Neolithic Series LbNA #48784
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 10, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | North Kingstown |
| County: | Washington |
| State: | Rhode Island |
| Boxes: | 9 |
| Planted by: | The von der Insels  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Nairon (4) |
| Last found: | Feb 23, 2019 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFOFF |
| Last edited: | Jul 10, 2009 |
Neolithic Series
Planted July 10, 2009
Oh no! Boxes 5 and 9 have been muggled! We will replace them as soon as possible!
Warm weather finally arrived, and the inner caveman stirs in all good hunter-gatherers! This series highlights some of the cunning, inventiveness and skill used by all our ancestors in making the tools they needed to survive and raise a family before we learned to mine and craft metal. In the summer, this hike provides a look at so many types of flowers that I lost count! In season, you’ll also find wild blueberries and raspberries in some spots. You will need a compass for this series, and don’t forget your stamp! Black and brown or tan are good colors for the stamps. None of the boxes contain ink.
Total walk time : about 2 hours if you enjoy the walk.
A trail map is available at http://www.northkingstown.org/recreationdept/ryan.pdf
Where to start: Our quest for tools begins at the dawn of the use of the never-before-explored (by letterbox planters) lands in North Kingstown’s Ryan Park WESTERN trail. If you come along Route 4, then at the Oak Hill Road traffic light (a.k.a. – the ‘South County Nursing Home light’), turn east. One tenth of a mile - very, very soon! - you’ll see the first sign for Ryan Park on the left (Don’t turn into the neighbor’s driveway by mistake)! The parking lot is right there, off Oak Hill Road. If you drove over a half mile, or went to the Belleville Pond area with all the ball fields, you’ve gone too far. Park yourself. This trail will be going roughly north or northwest as we go. Save the eastward path for another day. Only boxes 1, 5 and 9 are traditional letterboxes, with logbooks. The rest are four-inch-high pill bottles that only contain a stamp (don’t fret – they’re still a ‘find’!). All boxes and bottles are covered in green duct tape.
Box 1 – The Core.
To work stone, we’ll need to find us some good rock! There’s useful rock ahead, so let’s not delay! Start at the green gate at the north end of the parking lot. Count 88 paces (176 steps, if you must) along the trail. Stop when you arrive at a solitary bush on your left side. The bush is about 20 feet high and has 8 or so branches coming out of the ground. Turn around and sight 208 degrees. Walk up slope about 15 paces to an evergreen about 5 feet tall. Don’t step on the Indian Pipe Flowers behind it! Reach under the bushy tree for The Core. “Big deal – it’s a rock”, you say. But archeologists have found rocks of flint or chert that date back tens of thousands of years. One good rock can provide the tools for a whole village to use! Now that you have a good stone to use, you can return to the bush-of-8-branches on the path, you Stone Age Person, you.
Box 2 – The Blade
From that bush, we’ll keep walking northwards on this main path for 97 paces. There’s a lovely and interesting tulip tree at 46 paces to the left, but we’re after something else now. At 97 paces the trail forks, with a fainter trail cutting across the field as the main trail goes right-ish. Stop here at this Y. Face left (west) to look at the small crowd of bushes. In the northern-most of the multi-branched bushes (not that huge thistle, though!), you’ll get your first tool. The Blade is hanging about 2 feet off the ground in that bush. These handle-less blades were used for fine cutting, like skinning deer and cleaning fish. The semi-circular blade is handy for slicing, using deft wrist motion. The Inuits call this blade an ulu, and hunters still use this design. Then return to stand at the Y juncture. We’ll continue on the main (gravelly) path.
Box 3 – The Knife
You might be able to spot a lone tree at 358 degrees from here – almost due north. Walk past a wide variety of flowers for 175 paces on the main path, stopping on the left side of that tree. Face the tree, and see that it’s a honey locust tree – beware its thorns! As you walk towards it don’t turn an ankle in some of the little, hidden gullies under the grass. Hanging up 3 feet off the ground is your knife. Collect it up, and then return to the main path.
Box 4 – The Point
Time to start counting again, Oblio. Sigh! When will we invent the abacus? After 154 paces, stop with a V-shaped Paper Birch tree (white bark with bits of darker bark) on your right. To the left and 2 paces behind is an Eastern White Pine tree. Only 2 feet up from the ground is our next level of technology – The Point. Attaching a hard stone point to a stick helped our ancestors to keep all sorts of predators at a safer distance! The spear was a necessary precursor to the next big invention – the arrow. Once you’ve collected this new tool return to the path, being careful to not step on the sweet fern or raspberries just to the north.
Box 5 – The Axe
My head hurts! Too much counting! Enough of that for now. Continue north. Notice when a dirt path comes in from the right and behind you and a gravelly pathy-looking track goes off to the west? That’s a mighty bright red tree growing absolutely straight there! Remember this spot for later…keep walking north on the main trail. There’s a seasonal watering hole on your left soon after. Neolithic folks always kept track of where water was. (20 paces after the watering hole you get to see 3 different kinds of oak growing on the right – Blackjack Oak then a White Oak then a Black Oak all in a row.) Keep walking north and you get to a three-way Y intersection. Our trail goes right, for now. Passing the frog pond we finally arrive at the furthest point. Others park at this end, and we can rest a bit to make a big tool. A mighty big tool! Notice the 4th rock on the right side is rather blocky, not smooth or rounded like the others? It’s more different than similar, you might say. Maybe some stickers, but no poison ivy at this one! Look behind the rock, in a low crevice for The Axe. It’s a full letterbox, so you can leave notes about the other bottles’ conditions and observations and such. (You can use the Shagbark Hickory behind the rock for the axe handle.) Axes weren’t so important as weapons – spears had better reach and could be thrown, too. The axe was the first big construction tool we had. Imagine trying to chop a tree or make a hut, spear shaft or stock up on campfire for a whole winter without one! Log in then turn around – we’re walking south now.
Box 6 – The Hide
Walking south, we’re going to return to that 3-way Y intersection. (Say, that’s a lovely example of a Maple at 67 paces, isn’t it?) At the Y, we’ll be walking west now for just a bit – it’s 32 paces to a dark, flat oval rock in the middle of the trail. From here, sight 345 degrees to look at the stony, dirt slope on the right. Now there’s a great place to look around for deer! Halfway up the slope, though, stop and look right. What’s at the base of that oak? It’s a gallon of rocks! Yes – 4 quartz equals a gallon. Behind that oak, on the ground and covered by a Suspicious Pile Of Rocks (SPOR) is The Hide. Animal hides were the first clothing materials. Carrying poles and hides is an easy way to move your teepee about, too – the first mobile home!
Box 7 – The Basket
Return to the 3-way Y, and walk south. Now you’re back at the watering hole, and that sort of intersection after it. There are a lot of rushes growing in the watering hole. I bet you could do something with those. Remember that tall, absolutely straight red tree to the west of the intersection? Walk west along the gravelly path for 31 paces. On your right the blueberries grow wild. Face them, and look up the slope at a pair of White Cedar trees behind the blueberries. Closer inspection shows it’s 3 cedars, with The Basket hanging 4 feet up, behind them. Imagine your parents sending you out to get berries, and you can only carry enough for 2 hands full. By weaving the rushes or cedar branches, you can make a basket. This was the invention of big pockets, the backpack and the purse all at once! How incredible is that? Once you’re done being amazed, we’ll continue on.
Box 8 – The Fishing Spear
Return back to the intersection, but this time, we’re not taking the main trail south! Bear left and take the lesser dirt trail, now. Don’t stray off the path to pick those raspberries unless you don’t mind a little poison ivy. A good Stone Age villager knows his environment! Look for a big, blocky 4-foot-high boulder on your left. It’s to the left of a Pitch Pine, and a spot for a campfire. Fish would go great cooked on a spit over a fire, but it’s so tough catching them with your hands! We need another tool. Keep walking, and pass Box #3’s honey locust, now on your right side. We re-merge with the main trail, and keep walking south to Box #2. At Box #2, it’s time to count again (*heavy sigh*). Walk 60 paces south on the main trail then stop. At 100 degrees, you’ll see atop a slope a V-shaped tree. Going up that rise to the tree, you see it’s covered with briars! All those extra points are hard to evade – that gives us an idea. Look to the left of that tree, and see a bush. Low in that bush is The Fishing Spear. Two prongs make the spear hard to avoid, and the slippery fish easily get over the fire and into our belly. Time to get moving, though. One box left! Can you smell the blueberries and the Sassafras here, though?
Box 9 – The Reed Boat
It’s an easy stroll back to the parking lot, so off we go! Once back at the car, look south to the exit. Walk over to the southeast corner of the lot, where the rock walls meet. On the south side of this corner is a large rock. Reach behind, near the top, hidden by a rock and dead leaves for The Reed Boat. By tying up bundles of reeds, Stone Age folk made long floats. By tying these long floats together, they could make the hull of a boat that kept a number of fishermen secure even in deep water, where the big fish can be caught with nets or hefty spears. Boats also allowed them to range further out to find game, fish and useful plants to sustain ever bigger villages. They also contacted other tribes and began trade, eventually leading to new towns and crafts. This was as eventful as inventing the airplane, train or even space exploration!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our trip in time. Please drop us a note by hitting ‘Contact Placer’ and let us know how the series is doing. With so many boxes, we’ll need to keep an eye on maintenance! Thanks and have fun!
Planted July 10, 2009
Oh no! Boxes 5 and 9 have been muggled! We will replace them as soon as possible!
Warm weather finally arrived, and the inner caveman stirs in all good hunter-gatherers! This series highlights some of the cunning, inventiveness and skill used by all our ancestors in making the tools they needed to survive and raise a family before we learned to mine and craft metal. In the summer, this hike provides a look at so many types of flowers that I lost count! In season, you’ll also find wild blueberries and raspberries in some spots. You will need a compass for this series, and don’t forget your stamp! Black and brown or tan are good colors for the stamps. None of the boxes contain ink.
Total walk time : about 2 hours if you enjoy the walk.
A trail map is available at http://www.northkingstown.org/recreationdept/ryan.pdf
Where to start: Our quest for tools begins at the dawn of the use of the never-before-explored (by letterbox planters) lands in North Kingstown’s Ryan Park WESTERN trail. If you come along Route 4, then at the Oak Hill Road traffic light (a.k.a. – the ‘South County Nursing Home light’), turn east. One tenth of a mile - very, very soon! - you’ll see the first sign for Ryan Park on the left (Don’t turn into the neighbor’s driveway by mistake)! The parking lot is right there, off Oak Hill Road. If you drove over a half mile, or went to the Belleville Pond area with all the ball fields, you’ve gone too far. Park yourself. This trail will be going roughly north or northwest as we go. Save the eastward path for another day. Only boxes 1, 5 and 9 are traditional letterboxes, with logbooks. The rest are four-inch-high pill bottles that only contain a stamp (don’t fret – they’re still a ‘find’!). All boxes and bottles are covered in green duct tape.
Box 1 – The Core.
To work stone, we’ll need to find us some good rock! There’s useful rock ahead, so let’s not delay! Start at the green gate at the north end of the parking lot. Count 88 paces (176 steps, if you must) along the trail. Stop when you arrive at a solitary bush on your left side. The bush is about 20 feet high and has 8 or so branches coming out of the ground. Turn around and sight 208 degrees. Walk up slope about 15 paces to an evergreen about 5 feet tall. Don’t step on the Indian Pipe Flowers behind it! Reach under the bushy tree for The Core. “Big deal – it’s a rock”, you say. But archeologists have found rocks of flint or chert that date back tens of thousands of years. One good rock can provide the tools for a whole village to use! Now that you have a good stone to use, you can return to the bush-of-8-branches on the path, you Stone Age Person, you.
Box 2 – The Blade
From that bush, we’ll keep walking northwards on this main path for 97 paces. There’s a lovely and interesting tulip tree at 46 paces to the left, but we’re after something else now. At 97 paces the trail forks, with a fainter trail cutting across the field as the main trail goes right-ish. Stop here at this Y. Face left (west) to look at the small crowd of bushes. In the northern-most of the multi-branched bushes (not that huge thistle, though!), you’ll get your first tool. The Blade is hanging about 2 feet off the ground in that bush. These handle-less blades were used for fine cutting, like skinning deer and cleaning fish. The semi-circular blade is handy for slicing, using deft wrist motion. The Inuits call this blade an ulu, and hunters still use this design. Then return to stand at the Y juncture. We’ll continue on the main (gravelly) path.
Box 3 – The Knife
You might be able to spot a lone tree at 358 degrees from here – almost due north. Walk past a wide variety of flowers for 175 paces on the main path, stopping on the left side of that tree. Face the tree, and see that it’s a honey locust tree – beware its thorns! As you walk towards it don’t turn an ankle in some of the little, hidden gullies under the grass. Hanging up 3 feet off the ground is your knife. Collect it up, and then return to the main path.
Box 4 – The Point
Time to start counting again, Oblio. Sigh! When will we invent the abacus? After 154 paces, stop with a V-shaped Paper Birch tree (white bark with bits of darker bark) on your right. To the left and 2 paces behind is an Eastern White Pine tree. Only 2 feet up from the ground is our next level of technology – The Point. Attaching a hard stone point to a stick helped our ancestors to keep all sorts of predators at a safer distance! The spear was a necessary precursor to the next big invention – the arrow. Once you’ve collected this new tool return to the path, being careful to not step on the sweet fern or raspberries just to the north.
Box 5 – The Axe
My head hurts! Too much counting! Enough of that for now. Continue north. Notice when a dirt path comes in from the right and behind you and a gravelly pathy-looking track goes off to the west? That’s a mighty bright red tree growing absolutely straight there! Remember this spot for later…keep walking north on the main trail. There’s a seasonal watering hole on your left soon after. Neolithic folks always kept track of where water was. (20 paces after the watering hole you get to see 3 different kinds of oak growing on the right – Blackjack Oak then a White Oak then a Black Oak all in a row.) Keep walking north and you get to a three-way Y intersection. Our trail goes right, for now. Passing the frog pond we finally arrive at the furthest point. Others park at this end, and we can rest a bit to make a big tool. A mighty big tool! Notice the 4th rock on the right side is rather blocky, not smooth or rounded like the others? It’s more different than similar, you might say. Maybe some stickers, but no poison ivy at this one! Look behind the rock, in a low crevice for The Axe. It’s a full letterbox, so you can leave notes about the other bottles’ conditions and observations and such. (You can use the Shagbark Hickory behind the rock for the axe handle.) Axes weren’t so important as weapons – spears had better reach and could be thrown, too. The axe was the first big construction tool we had. Imagine trying to chop a tree or make a hut, spear shaft or stock up on campfire for a whole winter without one! Log in then turn around – we’re walking south now.
Box 6 – The Hide
Walking south, we’re going to return to that 3-way Y intersection. (Say, that’s a lovely example of a Maple at 67 paces, isn’t it?) At the Y, we’ll be walking west now for just a bit – it’s 32 paces to a dark, flat oval rock in the middle of the trail. From here, sight 345 degrees to look at the stony, dirt slope on the right. Now there’s a great place to look around for deer! Halfway up the slope, though, stop and look right. What’s at the base of that oak? It’s a gallon of rocks! Yes – 4 quartz equals a gallon. Behind that oak, on the ground and covered by a Suspicious Pile Of Rocks (SPOR) is The Hide. Animal hides were the first clothing materials. Carrying poles and hides is an easy way to move your teepee about, too – the first mobile home!
Box 7 – The Basket
Return to the 3-way Y, and walk south. Now you’re back at the watering hole, and that sort of intersection after it. There are a lot of rushes growing in the watering hole. I bet you could do something with those. Remember that tall, absolutely straight red tree to the west of the intersection? Walk west along the gravelly path for 31 paces. On your right the blueberries grow wild. Face them, and look up the slope at a pair of White Cedar trees behind the blueberries. Closer inspection shows it’s 3 cedars, with The Basket hanging 4 feet up, behind them. Imagine your parents sending you out to get berries, and you can only carry enough for 2 hands full. By weaving the rushes or cedar branches, you can make a basket. This was the invention of big pockets, the backpack and the purse all at once! How incredible is that? Once you’re done being amazed, we’ll continue on.
Box 8 – The Fishing Spear
Return back to the intersection, but this time, we’re not taking the main trail south! Bear left and take the lesser dirt trail, now. Don’t stray off the path to pick those raspberries unless you don’t mind a little poison ivy. A good Stone Age villager knows his environment! Look for a big, blocky 4-foot-high boulder on your left. It’s to the left of a Pitch Pine, and a spot for a campfire. Fish would go great cooked on a spit over a fire, but it’s so tough catching them with your hands! We need another tool. Keep walking, and pass Box #3’s honey locust, now on your right side. We re-merge with the main trail, and keep walking south to Box #2. At Box #2, it’s time to count again (*heavy sigh*). Walk 60 paces south on the main trail then stop. At 100 degrees, you’ll see atop a slope a V-shaped tree. Going up that rise to the tree, you see it’s covered with briars! All those extra points are hard to evade – that gives us an idea. Look to the left of that tree, and see a bush. Low in that bush is The Fishing Spear. Two prongs make the spear hard to avoid, and the slippery fish easily get over the fire and into our belly. Time to get moving, though. One box left! Can you smell the blueberries and the Sassafras here, though?
Box 9 – The Reed Boat
It’s an easy stroll back to the parking lot, so off we go! Once back at the car, look south to the exit. Walk over to the southeast corner of the lot, where the rock walls meet. On the south side of this corner is a large rock. Reach behind, near the top, hidden by a rock and dead leaves for The Reed Boat. By tying up bundles of reeds, Stone Age folk made long floats. By tying these long floats together, they could make the hull of a boat that kept a number of fishermen secure even in deep water, where the big fish can be caught with nets or hefty spears. Boats also allowed them to range further out to find game, fish and useful plants to sustain ever bigger villages. They also contacted other tribes and began trade, eventually leading to new towns and crafts. This was as eventful as inventing the airplane, train or even space exploration!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our trip in time. Please drop us a note by hitting ‘Contact Placer’ and let us know how the series is doing. With so many boxes, we’ll need to keep an eye on maintenance! Thanks and have fun!