Uncovering Human Settlement Along the Patuxent River

Uncovering Human Settlement Along the Patuxent River. Tides of History. Jug Bay, with tidal freshwater wetlands, upland forests, and open water teeming with fish and fowl, has drawn foragers, hunters, and colonial settlers over the past 13,000 years. Archaeologists have found nearly eighty unique archaeological sites along the marsh, at the river's edge, and on Jug Bay's high bluffs. Decades of professional excavation on and near the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary have uncovered invaluable clues about the lives of generations of people who have called this place home.

In 1608, Englishman John Smith was the first European to sail the Patuxent River. He mapped two indigenous villages near present-day Jug Bay: Mattapnient, probably located on or near the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, and Quactataugh, possibly near Lyons Creek. Neither have been discovered archaeologically in modern times. Descendants of those who lived in these villages are members of the current-day Piscataway-Conoy Tribe and the Piscataway Indian Nation.

By the 1650s colonial settlers had begun to realize the potential of the Patuxent River. They and their families have since lived, farmed, traded, exploited its resources, and enjoyed its bounty and beauty. Historic sites found around Jug Bay include the remains of colonial towns, tenant farms, plantations, submerged shipwrecks from the War of 18 12, and a railroad built in the late 1890s.

At the Pig Point site, archaeologists recovered nearly 700,000 artifacts representing 10,000 years of continuous use. Soil discoloration in the sandy ground showed where their bark-covered houses once stood. Burnt bone-filled fire pits and cooking hearths ringed in stone revealed their food preparation areas. Carbon dating of deep layers of discarded everyday trash offer a glimpse into the deep past of the Patuxent River.