Matthew Picarelli-Kombert

Exposure to the impact that working with descendant community members can have during an archaeological excavation, this in Lithuania in 2017, encouraged Matthew to change his major focus on archaeology. His next work -- field schools dealing with the Pequot War in 2018 (esp. at Calluna Hill In Mystic, CT), and the Pilgrim settlement in Plymouth, MA in 2019 -- solidified this decision.

Matthew is currently working on his Masters thesis at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on the Calluna Hill site. To quote from his Scholarship application, "The site was discovered during an archaeological survey of Pequot War sites, and, in the process, multiple shell middens were identified. These middens are comprised of a wide-ranging assortment of artifacts and shells that offer a view of how shellfish were incorporated into village life. The project will explore what the variability of the shellfish recovered from seven identified shell middens can say about midden formation processes and gathering practices. The species represented suggest shellfish were used primarily as a form of sustenance at Calluna Hill, though there is also some evidence of repurposing for the creation of wampum beads and shell tempered pottery. By investigating the degrees of size and variability between the middens, this project can present a better understanding of Pequot shellfish utilization and deposition patterns during the early 17th century, a period of cultural change and conflict in Southern New England."

The purpose of the Scholarship is to radiocarbon date several botanical samples from the middens. Dating the shell middens will allow him to confidently place them within the Pequot War period as he has hypothesized.