The Oshnock Archaeology Collection

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on The Oshnock Archaeology Collection Archaeologists at The State Museum of Pennsylvania plan to spend this summer entering thousands of Native American artifacts collected from western Pennsylvania into a database that will organize the objects according to specific sites and locations. It’s a lot of work, but not nearly as much as curators typically tackle when inventorying similar collections, thanks to the brothers...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Forgotten human history exists beneath us in Pennsylvania, from as far back as 20,000 years ago to as recently as the previous century. In the last 50 years, many lost worlds have been recovered as a result of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). A provision in NHPA, popularly known by its number in the document, Section 106, calls for the heads of federal agencies to “take...
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Digging Deep: 50 Years of Preservation Archaeology in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Digging Deep: 50 Years of Preservation Archaeology in Pennsylvania On a lovely morning in early autumn, I arrive at an old farm along the Susquehanna River to find Dr. Frank Vento in his natural element. That is to say, he is squatting down at the bottom of a backhoe trench some 8 feet deep, carefully examining the many layers of flood-deposited sediment left behind by the great river. Frank, recently retired from the faculty at Clarion University, is a...
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Shawnee-Minisink Archaeological Site

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Shawnee-Minisink Archaeological Site The Shawnee-Minisink site in Monroe County contains some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in eastern North America, carbon-14 dated to around 11,000 BCE. While other sites from the Paleoindian period have been found, very few have been undisturbed. Buried beneath nearly 8 feet of sediment, the archaeological deposits of Shawnee-Minisink remained protected for ages. Archaeologists...
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Washington County: From Ice Age to Space Age

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Washington County: From Ice Age to Space Age Southwestern Pennsylvania was for centuries a happy hunt­ing ground for Indians who were living there as long as two thousand years ago. In fact, as the result of archaeological discoveries made at the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter near Avella between 1973 and 1975, University of Pittsburgh anthropologists have proven conclusively that Ice Age people roamed the forests of Washington County even...
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A Tour Through Very Early York County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Tour Through Very Early York County Everyone has some interest in the past, even if only an intrinsic realization that our present existence is shaped by past experiences. For many, there is a much greater aware­ness of our debt to the past, or at least an abiding interest in prior human events and products. The degree and reasons for these curiosities vary enor­mously: from the function of a rusted tool, or the fascina­tion with...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter Topics in the Summer 2007 Newsletter: Signature Series: PHS Journey to Western Pennsylvania Save the Date Pennsylvania State Archives Honored Engineer Walter Lyon Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals Supports Internship Calendar for July – September 2007 2007 Penn Ambassadors Welcome New PHS Members  ...
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