Archaeology In the DistrictArchaeology• Use of material culture to:

• Give voice to the voiceless

• Act as a check on documents/stories

• Study broader social trends

Artifact• Any man-made or modified object that is more than 50

years old

Site• Continuous distribution of artifacts (by definition 50 years

old or more)

Archaeology at River Terrace SchoolOVERVIEW• City Archaeologist Dr. Ruth Trocolli of DC HPO requests archaeology be

conducted at River Terrace School• Stantec and EHT Traceries, Inc. conducted archaeological investigations

from January 2nd through February 18th

• Found over 3500 artifacts• Most are Native American• A few date to the late 18th to early 19th century (ca. 1775 to 1825)

CURRENT STATUS• Field investigations complete but need to monitor courtyard during

construction-construction can proceed outside the building at any time

• Artifact analysis ongoing• Report preparation ongoing• Anticipate draft report being completed end of March 2014

Why Do Archaeology?Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 (D.C. Law 2-

144, as amended) direct the Mayor, heads of subordinate agencies, or heads of independent agencies with jurisdiction over an undertaking to take into account the effect of that undertaking on properties listed or eligible for listing in the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites.

DC City Archaeologist Dr. Ruth Trocolli requests archaeology based on:

• Smithsonian collected Native American artifacts from the property 60 to 80 years ago

• Dr. Trocolli collected artifacts during installation of storm sewer in 2011

2014 Investigations• Determined that about 2 feet of fill is present over the now-buried land surface • Used excavator to remove fill• Hand-excavated 24 shovel test pits and 16 3-x-3 foot square test units• Excavated by 5-inch levels• Soil screened to find artifacts

34th St. NE0 5 10 15 20 25

meters

N

Proposed Addition

Proposed Parking Lot

Proposed Playground

Machine Trench (MT #)

Positive Shovel Test Pit Location

Proposed Path

Existing School Building

MT 5

MT 7

MT 8

MT 9

MT 10

MT 2

MT 3

MT 4MT 1

MT 6

Additional Machine-Excavated Blocks (BLK #)

Test Unit Location (#)

MT 11 (and expansion)

MT 12

BLK 1 BLK 2

BLK 3 BLK 4

BLK 5 BLK 6

16

15

14

1311

10

9

12

86

7

12

3

4

5

Areas of Excavation• School

Addition• Parking Lots• Trails

Test Units

Shovel test pit

What we found• Native American village or camp• Over 3500 artifacts• Native American artifacts indicate location was occupied twice:

• 5000 to 3000 years ago• 1200 to 500 years ago

• Projectile points• Knives• Scrapers• Pottery• Cobbles used to make stone

tools• Waste debris from stone tool

making• Fire-cracked rock from fire pits

and hearths • Grinding stones• Raw material from:

• Anacostia River flats• Rhyolite from northern

Maryland/southern Pennsylvania

Pottery ca. 3000 years old

Knives

Last Thoughts• Many Native American sites along Anacostia and Potomac Rivers• Home to the Piscataway Indians in early 1600s• Large town, Nacochtank, somewhere along Anacostia River• Site is unique as many have been destroyed by urbanization• Artifacts preserved and owned by District of Columbia• Incorporate information into signs• Artifacts available to view• Thank You!

Questions?