STEVENSVILLE — The Kent Island Heritage Society hosted archaeologist Dr. Darrin Lowery as he led a presentation on archeological findings of Kent Island and one of the most famous collections of artifacts to come out of the Eastern Shore at the Historic Christ Church in Stevensville June 25.
Surrounded by local history inside the Historic Christ Church in Stevensville, Lowery presented an overview of the famous Marks Collection of Native American artifacts gathered by the Marks family around Love Point over decades in the early and mid-1900s.
Published in 1943, the James Marks Collection marks the earliest publications of archaeological findings of the Eastern Shore and with hundreds of artifacts, including tools, arrowheads, ax heads, pipe and pottery pieces, this collection details history and offers a unique window into local Native Americans.
Wearing a Hawaiian shirt and introduced as “the Indiana Jones of the Eastern Shore,” Lowery led the audience in historic trips around Kent Island outlining the history and historical significance of what digging in the dirt can tell us about human history.
Fascinated with the famous collection from a young age, Lowery spent a childhood exploring Chesapeake Bay shorelines unearthing a fascination with past history and what can be discovered.
Lowery is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a undergraduate degree in anthropology, a masters in archaeology and anthropology from Temple University, and a doctorate in coastal geology from the University of Delaware.
“So he pulls all of these aspects together,” said Jack Broderick, president of the Kent Island Heritage Society, calling Lowery the “greatest living expert of archaeological facts about Kent Island, bar none.” Lowery was recently featured in a May edition of the Washington Post for his archaeological work covering the erosion of Parsons Island and challenging the prehistoric timeline of humans in America.
In the 1990s, Lowery was invited to Kent Island by the Heritage Society for a full archaeological survey of the area and was involved in establishing the Kent Narrows Queen Anne’s County Heritage Visitor Center in the 2000s.
More than just “pointy rocks”
Interpreting the Marks Collection, Lowery delved into the history the artifacts that can tell about local Native Americans of Love Point and uncover the context of early human civilization.
Artifacts can also tell the story of the Chesapeake Bay and show a connection with the oyster population 3,000 years ago.
Oyster shell deposits are often home to a multitude of stories that can be interrupted about local water, including water pressure, clarity, and gastropods, he said.
“You look at this as a pile of oyster shells but there’s a whole environmental history about what’s going on at Love Point,” he said.
By examining and tracing flint and ceremonial shells found at Love Point, Lowery also highlighted connections between Adena-Hopewell cultures found in Ohio and Virginia.
“Love Point in its archaeological record was part of a big network of interaction 2,000 years ago,” he said.
How have the sites change?
Lowery noted in his over 30 years of archaeological experience, “timing is everything” and that archaeological sites can’t just be visited once.
Lowery compared his 1992 trip to study Kent Island with a recent 2022 visit and noted changes to the environment, including agricultural and housing developments.
“Erosion has destroyed many sites that were available in the past,” he said.
Collection availability
The Marks Collection was so notable that it brought interest to the sites from the Maryland Natural History Society and was documented in the 1950s.
The collection was also described in the 1981 Kent Island Heritage booklet, “The Isle of Kent.”
In 2022 volume 50, Love Point was featured on the cover of Archaeology of East North America.
James Marks was devoted to the collection and was known for fondly remembering specific circumstances as each piece was acquired, according to his son Dr. Harold Marks, Lowery said.
Following James Marks’ death in 2020 at the age of 100, the collection was returned to Kent Island and presented to Lowery and the Heritage Society for display.
Lowery has vowed to keep the collection privately owned but on long term loan to the Kent Island Heritage Society.
“I knew one thing, I wasn’t going to let this collection disappear, ” he said.
Noting frustrations with bureaucracy in today’s world and the rigmarole of laying claims of ancestry, Lowery seeks above all else to keep the collection available for the public interest and keeping it out of stuffy archive closets.
“It needs to stay close,” he said.
Key artifacts from the collection will soon become part of the museum display in the new Kent Island Heritage Center and Museum located at 641 Dominion Road.
Information about the Kent Island Heritage Society, including local archaeological information, can be found at https://kentislandheritagesociety.org.
Most Popular
Comments / 0