Now, archaeologists in Connecticut are investigating an attack organized by Pequet Warriors, a small town at the center of the conflict, which is related to the rapid growth of the number of British colonists in this area.
1637 attacked the Puritan colonists in Withersfield, Connecticut, less than 1622 attacked Jamestown, Virginia-only nine colonists were killed, while hundreds of people were killed in Jamestown. However, the conflict in Withersfield turned into the Peckett War in New England, which led to the Mystery River Massacre in May 1637. In that massacre, an army composed of colonists and their native American allies killed about 500 people, effectively destroying the Pector tribe. [See photos of Pekke war relics]
The conflict instilled a deep fear in European settlers of Native American tribes, which will last for centuries and affect the treatment of Native Americans in the following years, said Lyell Charles, director of the Weber Dean Stevens Museum in vitesse Field, Connecticut.
The excavation revealed the cultural relics occupied in the early17th century. (Lyell Charles/Weber Dean Stevens Museum) In other words, this fear of Indian attack really occupied the whole world and occupied New England for the rest of the17th century. "People are really afraid of Indian attacks," Lyle told Live Science.
This museum consists of three historical buildings built in18th century. But now, the archaeological investigation of the museum site has found traces of occupation, which can be traced back to the Pector attack more than 0/00 years ago.
The items found include window glass, household pottery, iron clothes hooks and buttons, as well as trade items, including native American stems and about 20 shell beads called "wampum", which were used as currency by native Americans and settlers.
Lyle said that the excavation also found fragments of the defensive fence built on the property before and after the 1637 Withersfield massacre, which showed the increasingly tense relationship between British settlers and Native Americans in the area. When Pequet was attacked,
During the Pekke War, Pekke people were particularly worried about the increasing number of British settlers in the area and the land they occupied as homes, fields and livestock. He said:
Historians have noticed that the food supply in this area was severely damaged by a severe hurricane several years ago, which is now called the Great Colonial Hurricane 1635.
The cultural relics unearthed from the museum site span over 300 years, from the beginning of17th century to the 1920s (Lyell Charles/Weber Dean Stevens Museum).
Lyle said: "I think there have been some problems in the reliable food supply in this area during this period." The early Indians helped the settlers to trade with them, providing corn and venison. "But (British) colonists are now farming. They don't trade with Indians like the Dutch-they try to grow their own crops and domesticate cattle. "
Friction reached its peak on April 23rd. 1637. About 200 soldiers attacked Withersfield, one of the earliest colonial towns in New England. According to historical records,
Six men and three women in Withersfield were killed, and two girls were killed and kidnapped; Pector warriors also deliberately killed dozens of horses and cows, which was regarded as a warning to other settlers.
Although these girls were later repatriated with the intervention of Dutch businessmen, the Peckett murder in Withersfield led to the mysterious massacre and Peckett War. The war lasted until September, 1638, and the last few Pequites fled the area.
According to the discovery of Weber Dean Stevens Museum, colonial cultural relics pushed the archaeological work of this site back to the earliest historical record of European colonies settling in North America. Ross Harper said that senior historical archaeologists were excavated by archaeological teams that were conducting archaeological investigations.
The17th century cultural relics unearthed from this site include a diamond-shaped glass plate (middle), a window lead and two copper nails. (Ross Harper /PAST) "This is a period that we really don't know much about," Harper told Life Science. The sites in this period, especially in New England, are very rare, so this is a very important discovery.
The excavation work was carried out before the construction of the museum's education center. Harper said that the project will be carried out this year and archaeologists will continue to dig other parts of the land.
So far, the project has been funded by the American Colonial Maids Association, which owns the Weber Dean Stevens Museum, and Connecticut.
Archaeological excavation also found traces of trade activities in the site, although archaeologists could not judge whether the trade occurred before or after the 1637 Pector attack. Several small coins from the colonial period were found, including a coin from the reign of James I in the early 7th century A.D./KLOC-0 and a string of wamu shell beads.
Harper said: "The British were very dependent on Native Americans in the early days, especially in terms of food. [But] Native Americans don't want coins. What they want is wampum or other trade goods that they think are valuable. "
However, he said, the remains of the wooden fence wall in the17th century also showed that settlers were worried about Indian attacks.
"We can't really say Harper:" For example, whether it was built before or after the Pecai War, but the whole period from 1630 to 1640 was a very challenging and violent period for the people concerned, for Native Americans and for all different European groups. "However, when we do more work, we are likely to be able to answer this question.
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