Shellfish on Castle Neck

In his archeological exploration of Castle Neck, Francis LeBaron found shell deposits of ocean quahogs (Arctica Islandica, l), surf clams (Spisula Solidissima, l), and the common softshell clam (Mya Arenaria, l).  Surf clams are “giant sized,” generally 4 to 6 inches long, and weigh about one and a quarter pounds.  Juveniles surf clams burrow into the medium to fine grain sand along the beach, while the adults migrate to the more course-grained sand further offshore and only would be washed ashore in a large storm.  Quahogs are comparatively smaller, in the 2.8 to 4.3 inch range, and are found in the finer sand along the ocean beach.  Softshell clams (Ipswich clams) are found on the interior shore of Castle Neck in the intertidal mudflats along the Castle Neck River. 

Pawtucket women and children traditionally harvested shellfish at low tide and then would construct a large communal fire pit lined with stones.  As the fire burned out, the stones remained hot.  The women would place the shellfish on the heated stones, cover them with grass, and push more hot stones on top to create a steam cooker.  The steamed shellfish were then eaten or dried to preserve them through the winter.  Later the dried shellfish would be combined in a soup with corn, beans and sometimes nuts to make a hearty ns8b8n (succotash).  Along with game brought home by the men, ns8b8n would nourish the Pawtucket through the winter.

Shellfish were the predominant but not the only desposits identified in the many shell circles found on Castle Neck. LeBaron’s 1874 map (below) documents large shell circles at the eastern edge of Wigwam Hill containing ashes, stone implements, stone ornaments, a human skeleton, and other bones including a now extinct great auk. The ashes are likely the residue of communal firepits where shellfish were steamed and other foods prepared.  In 1882, John Robinson documented shell deposits at Perkin’s Island near the mouth of the Agawam River.  He found “bones of various animals including those of deer, moose, bear, wolf and two other carnivorous species; several species of birds, including the turkey; a few bones of the turtle and of the porpoise, and numerous fish bones.”