NYSAA Bulletin No. 107 — Dogan Point Archaeological Site — Passage 28 (part 9)
[Herbert C. Kraft et al. (1994)] A single possible oyster shell artifact was found (Figure 4). Two bear canines were recorded by Brennan's crew but apparently were not d rilled. 29 The Bulletin Table 1. Projectile Points from Dogan Point, New York. more Soft-shell Clam (Mya arenaria), slightly more mussel (Guekensia demissa), more flakes of smaller size. and more bone than the small oyster levels averaged. Looking at the mean umbo height values and the list of GO levels, it is clear that "giant oysters" are found discontinuously through Columns 4, 5, 13. 14, 16, and 19, separated by small oyster layers. Furthermore. the mean umbo height is occasionally not at its highest at the bottom of a column (Claassen 1994b). In spite of the fact that some individuals have produced "seasonality" of oyster shells from New York sites, and even Dogan Point, their results are categorically rejected because the procedure used violates known tenets of molluscan development and ecology. Seasonality interpretations can only be meaningful when directed at groups of shells, never when individual shells are interpreted as has been the case (see Claassen 1990 for a critique of Northeastern shell seasonality studies). 30 Spring 1994 No. 107 Table 1. (continued) Vertebrates