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  • Marsh or swamp camps

    Just got to thinking does anyone find sites around or related to swamps or marshes. I was thinking about just how many varieties of edible plants like cattails, arrowroot, pond lilies, wild rice, etc. just to name a few. also there is so many edible critters that would be easy to catch like frogs, turtles, fish, clams, snakes, waterfowl and their eggs, not to mention fur bearing edibles like beaver and muskrats. It seems to me that a marsh would be like a smorgasbord for natives. I know that I were ever to get stranded out in the wilderness long enough to badly need food that's where I'd make camp. Has any one here ever looked around such areas or walked plowed fields by swamps where there were no other water bodies or creeks.

  • #2
    Well, a marsh is a blessing & a curse. Lol! Here in coastal VA most of our Chesapeake Bay beaches are backed by salt marshes & brackish ponds. There are a number of edible plants growing there, and crabbing & clamming are excellent. NA used to raid marsh bird nests for eggs as well, although most are protected now, as well as turtles. The downside is the flying pests that live there also. Horseflies as big as your thumb. Green head flies that bite like a bitch. Midges & mosquito swarms, ticks, and vipers.
    Since I don't have to rely on a marsh for food, my beach hints end in late May/early June when the pests arrive in force & don't resume again until fall. It's a brave soul who ventures there in summer.
    Child of the tides

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    • rock ON.
      rock ON. commented
      Editing a comment
      You got that right about the bugs but where we live live there's no way to escape them other than to go inside and since I wont put on that deet stuff and have to work outside I've just learned to tolerate them and try to stay in open areas in the day cause they love the shade of the bush. I guess that's what the N.A.'s had to do too.

  • #3
    I always heard that many paleo sites were next to swamps or wetlands. I have had pretty good luck hunting high sandy ridges that border swamps. You have to wonder how much the wetlands or low areas have changed over the last 12000 years. I doubt they resemble what they are now.

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    • #4
      Yes, not only swamps or marshes that have been here in modern times but in fields that likely had marshes or swamps many thousands of years ago. You should develop an "eye" for being able to see (imagine) what the landscape looked like over 10,000 years ago. Most freshwater swamps or marshes (except for saltmarshes that Deb/Havenhunter may be referring to) are the result of the aging process of lakes. As they fill in over thousands of years they go from lake to swamp or marsh and then to dry land given enough time. Also, remember that climate has changed over the thousands of years, also. So the type of plants that were growing around some of these lakes is not the same as are growing there now. People that live in formerly glaciated areas such as where you live have an abundance of lakes, ponds, marshes, etc where the early North Americans may have had camps, villages or hunting areas. And as for saltmarshes, what today is a marsh was dry, firm land 12,000 years ago. At the last glacial maximum the sea was 300 feet lower (more or less) than it is today.

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      • #5
        This is good info to know to broaden my search areas I will now be keeping my eyes peeled for spots with low lying areas or basins that might be indicative of ancient swamps or shallow lakes that were once there. Thanks for the helpful replies.

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        • #6
          Same here. We live on a 76A fresh water pond with a beaver dam & swamp at one end. Then we added a backyard pool and the green heads in the swamp said Hello! June is the worst month for the little buggers. Bought electric swatters & the little suckers can survive multiple zaps. This year we're building s screened pavilion. Have I mentioned I hate flies?
          Child of the tides

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          • rock ON.
            rock ON. commented
            Editing a comment
            Wow 76 acre pond! that's a small lake, do you have or stock fish in it? I have 3 ponds on my property the biggest is only 5 acres but it's too shallow to support fish bigger than minnows though our 1 acre front pond is deep enough to support bass.

        • #7
          It's an 18th colonial-era millpond with parts of the old mill still standing. There's approx. two dozen land owners who border the pond. We have about 275 ft of pond frontage. It's stocked with big mouth bass (catch & release), blue gill & crappie. It's considered "tidal" because the spillway empties into s tidal creek. The osprey & Bald eagles love it.
          Child of the tides

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          • #8
            Our small farm backs up to a small mill pond and swamp too. The pond is about 5-6 acres. The deer flies or yellow flies are an absolute nightmare during the hot months. I won't wear deet either. But I have found a spray that is eucalyptus and lemon, plant based called REPEL. It is quite fragrant but it absolutely works. I bet the natives had ways to combat the bugs. They likely didn't attract them as much as the modern American with our deodorants, shampoo, soap smells,etc. Covering the skin with mud, plant oils, smoke scent, I bet they figured out simple things that worked. I've always noticed the bugs swarm to my wife instead of me, and I always assumed it was because she smells so good, and I stink!

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            • rock ON.
              rock ON. commented
              Editing a comment
              Good to know I'm going to write that down. Thanks.

            • Havenhunter
              Havenhunter commented
              Editing a comment
              I'll give it a try. The flies drive our dog into a frenzy when we're at the pool. Funny thing-- last year we replaced our 4 sliding doors & opted for impact resistant doors because of hurricanes. The green light spectrum of the glass drove the green heads crazy! They would drive bomb the glass so hard they would stun themselves & while they lay there helpless I'd hit them with the electric zapper. 😆 Almost as satisfying as finding a point!

          • #9
            Swamps were great places to hide too. But then again bad for some people. The Pequots did not fare well when they tried to hide out in July 1637 down in Fairfield CT. here is a brief account available on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfield_Swamp_Fight

            I know of more than one site adjacent to swamps.
            TN formerly CT Visit our store http://stores.arrowheads.com/store.p...m-Trading-Post

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            • Bloody Fourth
              Bloody Fourth commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks Hoss, I enjoyed that read.

          • #10
            Great discussion, swamp/marsh/wetlands are close nearby most of the places ive found artifacts. I agree that today's swamp or meadow was likely a lake or pond at times in prehistory. Is there a ridgeline or hill to the north/east? Where is/was the outlet? Weve got an extended deep freeze this week in new England, a safe time to explore normally inaccessible areas. We've got snow cover though, but deep freeze without snow is the time to take a closer look at wetlands. I've never made the effort to hike in and look, but I bet islands within swamps/wetlands were used

            Location - Eastern Massachu

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            • #11
              We have some swamps where every single tiny higher spot is loaded.
              Professor Shellman
              Tampa Bay

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              • #12
                I am from Deep South Florida off of alligator alley in the ever glades ..... the camp sites down where I am from are all built on giant living mounds .... it is all low land and completely flat so during the rainy season everything is flooded ...
                As for me and my house , we will serve the lord

                Everett Williams ,
                NW Arkansas

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                • #13
                  I've driven across alligator ally, I recall seeing signs for an Indian reservation. I'd love to know how they adapted to travel in there, if canoes couldn't manage
                  Location - Eastern Massachu

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                  • #14
                    Originally posted by awassamog View Post
                    Great discussion, swamp/marsh/wetlands are close nearby most of the places ive found artifacts. I agree that today's swamp or meadow was likely a lake or pond at times in prehistory. Is there a ridgeline or hill to the north/east? Where is/was the outlet? Weve got an extended deep freeze this week in new England, a safe time to explore normally inaccessible areas. We've got snow cover though, but deep freeze without snow is the time to take a closer look at wetlands. I've never made the effort to hike in and look, but I bet islands within swamps/wetlands were used
                    Yes, for sure islands were used. An island within the Great Swamp, South Kingstown, RI, was the site of the Narragansett Winter camp/fortification. It had a stockade built around it. A native traitor led the United Colonies army to its location. The ensuing battle/massacre in December, 1675, led to the deaths of perhaps hundreds of mostly women, children, and older men of the Narragansett. Many colonial troops died of their wounds on the long, long march, in a raging blizzard, back to Wickford, RI. I'm pretty sure local archaeologists have pinpointed the location of the fort in fairly recent years. It is also a certainty that the Narragansett have always known the true location, and kept that knowledge to themselves. In general, adjacent to swamps and marshes, areas rich in resources, are good areas to hunt....

                    Rhode Island

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                    • Allioco
                      Allioco commented
                      Editing a comment
                      CMD, you seem very knowledgable about Rhode Island history. Would you happen to know anything about the significance of the caves at the Yawgoog Boy Scout Camp?

                    • CMD
                      CMD commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Allioco, I assume you’re referring to what are known as Dinosaur caves. No, I know nothing specific about them. Have been there, but it has been years. Of course, they are not true caves, or caverns. They would make good rock shelters, and likely were in the prehistoric past, but it would be illegal to poke around in them by disturbing the soil in search of artifacts. I had an uncle who told me he and other scouts found points in Yawgoog Pond, but that was close to 100 years ago now. I am unaware of any info in the professional literature involving Dinosaur Caves. Most of the names applied to features in and around the Boy Scout camp are just fanciful, designed to excite the imagination of young boys.

                    • Allioco
                      Allioco commented
                      Editing a comment
                      CMD, yes, I was referring to the Dinosaur Caves. I have heard rumors about petroglyphs found in or amongst the rocks. I enjoy hiking in the area and have looked for the petroglyphs, but I believe they must be within the shelter, which I would never dare enter. As much as I would enjoy looking for artifacts there, I would never disrupt the land. I have other places in mind in southern RI that I would like to search in the quest to find my first arrowhead.

                      Would you happen to know if there are any local groups or clubs that meet to search for artifacts in RI? I am just starting out and would enjoy observing those of you who know what you are doing and possibly learn some techniques and tips.

                  • #15
                    I was wondering if any of you have techniques for actually hunting IN THE Swamp. Under the muck and brackish water. I think there must be sine amazing artifacts down there. What do you all think?

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