Archaeologists have found traces of other Native American dwellings in Maryland. One in Cumberland was dated to around 1500. Two in Montgomery County were dated to the late 1300s, Luckenbach said.
But the carbon 14 dating on charcoal from the Pig Point site placed it a century earlier.
Other oval patterns in the pit are even deeper, suggesting occupations over several centuries. Some Middle Woodland pottery fragments found there date to between 200 and 900, Luckenbach said. And a few serrated arrowheads date to the Archaic period, perhaps 8,000 years ago, indicating that people have been attracted to the spot for thousands of years.
And why not? Food remains found in a second excavation at the site confirm that Pig Point provided its residents a bountiful sustenance.
The bluff stands about 50 feet above a lazy bend in the Patuxent River. The surrounding wetlands would have provided tuckahoe, a wetland plant whose roots, after hours of cooking, could be dried and ground to make bread or soup.
Among the food waste that archaeologists and their summer interns found are the bones of fish, turtles and deer; the shells of freshwater clams; and traces of hickory nuts, grape seeds, acorns and corn.
Luckenbach said the work at Pig Point will continue. "Until we stop finding buildings, and ceramic pots from Mars, we're not going to stop," he said.
Curry said the importance of the site would argue for its preservation beyond this season's dig. Future expansion of the excavations and improved technology might someday extract more knowledge from the site than is now possible, he said.
