Archeology of a prehistoric shell midden, Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York
Griswold WA, Largy TB, Mcweeney L, Perry D. 2002. Archeology of a prehistoric shell midden, Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York. Occasional Publications in Field Archeology, Number 1. Archeology Branch, National Park Service
This volume discusses the discovery of a prehistoric shell midden on Liberty Island in 1985. A prehistoric shell midden was first discovered on Liberty Island in 1985, during restoration work on the Statue of Liberty, when the excavation of a utility trench bisected the midden. Dick Ping Hsu, then Regional Archeologist, recruited several individuals to aid in the examination and documentation of the site. Only three days were allotted to the initial investigations. Nevertheless, soil, shell, and pollen samples were collected, and preliminary analysis was begun. Because of limited time and money, the publication of this volume is not intended to be a final report for the site. This monograph instead is intended to be an interim report, providing preliminary information about the site and the results of the 1985 and 1999 excavations. These materials are currently stored in the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island collections, along with all of the artifacts excavated during the 1999 season.