Moswetuset Hummock

Moswetuset Hummock. Quincy Shore Reservation. , Before colonial times, Native Americans would have seen creeks and wetlands here in Quincy Bay, which provided them with abundant sources of food: shellfish, fish, waterfowl, and migratory birds , even whales. They lived here during spring and summer, moving inland to the area around the Blue Hills in late fall and winter. This area became particularly important for summer occupation around 8,000 years ago, when Black's Creek estuary began to develop, and it was increasingly popular thereafter., Moswetuset Hummock was the seat of Chickataubut, the Sachem of the local native Americans (the Massachusetts) who lived in this area in the early 1600s. It is one of the few ancient sites in New England that has remained relatively undeveloped since that time. It is still bounded by the sea where the native Americans fished; the salt marshes that provided food and protection; and the planting grounds to the west., [Caption:] , During the summer months native American subsistence activities focused on the coast and its associated estuaries, such as Black's Creek and Sachem's Brook. From their summer coastal settlements, small hunting parties made sorties into the interior uplands, such as the nearby Blue Hills, for terrestrial game such as deer, rabbits, and a variety of birds, that supplemented a diet otherwise centered on readily available fish and shellfish.