6,000 Year Old Artifacts Unearthed at Cedar Swamp

Wednesday night Westborough residents traveled back in time thousands of years. The Forbes Municipal Building was the portal into ancient times at the Historical Commission's crowded event "Time Travel to Cedar Swamp Via Archaeology" with archaeologist Alan Leveillee from Public Archaeology Laboratory (PAL).

For several months last fall, Leveillee, accompanied by a survey team, conducted a dig in Cedar Swamp at the proposed site of the future . The purpose of the dig was to locate, analyze and remove for preservation any historical artifacts that might be hidden beneath the soil before construction began. Along with presenting his findings at the event, Leveillee provided for Westborough residents a glimpse into New England life thousands of years ago.

"I'm a time traveler and a garbage man at the same time. I excavate bits and pieces from the past that provide insight of what cultures were like long ago. But those bits and pieces are just small samples of a larger culture," said Leveillee. He went on to explain how 13,000 to 12,000 years ago people and mammals migrated from what is now called Russia across a land mass that was once connected to today's Alaska. By following the animals (i.e. food source), the humans moved rapidly across North America and down into South America. During this time period, the first humans arrived in New England.

During the survey of Cedar Swamp, Leveillee unearthed Native American artifacts dating back 6,000 years ago. The survey team found fragments of pottery and animal bones, along with stone woodwork tools that almost certainly were used for making the canoes that once glided over Cedar Swamp. How Cedar Swamp appears today is very different from the lake dotted with small islands that once occupied the area thousands of years ago, Leveillee explained.

He spoke of how the lake's water and its available resources repeatedly attracted the Native Americans to the area. The varying projectile points for hunting discovered at the site illustrated how people populated the area over a span of time, and the discovered pottery remains signify that people visiting the area transitioned from hunters and gatherers to families occupying the area most likely year round, Leveillee noted.

"We have a time capsule in our own back yard. This is an amazing opportunity to visit people from 20 to 30 generations ago who now have no voice. But through the objects left behind, we can give them a voice again," Leveillee said.

Leveillee is a senior archaeologist and head of the education program at PAL. He has worked with the nonprofit since its founding in 1982. Leveillee is also an adjunct faculty member in the anthropology department at Roger Williams University.

Stop on by the Historical Commission located at 45 West Main Street in the Forbes Municipal Building to view the historical artifacts discovered in Cedar Swamp.

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