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-=-=-=-=-= EARLY HISTOY =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=-=-=-= Mt. Desert Island lies off the coast of Central Maine, and is popularly known as the home of Acadia National Park and the town of Bar Harbor. Viewed from the air, the island has north and south aligned gouges scooped out of the land as if by a very large hand. Indeed, that hand was a vast, slow-moving, continental glacier over a mile high and 2 miles thick. When this giant finally melted and retreated, it left rounded mountain tops, long lakes, boulders and the 7 mile long Somes Sound -- the only fjord on the East coast of the United States. Also on the island is Cadillac Mountain, which, even after being sheared off by the glacier, stands 1,532 feet above sea level, and remains the highest point along the North Atlantic Seaboard. Archaeologists have proven at least one tribe of prehistoric native peoples made their home on Mt. Desert Island long before European explorers ventured across the Atlantic. Relics discovered in burial sites on the islands earned one tribe the name of "Red Paint People," for their use of red ochre dye. Few records exist of their presence, save for slate tools, pottery shards, the red ochre burial sites and middens (large refuse piles of shells) which have been dated between 3,000 and 5,000 years old. Many of these artifacts can be viewed at the local college, and in the Abbe Museum. Far more information is known about the Abnaki, the Native Americans first encountered by European explorers during the 1500s. Archaeololgists originally believed the Abnaki left their permanent homes near the headwaters of the Penobscot River to spend part of the year on "Pemetic," the "Sloping Land," as they called Mt. Desert Island. During the warm season, they would travel by birch bark canoe to camp along the shoreline and inland near Somes Sound to hunt, fish and gather food for the coming winter, then return to the mainland. In recent years, however, this opinion has been reversed, and it is thought the Abnaki actually spent the colder, winter months on Pemetic to take advantage of the milder, coastal weather. An historical timeline in the Abbe Museum of Stone Age Antiquities outlines what is known of these early island residents. Located just off Park Loop Road near Sieur de Monts Spring, the museum's collection includes prehistoric pottery, bone and stone tools, as well as more recent artifacts like Abnaki baskets, porcupine quill-work, a canoe and wigwam made of birch bark, and other relics discovered on Mt. Desert Island and the nearby coastal isles. Students from the College of the Atlantic and other universities explore newly discovered sites which continue to yield a wealth of information on these early peoples of Central Maine. Continued in News History2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= |