Today, we visited the Pascack Historical Society Museum which is located in Park Ridge, New Jersey. I learned a lot about the Native Americans that lived right here in this area! Take a look at the pictures below to see the artifacts of the Lenape Native Americans.
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Here are Suzanne and I arriving at the Museum. Did you know that for hundreds of years, the land that Aunt Sharon's house stands on today, was once occupied by the Lenape Indians? Suzanne showed me a book written by Mr. Howard I. Durie called The Kakiat Patent in Bergen County New Jersey which shows a map where her house is today. Mr. Durie said that this "...land in all of its glory - wild, bountiful, clean and free - describes the scene which for countless centuries remained unchanged." The Indians took great care of the land and lived here in harmony with nature.
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The curator of the Museum, who is the person that identifies and takes care of objects in a museum, showed us a box of new artifacts that were donated to the Pascack Historical Society. Look at the very long item that looks like a rock in the left hand side of the box. This item is called a pestle. It is a long, heavy stone with round ends. The pestle was used along with a bowl called a mortar. The mortar was carved out of a tree trunk. The pestle and mortar were used by the Lenape people to pound corn, seeds, dried meats and berries into "meal" or flour. This was how they prepared their food!
Brendan, this is the best part. The pestle was from 4000 B.C. That makes the item over 6000 years old! |
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Look at the two stones pictured on the left. One is very big with a dent in the top. The other is much smaller and it fits inside of the dent of the big rock. Imagine that the Lenape placed some corn that they harvested in the dent of the big stone. What would happen if they pounded the small rock against the corn? The corn could would become like the corn meal we buy a the store today. The big stone is called a millingstone. The small stone is called a muller. The curator believes that the stones date as far back as 6000 B.C. This means that the Lenape carved and used the millingstone and muller over 8000 years ago! |
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This is a gourd bowl and
dipper. A gourd is a type of vegetable. After the Lenape ate the inside of the gourd, they hollowed it out to make a bowl. The dipper is made out of a smaller gourd. The lenape carved the dipper through the side of the small gourd. Then, they carved a decoration into the surface of the gourds to make a design. Can you imagine the Lenape by the side of a stream, dipping the gourd in the water and drinking from the dipper? |
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Look at the clay pot in this picture. This was probably made by the Lenape to hold or store food. The stones on the right are called perforators or gravers. These were used to punch holes in dried animal skins for sewing or to engrave designs in something such as the gourd and dipper. The Lenape had to make all of their own tools. |
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Here is a tray made out of the bark of a Birch tree. It was sewn together with the Basswood Fiber that you see to the left of the tray. The wooden spoon and dipper that you see to the right of the tray were carved by the Lenape and used to prepare their food. |
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The Lenape had to hunt for their food. That is why they made bows, arrows, spears and knives. Here is an arrow head attached to a stick with the same Basswood Fiber that held the animal skin tray together. The hoe pictured here is made of a sharpened rock that was tied to a small branch. The Lenape collected seeds and planted gardens which contained vegetables such as gourds and corn. |
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Look at the Beaver Tooth Carving Tool. The Lenape took a tooth of a beaver and attached it to a stick using the Basswood Fiber. The tool was probably used to carve the wooden bowl and spoon. |
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The two signs pictured here describe the life of the Lenape Tribe. They were hunters, growers and gatherers. They hunted bear and deer, grew corn and vegetables and gathered nuts and berries to eat.
The Lenape created longhouses which were built by placing long branches across from one another. The branches were bent and tied into place. The house was coverd by the bark of trees. The Lenape kept warm by using bear fur blankets. More than one family could live in a longhouse. |
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Look at these cute moccasins! The Lenape had to make their own clothing. These shoes were made out of deer skin. Can you imagine a young Lenape playing by a stream or helping Mom gather berries and nuts for dinner? |
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The Lenape had to make their own toys too. Here is a doll made out of a corn husk. The husk is the part of the corn that you take off before you boil the corn for dinner. Maybe a little Lenape girl played with this doll outside her longhouse. She did not have her own room since the whole family lived together in one long room. |
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This is a model of a dugout canoe. The Lenape used canoes to travel on the streams and rivers. They hollowed out a log and carved oars from branches.
The rope to the right of the canoe is a model of what the Lenape would use to carry heavy things. |
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The Lenape believed that everything had a spirit, including every animal, plant and rock. That is why they had rituals that they did at certain times. A ritual is something a person does to support their belief in something. They had rituals for when the corn was planted or when they wanted to honor the good spirits around them. |
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This is a water drum that the Lenape might have used during one of their rituals.
I can only guess why this is called a water drum. Did you ever fill drinking glasses with different levels of water and tap the sides of the glasses with a spoon? Each glass produces a different sound, depending on how much water is in the glass. What if the Lenape had several drums which were made of a hollowed out logs? If the Lenape filled each drum with a different amount of water, then each drum would produce a different sound.
Can you think of another reason why this instrument is called a water drum? |
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Here is a corn husk mask. This was woven out of husks just like the corn husk doll. This was probably used by the Lenape in a ritual to drive away any bad spirits. |
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This is an Effigy Face carved into a stone. An effigy is a figure carved to represent a spirit that the Lenape did not like, and wanted to remove from their village. |
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This is a medicine bag used by the a person called a shaman. A shaman is a person who was thought to have more powers of the spirits than most people. This bag, made of an animal skin, contains tools made from animal teeth and other animal parts to heal sick people. |
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The Lenape lived in peace and harmony with nature until the settlers came from Europe.
The Europeans were very interested in the beaver furs which were hunted and prepared by the Lenape.
Here I am standing in front of a beaver pelt which the Lenape traded with the settlers from Europe. The Europeans sent the pelts back to their homeland to be made into clothing and hats. |
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What did the Lenape want in return for their beaver pelts? The Lenape did not have money as we know it today. But they did have something that they used as money. It was called wampum.
Wampum are beads made of shells and are placed on a string. The wampum could be worn by the Lenape, but was used as money. Do you see the item in the picture that looks like a necklace? This is a strand of wampum. The beads in the cases were probably strung together at one time. |
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The wampum was made from the inner layer of conch shells. Here are some beautiful examples of conch shells at the museum. Do you see the shiny layer of pink in the shell on the left, and the shiny layer of blue in the shell to the top right? This was the "Mother of Pearl" layer of the shell. It was scraped off and made into wampum. The shell on the right bottom had its mother of pearl layer scraped off.
Conch shells are found on the shore of an ocean. The Lenape had to travel many miles to reach the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. That is one reason why the wampum was so valuable to the Lanape. |
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Even though the sign in front of this machine says 1869, the curator of the museum thinks that it was invented much earlier than that. This is the only wampum machine in the world. It was invented by one of the European settlers to punch holes in the mother of pearl layer of conch shells and to create strands of wampum to be traded with the Lenape. |
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Here is another box of new artifacts which will be identified by the curator and displayed at the museum. Based on what you learned from this page, can you identify what the different rocks were probably used for? |
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Now, I will go back to Suzanne's house to prepare for more adventures! I will write soon.
Love,
Flat Brendan |
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The photographs of the artifacts were taken by Sharon Mistretta and are being utilized through the courtesy of the Pascack Historical Society Musuem. |
