In 1892, archaeologist Charles Willoughby uncovered sites which were remarkable for their abundant lithic artifacts buried along with copious amounts of red ocher. As further discoveries expanded the understanding of this culture and its wide distribution along the Atlantic coast of North America, the set of mortuary customs practiced by this group came to be known as the Moorehead Burial Tradition.
The Moorehead Burial Tradition
The Moorehead Burial Tradition is named for archaeologist Warren Moorehead, who was a leading authority on the Red-Paint People during the early part of the twentieth century. The Moorehead Burial Tradition is generally characterized by these cultural markers:
- Burials containing sizeable quantities of red ocher
- Finely crafted ground stone points often referred to as "bayonets"
- Lithic artifacts consisting primarily of celts, gouges, and exotic chert bifaces
- Significant bone technology
Burial Characteristics
Burials of this group are most often found in groupings that indicate a custom of establishing a specific burial area or cemetery. These cemeteries are usually located at elevated sites and near bodies of water. The burials themselves show a vast diversity, varying from single to multiple interments and including flexed, extended, and bundled burials. Though ocher is found in numerous other North American burials, it is the profuse quantity of the mineral used in Moorehead Burial Tradition graves that makes these burials standout in the archaeological record. Closely aligned with the inclusion of ocher in these burials are associated grave goods. These artifacts demonstrate a highly distinctive material culture which was unparalleled until the advent of the mound builders. Burials have been found to contain as many as twenty-one stone and bone artifacts such as tools, effigies, ornaments, blades, plummets, and spears.
Technology
The large number of Red-Paint People cemeteries that have been uncovered in the last century has facilitated a greater knowledge of this group than might ever have been possible. Artifacts associated with fishing and the remains of shell middens, which denote large-scale harvesting of shellfish, reveal that the Red-Paint People relied heavily on marine animals for their subsistence.
The quantity and diversity of carpentry tools found among the interments are indicative of a superior wood-working technology. This advanced technology, coupled with the recovery of numerous swordfish remains, is highly suggestive of a culture that had mastered an advanced boating technology that enabled deep-water fishing. This theory is supported by the discovery of Moorehead Burial Tradition remains at offshore sites as far as nineteen kilometers from the coast of Maine.
Trade
The boat technology of this group probably helped to serve as an impetus for the establishment of an extensive trade network that undoubtedly served to spread ideas as well as raw and manufactured products. Ocean travel would have opened up opportunities for long-distance trade, an idea supported by the discovery of imported items like Ramah chert bifaces in Maine. In addition, the ability to travel greater distances may have been a factor in extending the practices of the Moorehead Burial Tradition over so much of the north Atlantic coast.
Social Organization
Differences in the lavishness of burials are believed to signify social inequality among the people of the Moorehead Burial Tradition. Recent studies by archaeologists have indicated that disproportionate burial treatments most likely reflect social stratification in prehistoric societies. Red-Paint People cemeteries, such as the one found at Point au Choix, show marked patterns of inequality in the location of burials as well as the quality and quantity of grave goods. In addition, studies of the skeletal remains confirmed that individuals in burials with more lavish grave goods also had benefited from richer and more diverse diets.
The Rise and Fall of the Red-Paint People
Mortuary sites at Morrill’s Point in Massachusetts, dated around 8500 B.P., reveal burials which may well have been the precursors of the Moorehead Burial Tradition. A 7500 year old burial found in southern Labrador indicates that the main characteristics of this mortuary pattern were already being practiced by this time. Few of these early indicators have been found, but by 5000 years ago the distinctive mortuary ritual of the Moorehead Burial Tradition had became a ubiquitous characteristic of prehistoric burials along the northeastern coast of North America. Then suddenly, around 3500 B.P., all traces of this group began to disappear. This coincides with the migration of new groups into the area. Whether these people were assimilated into the new groups or were wiped out by war or disease remains a mystery.
Moorehead saw a possible connection between the Red-Paint People and the Beothuk of Newfoundland. The Beothuk, who survived into the historic period, were notable for their custom of painting their bodies, as well as most of their belongings, with ocher. Early encounters with this group by European explorers earned them the name “Red Indians,” a term that was soon applied to most of the continents native inhabitants.
Sources
The Problem of the Red-Paint People, Warren Moorehead (1916).
The Moorehead Phase, William Stanyard, a Master's Thesis from the University of Maine (1993).
A Bed of Ochre, J. Jelsma, a Doctoral Thesis for Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (2000).
Ancient People of Port au Choix, James Tuck (1976).
 |
