Stone Eating Utensils of Prehistoric New England

Abstract

While much has been written concerning the aboriginal steatite (soapstone) bowl industry, it would seem that too little attention has been given to its cultural significance and the people who developed it. Whatever their traits, these stone bowl people, through initiative and persistent effort to raise their standard of living, became primitive industrialists of note. From soft steatite, which they quarried, they made stone bowls of various shapes and sizes, some of which were transported in trade to far-away regions devoid of steatite deposits. That New England was the center from which quarry work methods spread to other localities, probably south, is the opinion held by some. However, it is not known whether the concept of utilizing the soft soapy stone for pots originated in New England. It may have started further north where steatite deposits occur with telltale pick scars of primitive workmen.