By Peter Waksman, a Concord resident with a passion for prehistory, tramping through the woods, and wondering who used them before recorded history. This article first appeared on The New England Antiquities Research Association Website. For more of this Mr. Waksman's articles on Concord's prehistory, see our Virtual Booklet on our early history.

Below are two pictures, the Concord example on the left, the Carlisle one on the right. Both examples are formed by small rock piles sitting flat on a larger rock, and are photographed from above.

These look like women because in both pictures a single rock on top could be a "head", below that are two "breasts". In the left hand picture the two breasts are represented by double points of a single rock; in the right hand picture, they are represented by separate round cobbles. Below that, in each picture, is a variable region consisting of two rocks (on the left) or one rock (on the right) which could represent a torso, and in both pictures there is a horizontal "pedestal" to finish off the picture of a cross-legged woman. My friend thinks the pedestal of the figure on the right could represent a pregnant belly.

Now that we see two examples, the suggestion that this is a deliberate female form is more compelling . Also with a second example we have a basis for comparing the two sites where these "effigies" are located.

The sites have topographic similarities and differences. Both are situated on hills overlooking swamps to the east and southeast. The Carlisle site is adjacent to a spring which feeds the swamp and drains into the Spencer Brook. There is no spring at the Concord site today and the swamp has been leveled and filled to become Hanscom Airfield. However there is a modern catch-basin and ditch nearby, suggesting something akin to a spring was here at one time. The Concord site is within thirty feet of a foundation hole, which can be assumed to be from the colonial period or later. Perhaps the most likely makers of the effigy - if it is an effigy -  were from that period. At the Carlisle site, there are no foundation holes evident but there are nearby lime quarries from the colonial period and possibly earlier. There are Indian corn grinding bowls at both sites.

The Concord rock pile is an isolated example. By contrast, at the Carlisle spring, many of the larger rocks are topped with piles of smaller rocks, as well as being surrounded by small rocks at ground level. Usually the small rocks are hidden in the leaf debris. So these little constructions are not visible without first clearing off the moss, roots and leaves. It is not clear if the small piles are intended to represent something different on each rock or are just placed there at random. The piles are not likely to be from "field clearing" since the ground is composed of moss over rocks, which would never have been farmed. This picture shows a typical rock pile at the Carlisle spring, after clearing off the leaf debris.

It appears that something unusual is going on around this spring. For example there are many split-filled rocks,  nearby.

It is tempting to speculate that there is a connection between the female figures and the sources of water, and that these constructions are Native American. With only two examples, no real conclusion is possible. However the observation is interesting and suggests that we should seek out other springs and headwaters looking for female effigies.

At the first opportunity, I went to explore the headwaters of another brook in the area. Following it upstream, there were several branches which I explored without seeing anything interesting. But at one place where the water came out of the ground, there was a small hill with a few rock piles on it. The hill was overlooking a swamp to the north and west, so I was encouraged to take a careful look. I saw nothing resembling a woman, but I did find a good representation of a turtle facing northwest.

A prominent vein of white quartz caps the top of this rock. Below, a shelf has been broken into the rock and one slightly triangular cobble sits on the shelf, point outward.

If any sort of conclusion can be arrived at about small "effigy piles" and their location next to springs and overlooking swamps, the idea will need to be more general than a simple one about female effigies.

I took my friend from Carlisle over to see this new "turtle" spring, which is in Acton, and he started hunting through the leaf debris about other rocks. "Here is your effigy!" he called after a few minutes, having cleaned off a rock a few feet away:

This form is hard to make out in the picture since the rocks that were underneath the leaf debris are still dark and dirt stained. The round rock at the top corresponds to a "head" and, below it, the crosspiece might represent outstretched arms. Below that, a single large rectangular plate for a body is propped up on left and right by at least four other rocks. The below diagram tries to show the actual rocks, with gray indicating lower supporting rocks.

Although this "man" form is not so suggestive as the female effigies, it is not bad for a first day out trying to find examples of effigies associated to springs. The figure is reminiscent of stone contructions in the arctic. The turtle and this "man" face north and west overlooking a swamp. Otherwise they are at a site with similar topography to the sites of the female effigies.

There is nothing here that is conclusive, nor is there likely to be. It appears to be well worth looking carefully for small rock piles located near springs and, in particular, at sites overlooking a swamp. We must be prepared to look underneath the leaf debris. I am confident that other springs in the area will be worth looking at.

The possible relation to compass directions is intriguing. If these really are effigies, is there a connection between "Female" and "East" which is paralleled by "Male" and "West"? I am told the turtle is associated, in Algonquian stories, with wisdom and the North. Will other "turtles" be found, like this one, near a spring and facing northwest? Should we expect Otters facing East, Eagles facing South, and Bears facing West, to round out the other four sacred animal/directions? Can we find a third female effigy? More exploration of the woods here will, I hope, start to answer some of these questions.

It is true that these sites are fragile, and it is reasonable to ask: how could they have remained in place over any long period of time? Taking for example the head of the turtle, it is quite firmly placed on its parent rock. It is located in an obscure corner next to a swamp in an area that probably gets little disturbance other than falling trees, snow and wind. Short of a direct hit from a falling tree the construction wouldn't necessarily be damaged. On the other hand, we might expect many of the piles we examine to have been damaged.

The interested reader should examine the illustrations on page 336 of Manitou by James Mavor and Byron Dix. Reverence for the female form and its association with fertility are well documented, and it is quite reasonable to expect that Native Americans would have celebrated the source of waters in this way. Even then, something more complex may be present. If we get over the "prove it" stage we can go on to try and understand the sentiment that might originally have motivated these constructions.

Postscript I am happy to discover that someone has been visiting the female effigy in Concord and trying to hide and protect it by building a screen of brush, so it is a little difficult to get to. In the picture at right, the rock pile is slightly right of center. Note the cut trees with bases pointing toward the camera. None of this brush was here a year ago.

Text and Photos: ©Peter Waksman
Backgrounds: Word of Mouth Design and Grab a Graphic