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Whaleback Shell Midden State Historic Site

Damariscotta, United States of America

Whaleback Shell Midden State Historic Site

Whaleback Shell Midden is a shell midden consisting primarily of oyster shells located on the east side of the Damariscotta River in Maine, United States. It is preserved as a Maine state historic site and was included as part of the Damariscotta Oyster Shell Heaps listed on the National Register of

Historic Places in 1969. Other shell middens are located on the estuary in both Damariscotta and Newcastle. The middens in this area were formed over about 1,000 years between 200 BC to AD 1000. Maine's indigenous people consider shell middens to be more than refuse heaps, and have asserted that middens are also landmarks and place markers that represent the continued occupation of sites over thousands of years. The midden originally had three main layers of shells. In the bottom two layers, individual shells were generally 5–8 inches (10–20 cm) long. These two layers are separated by a layer of soil, and the middle layer is mixed with animal bones. The top layer contains smaller shells. Artifacts unearthed lead scientists to believe that successive tribes of prehistoric people used the area. The top layer was deposited by members of the Abenaki tribes that fished in the area in the summer...

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