Native American History at Sylvester Manor

Manhansack-Ahaquatuwamock, the Manhanset name for Shelter Island, meaning “an island sheltered by islands” was inhabited by Manhanset people for thousands of years before the Sylvesters established the Manor on the island.

Image of the North Peninsula taken from West Lawn on the property at Sylvester Manor.

Before the Sylvesters came to Manhansack in 1652, Manhanset people lived in seasonal semi-permanent settlements on the Island, shifting location and build over time. Their houses, known as wigwams, were domed structures made from locally available materials. Manhanset people navigated the waters and land around Shelter Island, practicing agriculture and land management, celebrating spiritual traditions, and using lithic tools. Generations of Manhanset people living here passed on a rich maritime cultural tradition based in coastal lifeways that were shaped around their relationships to the land and water. The Manhanset, along with other indigenous groups on Long Island around 1600, formed strategic political alliances with nearby communities such as the Pequot in Connecticut. These alliances united tribes through the exchange of wampum as tribute to the Pequots in exchange for protection. Political alliances between groups in Long Island and other areas of Southern New England enabled tribes to maintain close kinship connections, as well as close ties in language and cultural traditions.

Archaeological evidence shows a significant Native presence on Shelter Island, for thousands of years before the Sylvesters, and continuing after the early colonial period on the property. Through archaeology, we can see the continued presence of Manhanset people on the island as well as those from other nearby tribes such as the Montauk and Shinnecock into the period of European occupation. Artifacts such as native ceramics, remnants of wampum and wampum production, altered/edited European trade goods, and lithic materials show that native people were a prominent part of the early landscape of Sylvester Manor. The presence of native people, as seen through the mixture of traditionally Native materials with European trade goods speaks to the multicultural plurality of the site, as well as how in these intense cultural interactions there was a blending of resources, technology, and stylistic elements on materials, as well as the continuity of cultural traditions for native people. Excavations done at the North Peninsula of the property aim to further highlight native presence at this site, as this area is believed to be the location of a Manhanset settlement that was used for thousands of years before the Sylvester’s arrival to the island, as well as for some time after.

Lithic Material from excavated from the North Peninsula of the property

A ceramic sherd from a Shantock Castellated ceramic vessel. This type of ceramic was produced in Sou

The presence of Native people at Sylvester Manor, from the early colonial period continuing into the 20th century, deconstructs narratives of disappearance that have been used when discussing Native people after the 17th and 18th centuries in New England. Their continued presence on this land highlights the deep histories that the Manhanset, as well as other tribes, such as the Shinnecock, Montauk, and Corchaug have to the lands and waters of Eastern Long Island. Native people's, such as the Manhanset's, traditional ways of life were altered with many people being displaced or killed due to colonization. In the face of this, Native people on Eastern Long Island and Shelter Island navigated these changing political and social circumstances, continuing to practice their traditional lifeways on these landscapes, surviving, and also finding ways to persist on the land.

Photos:

Landscape Image: Image of the North Peninsula taken from West Lawn on the property.

Image of Scoop with lithics: Lithic Material from excavated from the North Peninsula of the property

Shantock Castillated Ceramic Rim Sherd: A ceramic sherd from a Shantock Castellated ceramic vessel. This type of ceramic was produced in Southern New England in the 17th century.