<p>I have been photographing Native American stone structures in my hometown of North Stonington, Conncticut. Three of four months ago I didn't even know they existed, and now I have logged over 800 sites in the woods in town. It is really thrilling to come across structures that might have been built a thousand years ago that almost nobody has seen for perhaps a few hundred years. It is amazing what I can see in a twenty minute walk in the woods from my door, and very few people even know they exist. The photo here is of an alter site at the base of a cliff that I photographed today. The alter stone itself (seen rising diagonally to the right) was probably upended from its position by a tree that grew within the enclosure and toppled over, knocking some of the stonework out of place before decaying away out of existence. Searching for these sites and photographing them is very rewarding, as I have yet to come back from a walk without having discovered new things - the kind of thing we used to dream of finding as kids. What I find so compelling is that this stony record is nearly all that is left from nearly 11,000 years of Native inhabitation in this area, and trying to figure out what they have to say has been very inspiring. If anyone finds themselves in southeastern Connecticut and wants to see some sites, drop me a line!<br>
Mark<img src="/photo/17787982" alt="" /></p>
