Living on the Land, Part 1
Presenters:  Tamera Kaplin & Mary Gene Devin

The Deerfield / Pocumtuck Area 
Depicted circa 1550, 1700, and on the morning of February 29th, 1704. 

Lifeways - On a fateful day in 1704, a small garrisoned settlement in North America was a crossroads of international conflict.

The Land 1680-1720 
Sample map - Agriculture : Agriculture and Community  Be sure to do the activity button bottom right

Artifacts 
Sample tool - Basalt Hoe or Adze - Agriculture was a female responsibility in Native societies of the northeast. 

Inventories  Inventories are one tool used by historians and other researchers to inform themselves about the lives of people who lived in the past.
Often they reveal personal possessions that can help us to understand how people lived.

Sample inventory - Inventory of David Hoyt  1704 L99.068 The inventory of Lt. David Hoyt, resident of Deerfield, was taken in order to clear his
debts and to insure that his family received their just share of his estate.

Maps   
Sample map - "A Map of New England," circa 1677
This map was created by John Foster and originally published in a history of King Phillip's War. It displays some of the English settlements affected by the conflict.
(This map requires QuickTime; file size 498 KB. Click for a non-QuickTime version)

Understanding Landscapes : A Howling Wilderness?  Be sure to do the activity button bottom right

Voices & Songs
Sample story - Wôbanakiak: Amiskwôlowôkoiak – the People of the Beaver-tail Hill (duration: 5:26 minutes) 
The Geology and Cultural History of the Beaver Hill Story (By Marge Bruchac)
The Pocumtuck story of the "Amiskwôlowôkoiak" -- the people of the beaver-tail hill -- is an example of a "deep-time story" with an "earthshaper" motif.

Sample song  - Toss the Pot - This lighthearted drinking song celebrating the pleasures of good drink and fellowship reveals the important role the alehouse
played in English community life. (duration: 2:23 minutes)