Ken Feder next to the red-blazed Walt Landgraff Trail in People's Forest in Barkhamsted, CT. This was on an AMC hike organized and led by Margaret Johansson of Canton, CT. Margaret brought in three experts: Ken Feder who teaches archaeology at Central State University, Paul Hart an expert in the history of Barkhamsted, and Marc Banks who is a professional archaeologists who does archeological surveys for people planning on developing land.
Archaeologist Ken Feder showing a soapstone rock in People's Forest from which Indians cut pieces that they made into vessels. He's showing where the Indians had begun to cut off a piece that they could make into a bowl. 41.924843,-72.977429
Ken Feder explaining that Indians used this natural shelter as a workplace where they shaped soapstone into vessels until 2,850 years ago, when they were introduced to pottery. This is at the end of the red-blazed trail. 41.924409,-72.978512
Ken Feder showing where Indians had almost finished cutting off a piece of the soapstone that they could make into a bowl.
Ken Feder showing where Indians had begun to shape the rock so that they could cut off a piece which they could shape into a bowl.
Ken Feder showing a quartzite rock from which Indians cut pieces from which they made tools for cutting soapstone. 41.923808,-72.978024
Below is a screenshot of the map view you can get to with this link:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=soapstone%2C%20connecticut#map=19/41.92442/-72.97756 .
You can see the locations of the three soapstone boulders from which soapstone was quarried several thousand years ago, the overhang under which the soapstone was shaped into vessels, and the quartzite boulder from which tools where chipped off. Ken Feder told us that, several thousand years ago, local Indians switched from soapstone to pottery.
David Reik
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