2. The north end of Lake Sebasticook is the site of the fish weir complex.
3. Aerial photo of Sebasticook Lake after the Fall draw down. The Alder
Brook channel is clearly visible, giving us an idea of water levels during
prehistoric times.
4. • With a caloric value six times that of any other
freshwater fish, the eel was a prized catch, tasting
somewhat like chicken, though quite bony.
(home.gwi.net/~fks/listingpetition.html)
5. The 1991 draw down exposed a series of stakes driven into the stream bed.
Upon further investigation 142 stakes where identified and mapped.
6. The first indication that the site dated back to the late archaic period
was the presence of stakes cut with stone tools.
7. The 1992 draw down revealed a more elaborate site then previously suspected. The
lower water levels of 1992 revealed a total of 630 stakes and archaeologists concluded
this to be a fish weir complex not merely a fish weir site.
14. Samples from the fish weir complex for study. Some of the stakes have carbon dating
chips removed, to be used in the carbon dating process.
15. Investigation into the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the shoreline. Organic
material found in the core sample can be used in the dating process.
16. Bangor Daily News
article on the
Sebasticook Lake fish
weir complex.
19. Think like and
archaeologist!!
•What can we
determine about
this family?
•What items
would last several
hundred years or
more?
•What might an
interrupted trend
tell us?
Editor's Notes
Weir – A small dam or fence set in a stream or stream channel.
The Fall draw down puts the lake closer to its prehistoric levels.
Luke Wheeler 4’10” tall / Eels are catadromous. Atlantic Salmon are anadromonous.
1991 draw down revealed some of the remaining stakes of the weir.
Stake cut with a stone tool.
1992 Draw down determined it was a complex not a site.
142 stakes mapped after 1991 draw done. 1992 draw down revealed more stakes with a total of 630 mapped with GPS coordinates.
Stake cut with a steel tool.
Fish weir stake
Carbon cycle
Carbon dating chip
Fish weir stakes collected at the site.
Core samples taken from the stream bed to investigate stratigraphy and the sedimentology of the shoreline.
Bangor Daily News article on the fish weir.
Gouge found at the site of the fish weir
Artifacts found at the fish weir site.
Get a notebook or piece of paper. The picture on the right is the garbage from 502 South Main Street. Carefully observe the artifacts deposited in the trash. What do they tell you about the residents of this house?Suppose you have been examining this family’s garbage bag each week for a year and it always contained an average of eight soda cans a week. Suddenly one week, the cans stop appearing in the garbage. What reasons can you think of to explain this change?How many of the items shown would survive if they were buried in the ground for two hundred years? If you analyzed only those artifacts that still remained, would you change your conclusions about the residents of 502 South Main Street?
