Early and Middle Archaic Site Distribution in Western Maine

Recent survey and excavation projects in western Maine have greatly expanded knowledge of the distribution and frequency of recognized Early and Middle Archaic artifact types. Comparison of Maine data with those from southern New England indicate significant differences in settlement density and location, despite very similar lithic technologies. The Maine data provide convincing evidence for coastal use during Middle Archaic times and suggestive evidence for Early Archaic use of the coast as well. Occupation of both low altitude and high-altitude (over 350 m) lake and river systems, with settlement focused upon lake inlets and outlets, also occurred during both periods. Thus, altitude does not appear to be a critical variable in limiting environmental use and productivity as previous authors have implied for Massachusetts. We hypothesize that the lower number of Early Archaic points reflects lower human populations during Early Archaic times than during Middle Archaic times due to environmental constraints.