Uncovering The Collection Of Cleon Crowell

BREWSTER – For Cape Codders, home holds a lot of history. Artifacts found here can help archaeologists unearth new lifeways of past civilizations and extraregional connections. But due to the rise in sea levels, it can be difficult to find evidence of a complete history dating back centuries. 

The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is home to the Cleon Crowell Native American Artifact Collection containing hundreds of stone tools and ceramic sherds that span over 10,000 years. On Dec. 2 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., the museum is hosting an event with Archaeologist Dan Zoto to present the collection and his findings. 

Cleon Crowell is a well-known name on the Lower Cape. His father, Elmer Crowell, is one of the world’s most renowned decorative bird carvers, having sold pieces for over $1 million. Cleon grew up in Harwich, working six days a week at his father’s barn making decoys. 

According to Zoto, Cleon was also an avid collector. He “surface collected and dug Native American sites in the towns of Chatham, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans and Eastham” during the 20th century. Because he lived in the area, he was most active in Chatham and Harwich.

Cleon also kept a journal that was paired with the collection, where he cataloged his findings and wrote general ideas. Zoto said that about half of the collection was labeled with corresponding journal logs and in some instances, he would note the general location of his findings, such as Pleasant Bay or Muddy Cove. 

The collection itself can be broken down into two categories: stone tools and ceramic sherds. 

Zoto noted that the stone tools are almost all complete formal tools, an impressive quality that archaeologists don’t come across regularly. They were likely used for hunting or butchering, really anything that a knife would be used for today. 

Sherds are ceramic pieces that come from the typical Native ceramic pot. Most pots were used for cooking, holding liquid or general storage. “Some of those are more decorated than others, and the decorations on them will give you an indication of their age, sometimes cultural affiliations, although I think most of the ceramic designs on the Cape are probably pretty similar across the whole region,” said Zoto. 

Five artifacts in the collection are 9,000 or more years old. When analyzing the collection, Zoto said this was a surprising finding because it’s much harder to find old sites given the population density-to-land-mass ratio at that time.

“Archaeologists divide the past into arbitrary slices of time and there are artifacts that are considered diagnostic to each one of those slices of time,” said Zoto. With this framework, he was able to make inferences on specific pieces of the collection and identify periods of time where civilizations had preferences for certain stones which then speaks to their movements.

“The collection is part of the museum’s permanent collection and will remain in Brewster,” said Kate Roderick, the CCMNH curator. 

Zoto is a cultural resource management archeologist with formal training in Native American stone tools and ceramic artifacts. He has also learned the methods for lithic analysis through his years of on-site experience. 

The event is free and open to the public.