Native Americans
Unfortunately, after Europeans arrived and settled in the region, it did not take long for the Native American population of Delmarva to decline. Some tribes, under pressure to cede more land, migrated north or west, while others were devastated by disease. Smallpox wiped out a large percentage of the Native American population during the 1760s and 1770s. Some Native Americans remained on their land but lived as individual families instead of in their traditional groups. Many of their descendants live on the Eastern Shore today.
Artifacts of Native American life of the 17th and 18th centuries on the Eastern Shore continue to be discovered around the region. These objects provide insight to their daily lives and routines. This grinding stone found next to the St. Martin Riverin Ocean Pines, Maryland, would have been used as a tool to grind corn. The axe head was found on the northern partof Harbor Point on the Wicomico River. The arrowheads and projectile points were found between the 1930s and 1980s on the Aydelotte/Pettit farm, which borders Chincoteague Bay and is east of Snow Hill, Maryland.
Grinding Stone (17th - 18th Century)
Nabb Research Center, Nabb Research Center Collection
Ax (17th - 18th Century)
Nabb Research Center, Nabb Research Center Collection
Arrowheads and Projectile Points (17th - 18th Century)
Nabb Research Center, Nabb Research Center Collection