GLACIAL KAMES

Not all the influences that affected Vermont in the last two millennium B.C.. came from the south ,nor were they all of a technological nature. Important influences of a ideological nature came to Vermont from north via, the St. Lawrence and the Richeleu River.

The glacial kame cult started in the south central great lakes region around 1000 B.C.. and 1600. It's the custom of placing burials in glacial kames or gravel knolls which were left by ice age glaciers.

In Isle La Motte 1962 a burial pit was discovered. The burial site was discovered on the west edge of a high terrace some hundred feet above Lake Champlain. The burial site was found when people were removing gravel. One site found was 10 cm below the surface. In another burial site the grave contained about 3 quarts of burned adult human bones, which had been cremated elsewhere. Also there was an unburned skull and long bones of a child burned piece of burned awl and a fire cracked flint flake.

If you were wondering what glaciers are I will tell you glacier is formed when leftover snow in the mountains does not in summer. When more snow falls on the old snow it creates a solid Mass. The weight of the solid mass makes it go into the sea.

The reason I got off track telling you how glaciers are formed is because I wanted you to know or have an idea of what these people buried their loved ones in. Now back to glacial kames. It's evident that the evidence from the glacial kame burial sites prove that the influences came to Vermont from the St. Lawrence Valley, which was a part of an important east-west trade route trade route is when different objects are moved into different parts of the world. Vermont was part of the east-west trade route which were copper shell and slate, which were found in burials along with stones and jewels. If or not the people in the Isle la motte burials were Midwestern traders or natives is not know to this day. In these glacial kame burials we find elements which are seen in the early woodland era, which is cremation and different objects placed with the deceased. Many reminiscent of the glacial kame burials used red ocher, shells, beads, stones, gorgets, Celts, adzes, awls of copper and birdstone. Occasionally pottery is present. As the trading declined so did the burials. This proves how much the burials depended on objects to prove their tradition. In other words if the objects weren't added it might have been believed the tradition was being broken. I think the objects were added so that they would feel one with nature. To prove that what ever dies sooner or later goes to nature and of course when the glaciers went away the burials went along for the ride, but it still lived on in the early woodland tradition.

by Ryan Piper

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