Chapter 1, page 5.
This arrowhead, chiseled from stone, was found in East Machias.
The style of the artifact and material from which it was made can help archaeologists understand the history of native peoples.
Primary Sources for Finding Katahdin Chapter 1
Item 7537
Item 7539
Chapter 1, page 7.
Tobacco was a part of the agricultural and ritual culture of Maine Indians.
In most Maine tribes, women oversaw the crops, including tobacco.
Indians' stone working prowess is apparent in the smooth holes bored into the stone to create the pipe.
Item 7534
Chapter 1, page 10.
Indians chiseled stone to make many of their most important tools, like this head of a battle axe found at Mount Kineo in 1909.
Item 7543
Chapter 1, page 12.
Native people probably used stone tools like this grooved axe, which may be 4,000 years old, to fell trees and chop frozen meat.
The groove may have been carved out so that a handle could be more easily attached.
Item 7532
Chapter 1, page 13.
Glooskap was a legendary figure in Wabanaki history.
He was purported to have created the earth and taught the Wabanki people the skills to survive. He is both creator and teacher.
Gluskap reflects Wabanaki ties to nature, how they learned to live on earth, and the view that the Wabanaki creator is neither completely human nor supernatural.
Item 7531
Chapter 1, page 20.
Glooskap is shown hunting a whale.
Wabanaki people relied heavily on seafood for their diet. They were skilled hunters and fishermen, and made the canoes and tools they needed to catch fish and animals.
See page 23 for a chart on the season dictated what type of food was harvested or hunted.
Item 6065
Chapter 1, page 13-14.
Pere Pole's signature suggests the ways that animals and people are interrelated.
Wabanaki understanding of nature is further reflected in place names, as this document demonstrates.
Transcription
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Item 7562
Chapter 1, page 26.
The material from which this knife is made -- Ramah chert -- suggests its origin probably was in Labrador.
Maine's early people did not have strict political boundaries, but moved around the region in search of good hunting and fishing.
Free trade flourished among the different groups, which is why tools, wampum and jewelry made from materials not available in Maine show up in Maine archaeological sites.
Item 1475
Chapter 1, page 24.
Deerskin is the main material in these 19th century ceremonial moccasins.
Indians made beaded and appliqued moccasins for a mourning ceremony in 1834.
Item 6657
Chapter 1, page 26.
Wabanakis and other northeastern Indians traded furs for silver.
Trade silver often was crafted in Canada by non-Indians for sale or trade to Indians.
Silversmiths incorporated Indian design motifs into the trade jewelry, such as this double curve design that was popular with the Penobscots and Wabanakis.
Item 7536
Chapter 1, page 27.
In addition to being used for messages, these beads were used in ceremonies and as a form of currency.
These beads were found in East Machias.
Item 1474
Chapter 1, page 24.
A birch bark box provides an example of how Native American people used the resources around to make objects for everyday use.
In the 19th century, many Native American handicrafts were prized as relics and keepsakes. Baskets, boxes and jewelry supplied tourists with souvenirs of their trips to Maine.
This basket was made by Molly Ockett, an Anasagunticook who is known for being a herbal healer.
Item 6239
Made from split ash and sweet grass, this basket was woven between 1993 and 1996 near Perry.
Hours of work go into preparing the the ash and sweet grass before weaving begins.
Basketmaking is a traditional craft that can involve all members of a family taking on tasks from pounding ash, to collecting sweet grass in swampy areas, to designing and weaving the baskets, to marketing them.