From Hills to Islands: Ancient Adaptations to the Inundation of Boston. Some 6,000 years ago, Boston was well inland from the ocean, but as rising sea levels poured in tidal waters around the hills east of Boston, ancient Native Americans lost no time adapting to and enjoying the change. Spectacle Island preserved a wonderful record of several thousand years of clam bakes, fishing and other activities, excavated as part of the Big Dig project. While Martin Dudek, Senior Project Manager of Commonwealth Heritage Group, will focus on Native American sites on Spectacle Island, he will also include a brief overview of other exciting archaeological sites worked on for the Big Dig.