Finding Shells

[GrouseMan]

Question on shells. I live near the coast in Delaware. I've only been on one dig and found some flakes and chips. Nearby, I found random clam shell fragments about 6 to 12" deep. I recently got permission on another property that seems like it would be good. The owner said when they were digging a post hole, they pulled up some clam shell bits.

My question is, when you find clam shells buried in the soil like this, are they indicative of old Native American land use? Or is there some natural process that random clam shell bits end up in the soil?

[LongStride]

We see muscle shells imbeded in the layers of charcoal and flakes here

[OnewiththewilD]

Could be, but if your on old farmland, it could also be from a garden or a chicken coop too. But buried deep, yeah its a good sign your around a site

[Hoss]

Farmers add clam shells to chiken feed , calcium helps with the eggshell production.A lot gets tossed when they clean out the coop.

[Hoss]

I have found quahaug clam shells on an upland site in CT. 42 miles up river from Long Island Sound. They were found in a small pit on a woodland era site. Shell fish for coastal tribes was a mainstay of the diet. It should be noted too that in spring they would plant gardens, some would stay behind in the winter camps tending the gardens planted there. Others went to the shore for the abundance of seafoods available. In late fall on warm days after the first frost the ones that went to the beach moved back to the winter camps . This exodus of people moving inland during warm days after the first frost gave birth to the name Indian summer .

[Jethro355]

We find LOTS of muscle shell in Mississippian trash pits.
sometimes it looks like that’s all they ate for a while.

[Kaz]

Here on Long Island I know of quite a few places where you can see shell middens up the hill in the woods away from the shore.

[awassamog]

I found them in 2 places in mass uplands, snails and larger clam type shells...could be freshwater types Im not sure...surface