An Unexpected Discovery At The Barnes Museum – 5,000 Years Of Connecticut Prehistory
- Nadia Dillon
- Nov 27
- 5 min read
The passion that Bradley Barnes, last owner of the Barnes homestead, had for historical artifacts explains why the Barnes Museum is so full of treasures today. In June 2021, while exploring the attic at the Barnes, I found one of these treasures. My eye was caught by what I thought at first was jewelry. I rushed over to discover a case containing over 70 Native American projectile points. The glimmer came from quartz, the mineral from which projectile points are made. Drawing on my recently completed degree in Anthropology/Archaeology, I made it my mission to identify every single point and tell the story of its origins and its place in Connecticut’s Native American prehistory.
The find was a surprise because, as far as we know, the Barnes family of Southington had no Native American ties. However, Bradley Barnes did have a summer home in the Indian Cove neighborhood of Guilford called ‘Rock Edge.’ It is believed that he found many of those projectile points along the beach there.
How To Date The Points
I first needed to date these artifacts. There are two types of dating methods; absolute dating and relative dating. People might think that getting an absolute date from radiocarbon dating would be the method I used.
However, radiocarbon dating can only identify the time period of a living organism. All living things contain carbon 14 when they take in air. When they die, they stop absorbing it. Radiocarbon dating measures the decay of this carbon, and from it, the time that has passed since the living thing died. You can use this method for soil, plants, seeds, shells, textiles, and the remains of both humans and animals. But you cannot use it for projectile points because the stone they are made from was never alive.
Fortunately, relative dating can be just as accurate. This is the method I used. It involved matching the projectile points with similar artifacts from others sites whose absolute dates are known. Through this process, the collection was show to contain projectile points belonging to cultures that were around up to 5,000 years ago.
Late Archaic Projectile Points
The oldest artifacts belonged to the Late Archaic Period, which ran from 5000 BC to 3000 BC. During that time, Native Americans in Connecticut sustained themselves by foraging for nuts, fruits, and wild plants, as well as hunting deer and other small mammals and fishing. They processed their food by baking, roasting, and drying it. They lived in seasonal base camps with smaller temporary campsites along the Connecticut and Farmington Rivers.
There were two distinct populations at the time. The first, the Laurentian people, settled near rivers and lakes. They resided in base camps with man-made pole structures, but also occupied seasonal rock shelters and temporary open-air camps. These rock shelters can still be found across Connecticut at sites such as Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth and Peoples State Forest in Barkhamsted.
The projectile points from this time are called Brewerton Notched Points. They are identified by notches on their stems, a slightly concave base, and an expanded stem. They were primarily used as spear points for hunting large mammals, though some were also used as knives. Most of the projectile points from Connecticut were made of quartz and chert. They are also commonly found in New England, New York, and the Ohio Valley.
The other population from this time, the Narrow Point people, settled in various micro-environments – open-air camps, quarries, highlands, shell middens, and rock shelters. Their lithics include Lamoka and Squibnocket points made of local quartz and quartzite. Lamoka points are small, with an expanding stem and straight base. Like the Laurentian points, they are found in New England and the Ohio Valley and were used as dart points attached to a spear. Squibnocket points can be either stemmed or triangular. The stemmed points are thin with a long stem and a base that curves outward. The triangular points can be equilateral or isosceles, with a concave base. Both types were used as dart points attached to spears.
Points From The Terminal Archaic
During the Terminal Archaic period, which ran from 3000 BC to 1000 BC, Native Americans expanded trading along the rivers and coasts of Connecticut to obtain exotic materials from distant regions. The two main traditions were the Narrow Point Tradition and the Susquehanna/Broad Spear Tradition. Although they belong to the same time period, archaeologists continue to debate whether the two traditions were truly separate, as they had been in the Late Archaic.
The Narrow Point people were descendants of the Late Archaic, living in similar dwellings and areas as their predecessors, with their camps organized by labor. They continued to use Squibnocket and Lamoka points with spears launched by an atlatl.
The Susquehanna/Broad Spear tradition evolved from the Laurentian tradition. Peoples from this tradition settled near rivers and lakes, which made trading easier. They were known for their Snook Kill and Orient points, which were used as knives, scrapers, and spears.
The Late Woodland Era
A few projectile points were also found dating to the Late Woodland period, which spans the years 1000 BC to 1500 AD. During this time, the indigenous people settled in permanent, year-round settlements where they grew crops and hunted small mammals. They often lived near marshlands and estuaries, and developed extensive trade networks with European settlers that spanned most of North America. Their main crops were corn, beans, and squash, also known as the “three sisters.” Food was cooked in clay vessels.
This is the period when projectile points began to be used as true arrowheads. The Levanna point, one of the earliest examples of this, was attached to an arrow shot by a bow. These points can be recognized by their straight edges and concave bases:
We also found drill points, knives, and scrapers in the Barnes Museum collection. Drill points and awls had many uses. Traditionally they were employed to burr holes in wood for furniture. They were also used to make holes in clothing and for sewing. They were often reworked from projectile points that had became dull and no longer had enough material to sharpen.
Scrapers and knives had related purposes. A scraper would help cut the fatty tissue away from an animal hide so that the hide could be used as textiles. They were also employed for woodworking. Knives could also serve as scrapers, but unlike scrapers, they were used for hunting, skinning animals, and cutting meat:
This collection of projectile points not only reflects Bradley Barnes’s passion for preserving history but also provides a rare window into the lifeways of Connecticut’s earliest inhabitants. As tools used for hunting, farming, and daily survival they offer evidence of evolving trade networks and cultural traditions, and tell a story that stretches back thousands of years. By uncovering and studying them, we ensure that the voices of the region’s Native American past remain part of the broader history preserved within the Barnes Museum.
