Prehistoric Ossuaries of the Middle Atlantic

Dennis Curry

At the February 11 CCASM Zoom meeting Dennis Curry talked about known Middle Atlantic ossuaries ranging from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to Cape Fear, North Carolina that also includes a number of examples from Charles County. 

Ossuaries are mass graves containing the gathered, often disarticulated, skeletal remains of multiple individuals.  Dennis described the various “mechanics” of ossuary burial, including primary burial treatments, preparations for secondary burial, and the eventual mass reburial of multiple individuals in a communal grave pit.  He also discussed the role ossuaries may have played in the social landscape, and their reflection of status from both individual and community perspectives.  For some background information check out this MHT Blog entry Prehistoric Ossuaries: A Personal Journey

Ground Penetrating Radar Results

Ossuary Ceremony

Dennis Curry retired from the Maryland Historical Trust Archaeology Department where he was the Chief Archaeologist.  He is also the author of the book  Feast of the Dead: Aboriginal Ossuaries of Maryland.

A snapshot of a few of those listening to the talk -

Attendance: 18

Helping with Ogle Collection - Charles County

Several CCASM members have volunteered to help wash artifacts collected by Robert Ogle in Charles County.  At the November CCASM meeting Amelia Chisholm talked about the artifacts that Ogle had collected from the 1960s-2000s from sites in Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, and Charles counties.  

Archaeologists from Anne Arundel County's Cultural Resources Division are reassessing the collection that had to be washed, labelled, and cataloged.  Who better to wash the artifacts from Charles County sites than CCASM members.  The artifacts are predominantly Native American - lots of lithics. 

Thanks to Linda for the photo. And thanks to Pat for picking up the boxes from Lost Towns in Edgewater.