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Open Access

Open Access


Abstract Monhantic Fort was a late seventeenth century fortified village located on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in southeastern Connecticut and was occupied between 1675-1680 during the time of King Philip’s War. The objectives of this study are to reconstruct Pequot behaviors related to production, maintenance, use, and discard of gunflints and other lithic tools made from European flint at Monhantic Fort and further if their patterns of manufacture and technologies were altered through contact with Europeans. As a number of the lithic tools, including the gunflints, recovered at Monhantic Fort had similar morphologies it was first necessary to determine exactly what the tools were. This was accomplished by studying the use wear present on the tools, comparing what was found to known examples, and determining use wear patterns that could be used for identifying specific types of artifacts. In order to determine the methods of production used by the Mashantucket Pequot to produce gunflints an analysis of the debitage assemblage was completed. Additionally, experimental production and use of gunflints was undertaken and an analysis of that debitage assemblage was completed and used for comparison. Also, analysis of the lithic tools and debitage from a contemporary European site was undertaken and used for comparison. Locations of production and discard of lithic tools were used to help determine if manufacturing patterns were altered due to European contact.