***THIS PROGRAM IS VIRTUAL ONLY VIA ZOOM***

Paleoindian sites in the Northeast are characterized by dense tool concentrations representing discrete activities that have great potential for defining a wide variety of relationships. Ongoing research in the Northeast is directed toward defining what characteristics may distinguish large social gatherings from accumulations of smaller occupations that occurred over time. The Bull Brook Site located in Ipswich, Massachusetts is one of the largest and seemingly most spatially organized Paleoindian sites in North America, inspiring investigations into large social gatherings and their function. Continuing analysis of artifact distributions combined with a reconstructed site map reveals contrasting activity patterns between interior and exterior portions of the ring as well as around the ring, contributing to the interpretation that the occupation represents a highly-organized, planned event.

About the presenter:

Ms. Jennifer Ort's archaeological experience began in the White Mountains of New Hampshire at the New Hampshire State Conservational and Rescue Archaeology Program (SCRAP) in 1996. Over the course of the past 20+ years, Ms. Ort has worked in the Cultural Resource Management sector before recently changing careers as an archaeologist working in government services for Horne. Ms. Ort received her MS from the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine Orono in 2012 where her research focused on an intensive analysis of the Bull Brook I site under the guidance of Dr. Brian Robinson.