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Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(1), 1-12. |
| Such artifacts and hundreds of mortuary features underscore the cultural significance of Minisink Island and surrounding sites Three effigies recovered during recent investigations of the Manna site (36Pi4) are described and related to similar finds in the Upper Delaware Valley. They add to the numerous occurrences of figurative artifacts found in this portion of the Delaware Valley. In combination, such artifacts and hundreds of mortuary features underscore the cultural significance of Minisink Island and surrounding sites to the native inhabitants of the Late Woodland and Contact periods. |
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Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(1), 13-24. Unpacking the cluttered past: Assessment and curation of the Wright Collection at Mercyhurst University. Casey Bleuel |
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I discuss efforts to assess, document, and curate the material with current
curation guidelines to publicize the collection's existence.While the
curation of newly acquired collections has received more attention in recent
years, many older collections with limited provenience remain largely
unprocessed. Current curation legislation demands the proper curation of
collections and the creation of an electronic artifact database. The
department of Anthropology/Archaeology at Mercyhurst University acquired a
previously undocumented portion of the Wright Collection made by Ross Pier
Wright during the early twentieth century. The collection consists of
roughly ten thousand prehistoric artifacts with limited provenience from New
York, Pennsylvania, and other locations in the United States. This paper
discusses efforts to assess, document, and curate the material in accordance
with current curation guidelines in an effort to publicize the collection's
existence and ultimate availability for research. |
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Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(1), 25-44. The Cold Spring Pot: An Allegheny Erie Tradition vessel found in the upper Allegheny Drainage. Andy J. Myers |
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A description of this ceramic vessel is presented along with a temporal
review of the Allegheny Erie occupation of the upper Allegheny River.While
the curation of newly acquired collections has received more attention in
recent years, many older collections with limited provenience remain largely
unprocessed. Current curation legislation demands the proper curation of
collections and the creation of an electronic artifact database. The
department of Anthropology/Archaeology at Mercyhurst University acquired a
previously undocumented portion of the Wright Collection made by Ross Pier
Wright during the early twentieth century. The collection consists of
roughly ten thousand prehistoric artifacts with limited provenience from New
York, Pennsylvania, and other locations in the United States. This paper
discusses efforts to assess, document, and curate the material in accordance
with current curation guidelines in an effort to publicize the collection's
existence and ultimate availability for research. Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(1), 45-60. I examine Native tree paintings within the context of demographic and social changes taking place in the Upper Susquehanna drainage in the 17th and 18th centuries. The painting of trees by Iroquoian and neighboring groups is well documented in historic accounts dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Tree drawings were a form of symbolic expression used by Native people as a means of providing current events and commemorating past hunting and war exploits. Trees were also painted to provide directions and give warnings about the dangers of enemy war parties. While the practice of painting information on trees is well documented throughout the Eastern Woodlands, much of the most detailed information comes from the Upper Susquehanna and Chemung valleys of New York and Pennsylvania. This paper examines these Native tree paintings within the context of demographic and social changes taking place in the Upper Susquehanna drainage in the 17th and 18th centuries. Pennsylvania
Archaeologist, 89(1), 61-74. I found a significant difference in site delineation and artifact density between shovel testing and surface survey. The Shirey Meadow site was documented using collector reported information, pedestrian survey, and shovel testing. The results of this study illustrate the need for more documentation of private collections, and the re-evaluation of survey strategies for site identification and site delineation. The Shirey Meadow Survey involved a comparative sample of survey techniques over two years. A new archaeological site (36IN468) was added to the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS). The results of the archaeological survey demonstrated a significant difference in site delineation and artifact density between shovel testing and surface survey. Pennsylvania
Archaeologist, 89(2), 1-24. Between 1998 and 2007, the Center for Prehistoric and Historic Site Archaeology at California University of Pennsylvania, conducted intermittent excavations at the Pitt Gas Mound site (36Gr254), located in Greene County, Pennsylvania. A total of 68 2 x 2 m units were hand excavated for a total of 272 m2. An additional area of 22.5 m2 was excavated to help delineate the location and dimensions of a trench-like borrow feature that encircled most of the mound. Excavation revealed that the central portion of the mound and mound floor had sustained extensive damage from prior excavation and burrowing animals. Collectively, approximately 95% of the mound floor was exposed. The calculated diameter of the floor and primary mound is approximately 11 m (35 ft). On the basis of the recovery of Cresap projectile point/knife forms, the mound is assigned to the Early Woodland period Cresap phase. Pennsylvania
Archaeologist, 89(2), 25-38. The rediscovery and documentation of a forgotten Revolutionary War cemetery containing soldiers who died during the winter following the Battle of Trenton are described. The Langhorne project resulted in the discovery of 29 mass graves presumably containing the remains of soldiers who fought with George Washington.. |
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Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(2), 39-48. Shippenville Furnace, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, was a water-powered, hot-blast charcoal iron furnace in production from 1832 to 1859. As part of a larger study of colliers and historic charcoal production in Clarion County, I used LiDAR imagery to identify putative relict charcoal hearths (RCH) within an 8.5 km2 forested study area adjacent to the furnace. Ground surveys were used to confirm or refute putative RCH identification. Of the 25 putative RCHs selected for ground survey, 21 (84.0%) were confirmed by soil coring. RCHs exhibited the slope discontinuity and circular platform morphology typical of cut-and-fill construction and were largely located on gentle slopes and plateaus (mean slope = 3.1%). Mean diameter of RCHs was 13.5 m; mean distance to nearest hearth was 126.2 m. Soil cores from all RCHs showed a single A horizon of charcoal dust and fragments, indicating that each had been fired only once. |
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Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(2), 49-62. The context and nature of a large, late Middle Woodland pot from 36Pi4 are described and interpreted in light of related finds in the broader region. The pot is unusual given trends in pottery production in the Upper Delaware in being shell tempered, with net impressed and incised exterior surfaces. An adhering residue on the pot produced an AMS assay with a calibrated median date of 617 AD. |
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Pennsylvania Archaeologist, 89(2), 63-77. Surface collecting from 36Ch283, a multicomponent site in southcentral Chester County, Pennsylvania, suggests that activities at this location over a long period of time were confined to a very slight rise not larger than 15 by 25 m. Phase II testing of the area adjacent to this site revealed a possible Shenks Ferry habitation area located on the shallower grade above the knoll, at a short distance from the focus of surface collecting. The very different picture presented by the surface finds, however impoverished by intensive activities of amateur collectors, demonstrates the importance of surface collections in the interpretation of more extensive information recovered through excavations. The Shenk's Ferry occupation at this site suggests an intrusion of these people in the early 16th century, perhaps resulting from a population displacement when the Susquehannocks shifted into the lower Susquehanna River Valley ca. 1500 AD. |