A mine and quarries worked by prehistoric
New England Indians throughout 7000 years

  by Richard Michael Gramly, Ph.D.
(Web page published with permission)

The earliest inhabitants of the White Mountains physiographic province were hunters who knew nothing about raising crops, making pottery, or using metal. Several hundred years after ice-sheets retreated from northern New England, or approximately 11,000 years ago, small bands of hunters camped periodically in favored places along the headwaters of the Androscoggin River. They left evidence of their presence in the form of skillfully made flaked tools of chert (flint). As sources of chert are rare in northern New England and not easily accessible, hunters constantly searched for other stones in good supply that could be substituted for chert.

Mt. Jasper and its outcrops of excellent raw material for making flaked tools passed unnoticed until 7000 years ago or 4000 years after pioneering exploration of the North Country. The stone sought anciently at Mt. Jasper was rhyolite, a variety of igneous rock. It outcrops as a thin seam or dike in metamorphic rocks perched nearly 400 feet above the Androscoggin River valley. The seam is inconspicuous and it must have been discovered accidentally. Once found, its location was not forgotten until firearms and iron tools obtained in trade replaced stone weapons of the Indians. In its heyday Mt. Jasper was visited regularly by Indians, at least every few years and perhaps every season.

The rock sought by Indians at the crest of the mountain is a flow - banded, glassy igneous rock of granitic chemical composition. When fresh, it is gray - green in color. When buried in the soil for centuries or exposed at outcrop, however, it appears heavily weathered and gray-white or cream in color. Rhyolite is tough and when fractured yields a tough edge. Stone implements such as knives, scrapers, drills, and projectile points must have given their makers good service until the quarries at Mt. Jasper or other sources of flakable stone could be visited again.

Chunks of rhyolite weighing as much as 20 pounds were broken off the main mass with the aid of heavy greenstone hammers. Wedges or gads made of perishable materials may also have been employed to lever out the stone. There Is no evidence that Indian miners ever set fires and poured cold water upon hot rock to free it from the outcrop.

The earliest quarrying at Mt. Jasper is marked by a series of shallow pits running along the strike of the rhyolite dike at the crest of the hill. When this supply of easily extracted stone was played out, digging began on the cliff face. The principal excavations were made nearly 100 feet below the broad top of the hill. Gradually an adit was driven over 30 feet deep into solid rock.

A pillar of rock was left to support the roof of the adit - - a wise precaution in light of earth quakes that sometimes occur in the White Mountains. Hundreds of tons of rhyolite were taken from the adit and nearby open pits on the cliff. Although visitors to Mt. Jasper are often skeptical that ancient miners using crude hand tools could remove so much stone, it must not be forgotten that a long period of mining is involved. During the 7000 years that the mine and quarries were worked, an average of only 80 pounds of rhyolite were dug out each year. This small amount would have met the needs of but a few hunters. The slow rate of quarrying at Mt. Jasper is a clear indication that throughout prehistory Indian population of northern New England was low.

Rock from the mine and quarries was transported to workshops for reduction into delicate flaked tools. The oldest workshop is located at the crest of the mountain. At that place, archeological excavations uncovered many thousands of waste flakes discarded during tool-making, hammerstones and unfinished knives and other tools that were rejected because of flaws in the raw material. Other workshops occupied in later periods are sited on the banks of the Dead River seven hundred feet below Mt. Jasper. Excavators uncovered nearly 100,000 pieces of flaked rhyolite at the foot of the hill between 1975 and 1979.

There is no evidence that the Indians remained for long periods at Mt. Jasper. Their work lasted only a few days, and as soon as fresh tools had been manufactured, the hunters departed for camps to the north along the upper Androscoggin River and mountain lakes. Moving on foot or by canoe the Indians carried only enough rhyolite to meet their immediate needs.

The workshops at the crest of Mt. Jasper and along the Dead River have yielded hundreds of worn-out, fine stone tools, Most projectile points show breakage that made them loose in their hafts and requiring replacement. Most of the drills, knives, and scrapers discovered on the workshops have been dulled by heavy usage and show polishing. To the untrained eye these tools appear perfect and usable, but their makers preferred fresh specimens. Many discarded tools are fashioned of stones obtainable at great distance from Mt. Jasper. These artifacts are evidence that Indians of northern New England ranged widely, at least in the late prehistoric period when birchbark canoes were available.
 
 

Excavations at the Mt. Jasper workshops also yielded large, heavy-duty scrapers and chisels made of local rhyolite. These implements were used on the spot to manufacture wooden and antler mining tools, without which work at the mine and quarries would have been impossible.

Support for archeological research at Mt. Jasper was obtained from many sources and volunteer assistance was especially valuable. The 1979 field season was funded by the National Geographic Society, private benefactors, and the New Hampshire Charitable Fund. Private contributions and a welcome matching award from the John H. Pearson Trust enabled an exhibit of artifacts to be installed in the Berlin Public Library.

Far more enduring than the story of archeological research at Mt. Jasper however, are the mine and quarries themselves. For 7000 years visitors have climbed to the top of the mountain to exploit a resource that gave them means to obtain the necessities of life. As we inspect traces of prehistoric industry and admire the skillful creations of earlier peoples, a close bond is forged with the past. We are increasingly aware that countless generations have shared with us the rigors and beauty of the North Country.

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The Mt. Jasper Mine and Sites have been studied further since Dr. Gramly's work in the 1970's and some of the information contained above is not of current beliefs. Researches should look for other works by New Hampshire's Deputy State Archaeologist, Dr. Richard Boisvert, Geologist Steve Pollock, Archaeologist's Nate Hamilton, Arthur Spiess and others.

The Mt. Jasper mine was a source of lithic material for natives throughout New England and it is at least known to be present at the following Sites:

Michaud

Lamoreau

Dam

Hedden

Spiller Farm 4.13

Spiller Farm 39.1

Nicholas

Pt. Sebago

Israel River Complex

Reagan

Bull Brook I

Shattuck Farm

Fairfax Co. VT

DEDIC/Sugarloaf

Neponset (>90%)

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