoags several years after Corte-Real's theoretical landing. Verrazzano wrote:

"This is the most beautiful people and the most civilized in customs that we have found in this navigation. They excel us in size; they are of bronze color, some inclining more toward whiteness, others to tawny color; the face sharply cut, the hair long and black, upon which they bestow the greatest study in adorning it; the eyes black and alert, the bearing kind and gentle."

Hence, Delabarre believed that Verrazzano had encountered the descendants of Corte-Real’s crew. He made the case that the inclusion of Portuguese DNA might have created this inclination toward lighter skin and also a resistance toward European diseases as well. In fact Delabarre poses that the name Wampanoag might have actually meant "White People," rather than "Eastern People," as most believe it does today.

Furthermore, though most historians agree that the Wampanoags had no written language until very recently, Delabarre suggested that they were developing an ideographic written language at about the same time that Metacomet was Sachem (1662 – 1676). Delabarre used the Bourne Stone and other unexplained petroglyphs as evidence of this language. In examining the Bourne Stone, Delabarre first guessed that one of the symbols on the stone represented a white man and a native shaking hands (figures 1 and 2 in the below graphic). He compared the symbol to similar ones seen on William Penn’s Wampum belt (figure 8) and on Dighton Rock (figure 7).

From Miguel Corte-Real- Edmund Delabarre
Figures 1+2 from the Bourne Stone
Figure 7 from Dighton Rock
Figure 8 from Penn's wampum belt
Delabarre believed they are represented a native and a white man



Penn's actual wampum belt

Although Delabarre did not offer a full translation of the Bourne Stone, he believed he had found meanings for several symbols included on Dighton Rock, the Bourne Stone, and a third Bannserstone found in Warren, Ma. According to the above graphic he created for the Rhode Island Historical Commission, symbol 3 represents a Sachem, symbol 4 represents the idea of "white," symbol 5 represents a people or a tribe, and symbol 6 represents Metacomet or King Philip, as Delabarre believed it closely resembled Metacomet's own signature.

Of course, these symbols do not all appear on the Bourne Stone and do not offer a means of understanding what might be written there. In addition, the legends of lost European tribes in the New World are numerous and often nothing more than myth. Futhermore, in 1971, Samuel Elliot Morrison dismissed Delabbare’s evidence in his book The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages. Still, Delabarre’s ideas offered some of the first explanations for the mysterious writing present on the Bourne Stone. However, his theory is definitely not the only one.

In 1976, a marine biologist employed by Harvard University began making waves in the world of accepted history and archaeology by claiming in his book America B.C. that Europeans, Carthaginians, and Phoenicians had made pre-Columbian contact with the New World. The Bourne Stone was among the many sites and curiosities which Fell examined. In addition, Fell believed he could offer a full translation of the stone's script.

Howard Barraclough "Barry" Fell

According to a 1975 article in the Springfield Union, Fell was invited to examine the Bourne Stone by James Whittail of the Early Sites Research Society. Fell worked all night in an attempt to translate the writing on the stone, and by morning offered a solution to the mystery of the stone's writing.

Fell explained that the writing on the Bourne Stone was an example of a variation in the Punic alphabet of Carthage which Fell claimed was used in the ancient Iberian Peninsula. Fell coined the term "Iberic" for the script. According to Fell the inscription on the face of the Bourne Stone reads, "Proclamation of annexation. Do not deface. By this Hanno takes possession."

An example of Punic writing for comparison

Fell believed the Hanno to which the stone referred was the Carthaginian King Hanno the Navigator, who was sent by the city of Carthage around 500 BC to explore the northwestern coast of Africa.

The only account of Hanno’s exploration comes from a Greek translation of a tablet Hanno deposited in the temple of Ba’al upon his return to Carthage. The tablet is known by the overly full title of The Voyage of Hanno, commander of the Carthaginians, round the parts of Libya beyond the Pillars of Heracles, which he deposited in the Temple of Kronos. The Greeks equated the Carthaginian Ba’al with their god Kronos.

Of course, the Greek translation did not provide any insight into Hanno’s visit to the New World. However, Fell believed that Hanno made a second voyage to the New World for which the Greek record, if it ever existed, was lost. In addition to the Bourne Stone, Fell believed the Carthaginians left their Iberic script in several other places in New England, including Mystery Hill in New Hampshire, and Dighton Rock.

However, few professional academics agreed with Fell’s description of the Bourne Stone. Anthropologists and archaeologists accused Fell of being amateurish and unconvincing. Some have even concluded that his later work relating to the Celtic language Ogham might have been outright fraud. However, others have recognized that Fell’s contributions to archaeology and linguistics might have at least brought needed attention to some of the unexplained curiosities which might suggest pre-Columbian European contact with the New World.

Furthermore, the Bourne Stone was most recently studied in 2004. In Collaboration In Archaeological Practice: Engaging Descendant Communities, Larry J. Zimmerman explained his own theory concerning the Bourne Stone. Zimmerman invited Norse runic expert Michael Barnes to examine the stone’s writing. According to Zimmerman, Barnes believed the writing was definitely not runic. This, of course, contradicted the previous theory of Olaf Strandwold. In addition, Zimmerman and archaeologist Patricia Emerson believed that the writing looked more like Native American petroglyphs or even natural markings. Although, they did not offer an explanation for what message the Bourne Stone was meant to convey. Neither did they support the theories of Fell or Delabarre.

After examining the available research related to the Bourne Stone, I have gained a greater appreciation for the potential for new discoveries related to pre-Columbian New England. Of course, I still do not know for certain what the writing on its face actually says, if it says anything at all. I don’t know that further study would give us the answer either, as everyone tends to interpret the characters so differently. Again, sometimes history is hard.

However, as most of the theorists have guessed, I would also pose that the writing on the Bourne Stone is connected to other unexplained New England sites like Mystery Hill and Dighton Rock. In addition, although I am uncertain if an ancient Carthaginian visited our neck of the woods, I do believe that we are just beginning to tease out the lines between legend and reality when it comes to the history of New England before the arrival of fifteenth century Europeans. As we begin to learn more, and as technology begins to fill in where traditional history and archaeology leave gaps, I think what we uncover will astound us and completely rewrite what we know about the people and the supposed discovery of North and South America.

Bourne Stone Preview

I have been very busy helping to plan my wedding, which is in 13 days! The Fiancé and I are very excited. We’re putting table plans together, taking dance lessons (mostly because I am a hopeless dancer), and taking care of all those last minute details and problems that come up before all weddings.

This has not left me a lot of time to research. However, I have been slowly putting together my notes on the Bourne Stone, which will be ready for an early October posting. Until then, CapeCast did a very interesting video on the mystery of the Bourne Stone, which summarizes many of the things I have been learning about it. Check out the video and look for a future post next month.

Jonathan Bourne Historical Center- Bourne, Ma

Jonathan Bourne Histrical Center Summer 2012

I recently had the time and opportunity to visit the Jonathan Bourne Historical Center in Bourne, Ma. Visiting the Historical Center allowed me to see a few of their exhibits which I have been meaning to check out for a long time. It also allowed me to see a few I had not known about. Of course these have now peaked my interest and propelled me into future research projects.

The Jonathan Bourne Historical Center is located on 30 Keene Street, in Bourne Ma. The Center itself was built in 1897 by Emily Howland Bourne, who is a descendant of the prolific and regionally important Richard Bourne.

I have written about Richard Bourne several times now, as he was one of the first Christian missionaries to the local Wampanoag tribe and is also connected to the Wampanoag Indian Museum through one of his descendants.

The Historical Center building originally served as a town library. Emily Bourne had the library built in honor of her father, Jonathan Bourne. Jonathan, though a prominent resident of New Bedford at the time, was instrumental in helping the residents of Bourne achieve separation from the town of Sandwich in 1884. Because of his assistance, the new town was named after Jonathan Bourne and the Bourne family.


Bust of Jonathan Bourne at the Historical Center

The building houses the Bourne Historical Society, the Bourne Historical Commission, and the Bourne Archives. Not only does the Historical Center advise the town of Bourne on issues of historical preservation, but it also contains town records like historical maps, photos, family records, oral histories, and historic books through the inclusion of the archives. This makes the center a valuable historic resource in its own right.

The building also houses many interesting exhibits. Among the most famous is the mysterious Bourne Stone, which I will be researching for a post in the very near future. However, their largest and most current exhibit is a display containing posters and artifacts from both the First and Second World Wars.

WWI and WWII Posters and Artifacts

This exhibit not only contains several interesting propaganda posters from the allied persepctive, but also contains a display which details information on the military career of Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated war dog of World War I. Although he appears to be an early Boston Terrier type, his true breed appears to have been unknown. However, he did originate in Connecticut, which makes him a Yankee, and worthy of a more detailed post in the near future.


Stubby the War Dog

An additional exhibit which caught my attention was on one of the few serial killers to grace the shores of Cape Cod. Nicknamed Jolly Jane, she was reportedly responsible for the deaths of nearly every member of an entire family.

Jolly Jane's Exhibit

While visiting the Historic Center, I drove a couple miles down the road to check out the recreation of the Aptuxet Trading Post. The building sits on the foundation of what is thought to be the original 1627 trading post, which once sat alongside the Manamet River. The original course of the river was incorporated into the digging of the Cape Cod Canal. The current museum is a recreation of what the post was thought to have looked like.

Aptuxet Trading Post Museum

The Jonathan Bourne Historical Center is open Mondays and Tuesdays 9am to 2:30pm. It is also open the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

I had a great time visiting the Bourne Historical Center and the Aptuxet Trading Pos Museum.. Not only did I once again visit a museum dedicated to local history, but I learned several new things and was inspired to continue learning about what I saw. To me, that’s what its all about. As I’ve said, during the next few weeks, I hope to continue researching the Bourne Stone, Jolly Jane, and Stubby the war dog in order to create detailed posts about each.

Until then, if you are in the area, take time to visit the Jonathon Bourne Historical Center for yourself. It’s a great opportunity to admire objects and exhibits dedicated to some of the odder, more mysterious, and less well known subjects within New England History. In addition, it is a great example of how important smaller local museums are to the continued effort to preserve an archive our Yankee heritage for posterity.

Shark Attack on Cape Cod



Chris Myers on beach after shark attack Monday

If you have even walked by a TV news broadcast, tuned into the news on your radio, or glanced at an online headline you have most likely heard that a man has most likely been attacked by a shark off Ballston Beach in Truro, Ma. This is certainly not the first shark attack to occur in New England waters. In fact, it might not even be the first in recent memory.

According to several news stories, including this one from the Huffington Post, Chris Myers was body surfing with his son about a third of a mile off Ballston Beach Monday afternoon, when he was pulled under by a shark. JJ Myers, the son of the victim, heard his father scream and saw what he described as the back of the shark and its dorsal fin. Mr. Myers and his son swam quickly back to the shore where 911 was called.

Chris Myers suffered serious wounds below the knees on both legs. After being pulled from the water Myers was transported to Mass General Hospital in Boston. Although it was originally uncertain whether this was a shark attack at all, a Massachusetts Marine biologist named Greg Skomal later stated that he believed the injuries Myers suffered could only have been caused by a Great White.

Myrers underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a severed tendon, but felt strong enough to interview with Good Morning America, where he discussed his ordeal in detail.

The whole story seems pretty scary to me, as I grew up swimming in the waters off Cape Cod. However, it also made me curious about the history of shark attacks in New England. I was not surprised to find that several historic news sources indicate that shark attacks are not unknown in this region, but I was pleased to find that they are seemingly quite rare.

Many news stories over the past week are reporting that before Chris Myers, the most recent shark attack in New England occurred in July of 1936 in the town of Mattapoisett. In some respects this is correct. The attack that occurred in Mattapoisett in 1936 was the last reported fatal shark attack of record in New England.

According to a 1936 article in the Boston Herald, a sixteen year old boy named Joseph C. Troy was attacked by what was probably a Great White while swimming about a 100 yards off Hollywood Beach in Mattapoisett. Troy had been swimming with a friend of his uncle named Walter Stiles. Stiles reported to the Herald that he saw the fin of the shark cut through the water toward Troy. He saw Troy attempt to fight the shark off when both the boy and the shark disappeared below the water. Stiles swam toward the shark and the boy and attempted to dive in an effort to recover the child. However, Troy eventually popped up to the surface unconscious.

Boston Herald article 1934

Stiles attempted to signal fisherman who were close by, but failing to do so, began to swim toward the shore carrying Joseph Troy. Eventually the two were pulled on board a passing boat. When Joseph Troy was pulled aboard it was noticed that his left leg had been badly injured during the attack. Apparently a chunk of flesh about the size of a five pound roast beef was missing. Doctors later attempted to amputate the injured leg in an attempt to save the boy’s life at St. Luke’s Hospital. However, Joseph C. Troy died of his injuries around 8:30 that night.

According to the website New England Sharks, the animal responsible for the 1936 Massachusetts attack was reportedly 10-12 feet long. Although it was never identified officially, the descriptions of the shark given by Stiles (whose name was misspelled in the article) most closely match that of a Great White.

An additional shark attack occurred in July of 1830 in Swampscott, Ma. According to an article in the 1830 Salem Register, the victim was a 52 year old man named Joseph Blarney. Blarney was fishing in a small dorey for several hours, when he was seen waving his hat in the air and calling for help. A ship near Blarney attempted to come to his aid when the dorey and Mr. Blarney were both attacked by what was assumed to be a shark. Blarney, as well as his small boat, disappeared below the water. The boat eventually resurfaced, but Blarney never did.

1830 fatal shark attack

New England Sharks reports that there was at least one other fatal shark attack which occurred in Boston harbor around the year 1730. However, I could not find records describing this attack.

Strangely enough the Cape Cod Times reported this morning that the fatal shark attack of 1936 was potentially not the most recent attack in New England waters. The article titled, Past Cape Shark attack victim says he feels vindicated, describes the 1996 experience of James Orlowski of South Hadley. Orlowski was collecting starfish in Truro in waist deep water, when what he claims was a six foot shark attacked his leg. Apparently Orlowski needed several stitches to repair the damage to his ankle. In addition, Orlowski experienced serious infection related to the injury. However, his story was doubted by authorities at the time. Investigators informed him that sharks do not frequent the waters of Truro, which we now know is false. The article speculates that there could be several more injuries due to shark attacks that simply went unreported.

This summer there have been many sharks spotted along the shores of Cape Cod. Many people have stated that the quickly recovering Gray Seal population around the "elbow" of the Cape is now attracting Great Whites to this area. Many marine biologists like Greg Skomal are excited to have the opportunity to study Great Whites more carefully. I don’t blame them, it’s interesting. It is like getting the opportunity to study a tiger or lion up close.

It has been speculated by some biologists that Great Whites attack humans when we are mistaken for seals or sea lions. This is potentially true in the case of Chris Myers who suffered serious wounds in his attack, but exited the water with all limbs and his life intact. The shark seemingly bit him and decided to move on. However, in the historic shark attacks of New England’s past, the victims were not as lucky.

Although I live on Cape Cod, there are not many seals in my area. Nor have there been any shark sightings in my area. However, I must admit, I would rather not swim far from shore alone. Certainly when I do swim, visions of a large predatory shadow gliding my way pop into my head frequently.

As New Englanders, we have grown up with the Atlantic as our backyard. We quahog, fish, and just relax in the shores of our home towns. However, when we do this, we must also remember we are entering the fringes of another world. One we are not well adapted to surviving in. Like our Yankee ancestors must have known, entering the ocean is like walking into the dense tree line of an unexplored tropical jungle. Much like New England itself, you just never know what might be lurking in the shadows or just out of sight.

Truro on Dwellable

Native Americans Origins News

Chipewyan Mothers- Source

In the past few weeks there have been several updates in regards to information pertaining to the mysterious origins of Native Americans. Although, as usual, the new information is not definitive, it seemingly adds new possibilities which researchers will now attempt to evaluate in comparison to existing theory.

The first piece of interesting information is that researchers now believe that Native Americans did not originate as a result of one single migration from Asia, but most likely stemmed from at least three. The research, described in Popular Archaeology, states that an international team led by Professor Andres Ruiz-Linares of the University of College London and Professor David Reich of the Harvard Medical school, have come to this conclusion after comparing the DNA of 52 Native American and 17 Siberian groups. All together, the team analyzed over 300,000 DNA sequences.

However, the team also found that the majority of natives descend from only the original migrants across Beringia over 15,000 years ago. In fact, only native groups that live in arctic regions and speak either Eskimo-Aleut or Na-Dene languages felt any genetic effect from the second and third migration across the Bering Land Bridge. Though these groups are more closely related to modern East Asian populations, the arctic groups still derive between 50% and 90% of the DNA from the first migrants. This suggests a genetic mixing between all three migrant groups.

Beringia

In addition, researchers were able to trace the potential genetic path followed by the original migrant group. After their arrival, the first group traveled south along the coast, splitting into separate population groups as they traveled into South America.

However, DNA suggests that there was some reverse migration among these groups. Some native populations in Central America show genetic traits of both North and South American groups. In addition, some Eastern Siberian populations show Native American traits that could only have occurred if established native populations reversed their path back across the Bering Land Bridge to mix their genes with Asian populations.

The second recent study regarding the origins of Native Americans has less to do with DNA and more to do with human artifacts. For many years those who believed that North American natives descend from a single migration from Asia also believed that this single migrant groups was most likely what archaeologists call the Clovis Culture.

Clovis Culture is defined by the presence of a distinctive type of stone tools like projectile points. This type was first discovered in New Mexico in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Radiocarbon dating has placed the arrival of the Clovis Culture from Siberia to approximately 13,000 years ago. For decades many theorists have believed that all natives in North, Central, and South America descend from Clovis groups and perhaps a single migration of people. However, more and more often, this is no longer thought to be the case.

Clovis points- Source

Aside from the study referenced above, some of the most intriguing evidence building a case for the multiple migration theory is coming out of Paisley Caves in South-central Oregon. Although this set of caves have been studied since the 1930’s, recently archaeologists have uncovered what many believe could be pre-Clovis human artifacts.


Pisley Caves Oregon- Source

What researchers have found are over a hundred examples of what is called Western Stemmed projectile points, a style of stone tool which differs significantly from the Clovis tradition. In addition, archaeologists have analyzed examples of dried human feces called coprolites. What is missing from the cave system is the presence of any Clovis artifacts.

The bases of three Western Stemmed projectile points

According to an article from Archaeology Daily News, the Paisley artifacts radiocarbon date to at least 13,200 years ago. If this analysis is correct, the Paisley artifacts would either pre-date or would have been contemporary with Clovis culture. Although the ancient DNA taken from the coprolites show an east Asian or Siberian origin, because the tool making traditions are so different, this evidence would also suggest the presence of two separate groups in ancient America.

In fact, researchers associated with the University of Oregon have postulated that the people of the Western Stemmed tradition may have descended from a separate migration that took place along a sea route, following the coast of ancient Beringia. Researchers also suggest that the Clovis culture may have first arisen in the Southeastern US, then moved west. However, the Western Stemmed tradition might have begun in the West and might have moved east from there. Both traditions would have remained separate for hundreds of years.

One of the interesting things I see when comparing these two studies is that they seemingly explain multiple migrations that are even separate from one another. The DNA study shows three separate migrations, but states that the DNA contributions of migrations two and three were limited to the very arctic regions of North America. However, the Paisley Caves study seems to have uncovered a population descended from a completely independent migration that existed apart from arctic regions. The studies don’t necessarily contradict each other. Rather, each suggests that there is more to the origins of Native Americans than we currently understand. Considering how much has changed in Native American origin theory in the last year, I can't wait to see what the next year of research brings us and potentially how this might impact what we believe about the origins of natives in New England.

Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum. This was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and an opportunity for me to ask some of the questions I’ve accumulated during my own research regarding the Wampanoag tribe.

The museum is located at 414 Main Street (Rt. 130), Mashpee. The house containing the museum was built around 1793. It was originally the home of Sherjashub Bourne, the great-grandson of the famous Richard Bourne.

The Bourne-Avant House- Rt. 130 Mashpee

I had stumbled across several Richard Bourne related legends when I attempted to trace the history of Chamber Rock in Bourndale. Richard Bourne was one of the first Christian missionaries to preach to the Cape Cod Natives. He also purchased huge areas of land on Cape Cod and set the land aside for the tribe he called the South Sea Indians. This land eventually became part of the Town of Mashpee.

The current curator of the museum is named Putnam Peters, himself a member of the Wampanoag tribe. As he led our small tour group through the building’s displays, he was patient enough to answer my many specific questions.



Putnam Peters- Curator of the Museum

Putnam explained the current members of the Wampanoag tribe still revere Richard Bourne. In fact, the tribe celebrates a Richard Bourne Day every year. Putnam was also able to answer a lingering question I had about the story of Chamber Rock, in which the Wampanoag had been performing human sacrifice. Putnam stated that he had never heard any history to support such a practice.

Putnam and his wife Jeanne were also happy to discuss Metacom, Massasoit, and the King Philip’s War. They also showed me a wall in the museum which displayed the current leadership among the Wampanoag Tribe. I would have to say that both Putnam and Jeanne were very knowledgeable about their subject.


The current Chief, Sachem, and Medicine Man of the Wampanoag

If you are interested in visiting the Wampanoag Indian Museum, it is open every Monday and Thursday from 10am to 2pm. There is no entrance fee, but there is a place to make a donation to the museum. As the building is currently under renovation, I’m sure a donation would be appreciated.

Museums like this are really important. Not only do they display one of a kind artifacts, but they help maintain and educate people about local history which is not something that is taught in every classroom. Putnam and Jeanne explained that they often have very young children visit the museum during the school year, which is a great educational opportunity for them.


Some of the original Wampaoag artifacts on display



A display showing how pre-Columbian Wampanoag would harvest trees

However, the history of the Wampanoag people, the King Philip’s War, and the development of New England is a huge and mature subject for such young children to learn about. Museums like this bring this history to a larger audience, who might become curious about something they learned. Maybe they’ll embrace their curiosity and delve into some research. And as I’ve learned, one answered question only leads to more. Embrace that, and sometimes the learning and curiosity goes well beyond the museum door.

Mashpee on Dwellable

Yankee Doodle

The Spirit of '76- Archibald MacNeal Willard

 Yankee Doodle is a song most American school children learn sometime between the ages of 5 and 8. Most adults recognize the song, if not all the lyrics. I hope that most people probably know that, at least in legend, the song and phrase “Yankee Doodle” were both created by the English to be derogatory and insulting to Americans.

By examining the common lyrics, it’s not difficult to see the slight. Even the version school children learn is a little insulting. It reads:

Yankee Doodle went to town,

Riding on a Pony;

He stuck a feather in his cap,

And called it macaroni.

 
On my first post on this blog, I attempted to trace the meaning of the very complicated term “Yankee.” Although, no one really knows its exact origins, it essentially refers to someone of New England. The term “Doodle” is easier to understand. It simply means something like idiot, half-wit, or simpleton. As in all the many versions of this song, the term Yankee Doodle is synonymous with a country bumpkin, or what some would call a “hick.”
 
The entire scene these first four lines paint is of someone who is simple and uneducated. He rides on a pony instead of a horse. When he calls his feathered cap macaroni, he is not referring to the pasta, but rather to a fashion popular in England during the mid 18^th century.
 
A Macaroni was someone who dressed and acted at the extremes of fashion, often to the point of being somewhat ridiculous. The term is actually related to the Italian pasta (oddly), because eating macaroni was fashionable for well traveled European men of the 18^th century. These rich young men would describe fashionable things as being extremely “macaroni.” In fact, they belonged to a group popularly known as the Macaroni Club.

One of these very Macaroni styles was wearing an extremely tall powdered wig topped by a small hat which could only be removed with a pole. These guys seem somewhat like our 20^th century “metro-sexual.” Fashion, hygiene, and popular trends were identity defining among these men. In fact other English of the 18^th century made use of the macaroni style in satire. However, in Yankee Doodle, the line is used to suggest that this Yankee is so simple he actually believes putting a feather in his plain old cap equals the extremes of European fashion.


Macaroni Style from Fashion-era

According to legend, British troops created the lyrics during the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763 to describe their under-trained, uneducated, home-spun colonial allies. Several prominent Americans like Benjamin Franklin even tried to play up to this character while in Europe during the Revolution by dressing in animal furs and acting as if he were from the extreme frontier. Apparently, this is what many Europeans expected colonial Americans to look like.

It’s interesting that this little anthem turned from being a derogatory insult into a national ballad of pride. In fact, it is said the tune was played so much during the Civil War that General Grant admitted he only knew two songs. The first was Yankee Doodle, he said, and the second one wasn’t.

However, as with most things in history, the origins of the lyrics and the tune are cloudy. Even how the song switched sides during the Revolution is a little murky. However, the two schools of thought point to either an English or an American origin for the song. Hence, whether it was truly originally created to be used to insult the colonials is even in question.

In his book Liberty and Freedom, David Hackett Fischer argues that the legend is correct. Yankee Doodle was a song created by an Englishman targeting colonial Yankees for their backward ways. In fact, he credits Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, an English surgeon stationed in New York during the French and Indian War, with the creation of the tune and certain lines.

During the French and Indian War, British regular troops were shipped over the Atlantic to protect the original American colonies from the French and their Native American allies. Of course, they were not doing this out of kindness or concern. Great Britain was mostly acting out of self interest by protecting their profitable colonial territories from a rival European power.

Hackett explains, according to the records of three New York families, the lines of Yankee Doodle written by Shuckburgh between 1759 and 1760 while he was stationed in Albany. Hackett States:

“The Regulars laughed at the antics of the Yankee militia. Their quaint clothing, curious speech, and clumsy manners became the butt of British humor.”

One must understand that the early colonies were very agricultural and rural. Though Yankees could be fierce warriors, they were very different than British regulars. Colonials were more used to irregular guerilla warfare and scouting, if experienced in warfare at all. They did not all have uniform clothing, weapons, or training. Each colonial area provided what they could to their militia. Among these provisions would have been odd assortments of hunting rifles, few bayonets, and perhaps scraps of military dress. Obviously most Yankees were more used to shooting rabbits, deer, and squirrels, than enemy soldiers.

Assembled as a whole in Albany, the New England militias must have looked like a rag-tag, back woods, odd looking, sounding, and probably smelling collection of provincials. In fact, from the prospective of the British, they probably were.

Though Hackett states it is quite possible Shuckburgh penned the verse of Yankee Doodle we all know so well, in The Story of Our National Ballads, CA Browne argues that the original opening verse was probably different. Set to the tune of an old English country dance, Shuckburgh might have actually written:

Father and I went down to camp,

Along with Captain Gooding.

There we see the men and boys,

As thick as hasty pudding.

Apparently, Shuckburgh attempted to convince the colonial leaders that the song was a well respected military tune in England. Though, the regulars knew this was a joke, the colonials took up the song as their own. According to Browne, the song called at that time “The Yankee’s Return to Camp” found constant use in the militia camps. Of course the British, including Shuckburgh, must have thought this was hilarious.

However, this is somewhat disappointing. This means the most well known verse containing the pony, feather, cap, and macaroni was not the original. In fact, Roger Lee Hall, author of The Boston Yankee Ballad writes that this version does not show up in print until 1884 in a book entitled The Nursery Rhymes of England. Though, he also quotes author James J. Fuld, who explains that most authorities now believe the song was of American origin.

In fact, Hall quotes the author of Music for Patriots, Politicians, and Presidents, who states that the original verses of Yankee Doodle can actually be attributed to a sophomore at Harvard University named Edward Bangs. Edward served as a minuteman at the Battle of Lexington. The verses Edward Bangs wrote were printed in a popular broadside, which was created between 1775 and 1776. Hall records Edward’s original lyrics as being:

Father and I went down to camp,

Along with Captain Gooding.

There we see the men and boys,

As thick as hasty pudding.

Chorus:

Yankey doodle keep it up,

Yankey doodle dandy,

Mind the music and the step,

And with the girls be handy.

Hall does not discount that Shuckburgh may have had a hand in the creation of Yankee Doodle. However, he states that it was not until the version created by Edward Bangs was printed that this song became popular. In addition, he states that the Bangs version would have been the most well known during the Revolution.

The broadside and lyrics attributed to Edward Bangs

It is now unclear whether the song was originally created by the British or the Americans. However, as the animosities created during the French and Indian War led to the conflicts which began the American Revolution, Yankee Doodle was being used as a morale lowering weapon. According to CA Browne, British troops occupying Boston prior to the massacre in 1770 were already playing Yankee Doodle to annoy and harass the Bostonians. They even played it outside colonial church services and aboard British ships anchored Boston harbor. Browne even goes so far as to state that the British marched out of Boston to reinforce their forces at the Battle of Lexington to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

It seems the song finally switched sides after the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. Thomas Aubrey, a British officer during the Revolution, writes about this transition in his series of letters entitled Travels Through the Interior Parts of America.

In his writing, Aubrey claims that the term Yankee was originally created by the Cherokee to mean coward, though this is only one of many theories. He said that the soldiers stationed in Boston during the commencement of hostilities often used the term as an insult. However, he also writes:

“But after the affair of Bunker Hill, the Americans glorified in it. Yankey-doodle is now their paean, a favorite or favorites, played in their army, esteemed as warlike as the Grenadier’s March – it is the lover’s spell, the nurse’s lullaby. After our rapid successes, we held the Yankees in great contempt; but it was not a little mortifying to hear them play this tune, when their army marched down to our surrender.”

Though the colonial militia lost the Battle of Bunker Hill, Aubrey is probably referencing the 1781 British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia. General Cornwallis, claiming illness, refused to ride out and surrender his sword to General Washington. He had his second in command deliver the weapon is his stead. Even then, it was delivered first to the wrong man.

As the British officers and German mercenaries marched by the assembled American and French leaders, the British refused to salute the colonial generals and commanders. Washington had ordered the army to remain courteous in victory. The English band played an old song called, “The World Turned Upside Down.” In response, as Aubrey stated, the Continental army responded with Yankee Doodle. It was the old morale-busting weapon of the British now turned against them.

If Dr. Shuckburgh did invent the lyrics to Yankee Doodle, he did not live to see how his song would be used or what it would eventually become. The tune changed in both lyrics and meaning as the French and Indian War led to the American war for independence. Even if most of the known lyrics were written later by Americans, the song and term “Yankee Doodle” changed from colonial insult to national ballad as Americans embraced the peculiar, awkward, somewhat provincial, yet entirely independent character the song describes.

Even though Yankee Doodle no longer really holds its position as the “in your face” patriotic theme it once was, from my perspective I find it amazing that it has survived in any form in our blind-to-our-past modern American culture. Though we still sing the song to our children, I wonder if most people know the significance of the words, how they were directed, and eventually how they were used. I cringe a little as it sometimes seems hard to find that independent Yankee Doodle character represented in our 21^st Century national identity. As I mentally scan through TV channels, news broadcasts, newspapers, the internet, and other forms of poplar media; It immediately becomes clear, perhaps we are now confused as to who is the Yankee and who is the Macaroni.