Notable Women of Pennsylvania Archaeology — Dr. Catherine Josephine McCann (1908-1986)

Dr. McCann and Dr. Barry Kent (1971), The State Museum of Pennsylvania

Kate McCann was a pioneering woman in the field of Americanist archaeology in the 20^th century. Early in her career, she was one of the few women to hold a supervising position on a Works Progress Administration project (WPA) in the 1930s at the Irene Mound site in Savannah, Georgia. She later contributed much to the archaeological record of the middle and upper Delaware Valley in New Jersey and the North Branch of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Throughout her career she bridged the gap between public interests, avocational archaeologists and professional institutions. She lent her expertise to local Archaeological Society of New Jersey (ASNJ) and Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) chapter excavations, published investigation results, promoted the donation and long-term curation of collections for future study, contributed to regional syntheses, and created exhibit spaces for broader education and outreach. 

Born in Carlyle, Montana, McCann studied Latin and classical archaeology, receiving her BA from the University of Montana in 1930 and her MA from the University of Wisconsin in 1931 before pursuing her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937. McCann was recruited with fellow U of Penn graduate students to fill professional staff positions created as part of New Deal archaeological investigations in the southeast. The Irene Mound site was investigated from 1937 to 1939. It was a unique project for the time, not only for the position that McCann held, joining the team in 1938, but also the important roles that over eighty local African American women fulfilled as the excavators at the site. For images of and more information about their contribution to the WPA Irene Mound investigation visit the Savannah Image Project of Armstrong Atlantic State University (The Women of Irene Mound). 

McCann authored several interim reports on the ecology, faunal remains and pottery of Irene Mound (Browman, 2013) and co-authored the final site report (Caldwell and McCann, 1941). She returned to graduate school in Philadelphia, defending her dissertation in 1947, “Aboriginal Urn Burial in the Southeastern United States”. This same year she participated in several regional investigations including Dr. William Ritchie’s (1949) excavations at the Bell-Philhower site (28Sx29) and headed investigations at the Ware site (McCann, 1950) as a staff archaeologist at the New Jersey State Museum. 

Dr. McCann investigating a pit in the Bell section of the Bell-Philhower site (Ritchie, 1949: Plate  3)

After 1957, Dr. McCann shifted her professional focus to sites in Bradford County, Pennsylvania following her appointment as curator at the Tioga Point Museum in Athens. Here she investigated the Wilson (36Br58) and Wells (36Br59) sites (McCann, 1962; Lucy and McCann, 1972) working closely with the Andaste Chapter of the SPA. 

Foundations of Pennsylvania Prehistory

McCann also served as curator at The William Penn Memorial Museum during a time of transition between The State Museum of Pennsylvania’s original location in the Executive Office Building of the state Capital and its current location. Hired in the year of the new site’s groundbreaking in 1962 under Fred Kinsey and John Witthoft, McCann and other eventual staff curators Barry C. Kent, Ira F. Smith III and Vance Packard would be instrumental in the final design of the Hall of Anthropology. The gallery officially opened over a decade later, December 9^th, 1975, after the museum opened its doors to the public in 1964 (Smith, 2005). She also co-edited and was a contributing author to Foundations of Pennsylvania Prehistory (McCann, 1971) during her tenure with the Commission, and received the J. Alden Mason award from the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology shortly after retirement. She is pictured above holding the award decree with Dr. Barry Kent. 

Dr. McCann continued to work with avocational archaeologists to publish SPA projects she had directed in previous years including a co-authored article with Charles Lucy on the Wells site (36Br59). She passed away in 1986 due to complications of multiple sclerosis.  Lucy, an avocational archaeologist, collaborator and friend, authored her memorial in the Pennsylvania Archaeologist (1989). Additional images of Dr. McCann in the field are available at the Tioga Point Museum in the Lucy Collection.   

We hope you have enjoyed the last edition of Notable Women in Pennsylvania Archaeology for 2019. It was an honor to celebrate the contributions of four 20^th century pioneers in the field — Frances Dorrance, Mary Butler, Verna Cowin, and Catherine McCann. We plan to intermittently continue the series in 2020. 

From all of us at the Section of Archaeology, we wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season. Thank you for your continued support of our mission to preserve our past for our future in the new year. 

For those who still have a hard-to-shop-for person on their holiday gift list, consider the latest volume in the Recent Research in Pennsylvania Archaeology series, The Susquehannocks: New Perspectives on Settlement and Cultural Identity, now on sale at a discounted price of $20.97 through the Pennsylvania State University Press.

References and Selected Publications

Browman, David L.

2013 Cultural Negotiations: The Role of Women in the Founding of Americanist Archaeology. Critical studies in the history of anthropology. University of Nebraska Press. Catherine J. McCann, (pp. 158-159). 

Caldwell, Joseph and Catherine McCann

1941 Irene Mound Site, Chatham County, Georgia. Archaeological Project Report. Works Project Administration. Savannah, Georgia. The University of Georgia Press, Athens. 

Lucy, Charles L.

1989 Memorial: Catherine J. McCann. Pennsylvania Archaeologist. (59:1:55). 

Lucy, Charles L. and Catherine J. McCann

1983 The Wells site, Asylum township, Bradford county. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 53(3:1-12)

Lyon, Edwin A. 

1996 A New Deal for Southeastern Archaeology. University of Alabama Press. (pp.109-111).

McCann, Catherine J.

1947 Aboriginal urn burials in the Southeastern United States. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

1950 The Ware site, Salem county, New Jersey. American Antiquity, 15(4), Menasha, Wisconsin.

1957 Six late sites in southern and central New Jersey. Bulletin No. 13, Archaeological Society of New Jersey.

1961 An outline of Bradford county Indian history. The Settler Vol. VI, Bradford County Historical Society, Towanda.

1962 The Wilson site. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 32(2:43-55).

1968 Pennsylvania archaeology, an introduction. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

1971 Notes on the pottery of the Clemson and Book Mounds. In Foundations of Pennsylvania Prehistory. Barry Kent, Ira Smith III, and Catherine McCann (editors), Anthropological Series No. 1, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. 

1972 Some caches and so-called caches from eastern Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 42(1-2:16-26).

Ritchie, William R.

1949 The Bell-Philhower Site Sussex County New Jersey. Prehistoric Research Series 3(2). Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis. Preface (p. 149); Plate 3A (p. 245).

Savanah Images Project, Armstrong Atlantic State University

N.D. The Women of The Irene Mound. Image Catalog and Oral History Interview from The Irene Mound Collection, Coastal Georgia Archaeological Society, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah Georgia. Web Resource. 

Smith, Eric L. 

2005 The State Museum of Pennsylvania: A Centennial History, 1905-2005. Chapter 5: Developing the Museum Galleries, 1965-1979, (p. 26). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. 

Whalen, Gail

N.D. Elusive Women of Irene: The WPA Excavation of Irene Mound. Essay, Savannah Image Project of Armstrong Atlantic State University. Web Resource. 

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Dr. Verna Cowin - An Influential Woman in Pennsylvania Archaeology

Dr. Verna Cowin

This week in Pennsylvania Archaeology will highlight another influential woman in Pennsylvania archaeology.  Verna (Lunglhofer) Cowin was born February 12, 1931 in Altoona, PA.  She was raised in Bethlehem, PA where she graduated from Moravian College in 1952 with a degree in English.  Verna was a sporting young woman, she played field hockey and participated in archery tournaments on both local and state levels; winning many, including the Bethlehem City championship.  It was her interest in archery that would lead her to take lessons from the president of the Pennsylvania Archery Association who just happened to be Paul Cowin's father.  After she graduated from college and he returned from service in World War II, Verna and Paul married on June 14, 1952.

Shortly after their marriage, Verna and Paul relocated to Battle Creek Michigan where Verna taught in Penfield and Harper Creek schools.  She was also a member of the successful Michigan women's archery team.  As was customary at the time, Verna left the workforce when they had children, two daughters.  After moving back to Pennsylvania in 1962, she was a girl scout leader, served as the Butler neighborhood chair holding a position on the council, and joined the Butler chapter of the American Association of University Women who would award her Women of the Year in 1984. 

As the children grew older Verna felt that "she was getting bored" and that "she wasn't using her mind to full capacity," according to her husband Paul.  That is what prompted her to go back to school.  In 1971 she was enrolled in the Anthropology Department at the University of Pittsburgh as a graduate student.  In order to acquire some much-needed field experience she joined the crew of the first field season excavation of Meadowcroft Rockshelter under the direction of Dr. James Adovasio.  She went on to participate in several Carnegie Museum of Natural History excavations in 1972, including the Bonnie Brook Monongahela Village under the direction of Richard L. George and Dr. Donald W. Dragoo.  This early association with the Carnegie Museum would prove to be the beginning of 40 years of dedicated service to the museum's section of Anthropology.  During her return to the Meadowcroft excavation in 1976 she was appointed as director of research for the nearby Avella burial mound which she continued to excavate through 1978 with the intention of using the research for her dissertation.  She earned her masters degree in 1980 and her doctorate in 1985, although she did not use her Avella mound research as planned.  Verna was a woman who liked to be busy and if her studies and research were not enough, she also taught six anthropology courses between 1975 and 1981 for the University of Pittsburgh, as well as teaching an Introduction to Anthropology course for prisoners at the Western Pennsylvania Correctional Institution in 1976.  Later going on to direct field schools for Slippery Rock University and Westmorland Community College at Hanna's Town, as well as a Carnegie sponsored field school in Erie.

In 1980 she became the Region VII Archaeologist for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which allowed her to carry out archaeological surveys in south-central Pennsylvania.   It was when this program ended in 1982 that Verna became the head of excavations for the Pittsburg Plate Glass headquarters (PPG).  This was a large excavation for the new PPG headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh; and would prove significant for the understanding of Pittsburgh's history.  By digging deep, 17 feet below street level, Verna discovered thousands of artifacts, wells, privies, and house foundations from the 19th century proving that Pittsburgh's past was still intact, not destroyed by modern activities as was the thought at the time.  This discovery changed the way compliance archaeology was conducted in the city, requiring archaeologists to consider the depth of excavation in light of her findings.  The report of these excavations was the basis of her doctoral dissertation as well as her exhibit  at the Carnegie museum "Pieces of the Past: Archaeology in Pittsburgh" for which she was awarded the Award of Merit from Pittsburgh History and Landmarks foundation and the Award of Merit from the Association for State and Local History.

After defending her dissertation Verna was hired as Assistant Curator in charge of the Upper Ohio Valley Archaeology program at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The program was started in the 1950s by William J. Mayer-Oaks and Donald W. Dragoo.  She became an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department of the University of Pittsburgh in 1986, a position she held until 2001; and was promoted to Associate Curator at the Carnegie Museum in 1988.  Verna was extensively published; 38 publications, 9 reports and 34 papers delivered at local and national conferences.  Dr. James Adovasio stressed "that her Cultural Resource reports reflected significant research contributions to Western Pennsylvania prehistoric and historic archaeology, not just gray literature".

Verna and her husband Paul were pillars of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. She served as a board member of that organization from 1997-2003, as associate editor of Pennsylvania Archaeologist from 1981-1999, and Paul served as treasurer from 2001-2010.  In 2009, they were awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from the Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology for Exemplary service to Pennsylvania Archaeology.  She also served as editor and president of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation (ESAF) from 1992-1995.  Traditionally the incoming president of ESAF has to drink beer from the Canadian-American Friendship cup.  Verna did not disappoint quaffing the entire contents without hesitation, compelling subsequent presidents to hear shouts upon their turn of "drink it without stopping like Verna did".

Dr. Verna Cowin technically retired in 2001 but maintained her office at Carnegie Museum as a Research Associate.  She passed January 3, 2013 and her beloved husband Paul joined her March 24, 2013.  They are sorely missed by the archaeological community. 

We hope you have enjoyed this review of another significant woman in Pennsylvania archaeology.  Archaeology and Anthropology have embraced the role of women in the sciences and we encourage our young readers to consider pursuing the sciences as a career. Preserving our past for the future is important for all of us in understanding social change, settlement patterns and cultural adaptation to name a few as our world ever changes.

References:
Richardson, James B.
2013 In Memoriam: Verna L. Cowin and Paul F. Cowin. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 83(2):65-71

Dr. Verna L. Lunglhofer Cowin. (2013, January 5) The Butler Eagle, Butler, Pennsylvania

A List of Select Publications:
Cowin, V.L., Cannel Coal Pendants: Types and Distribution, North American Archaeologist, vol. 20, 3: pp. 239-262., First Published Jul 1, 1999

Cowin, V. L. (1989). Let's Hear It for the Tinman: John Dunlap. Western Pennsylvania History: 1918-2018, 72(2), 96-101.

Cowin, Verna. "The Middle Archaic in the Upper Ohio Valley." Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology 7 (1991): 43-52.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Annual Workshops in Archaeology 2019: The Recap

Overview of Workshop

It’s been a few weeks since our last post, and in that time the Annual Workshops in Archaeology program at The State Museum of Pennsylvania has come and gone. Nearly 100 attendees enjoyed a full day of thought-provoking power-point presentations covering a variety of aspects of Monongahela Indian archaeology, culminating in a follow-up question and answer session, with light refreshments to end the evening. As always, the flint knapping demonstration was a perennial favorite of the program, and the crowd gathered also showed great interest in the site recording tutorial and artifact ID station.

Artifact ID station

Site Recording Tutorial

In conjunction with the Workshop program, a corresponding information pamphlet on the Monongahela was developed and has been released. This full color brochure outlines the culture history periods of the Monongahela, highlights iconic artifacts recovered from archaeological sites, and presents ongoing avenues of research relating to their origins, subsistence strategies and social organization, as well as factors that lead to their eventual demise. 

Monongahela Brochure

While it’s always nice to see a sizable number of familiar faces returning to the program every fall, we’re equally delighted to learn that roughly a third of those in attendance were first timers. Reaching as broad an audience as possible continues to be an important goal of the Workshops. Finally, we would like to extend a sincere thank you, first to the presenters, but also the staff and volunteers who all had a role in making this year’s program a success.  Plans for next year’s Workshops are already in the early stages – stay tuned!

SPA card 

One additional piece of literature worth sharing this week is, with support from the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, a newly printed rack card emphasizing the importance of both registering archaeological sites with the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey, or P.A.S.S., as well as the merits of donating well documented artifact collections to The State Museum of Pennsylvania. It’s worth a moment to read and we encourage you to share it with others. Help us preserve the past for the future!


For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Have We Found the Fort at Fort Hunter?

Another season of excavation at Fort Hunter is finished, but this turned out to be quite an exciting year! Thousands of 18th century artifacts have been found over the last decade of work at the site, but this year brought the first evidence of a possible structural feature relating to the fort or even to a period associated with the first European inhabitants of this area.

Excavation was renewed in three test units opened in 2018 near the porch at the northwest corner of the mansion. Many 18th century artifacts were recovered from this area last year and we found an unusual, thick layer of charcoal that we called Feature 172. (A feature is evidence of a human activity that is left in the ground, such as a garbage pit or fire hearth.) A second feature, Feature 173, was a dark stain that had been found in Unit N60 W45 in 2018. This feature also produced primarily 18th century artifacts and was thought to have been completely excavated in 2018. At the beginning of the 2019 season, the goal was to complete excavation of the remaining prehistoric soils (called the B-horizon) in these units and to move on to another part of the site in a continued search for the fort.

Overhead view of excavations near the porch at the northwest corner of the mansion house (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

2019 Opening photo, showing the B-horizon (orange-tan), sewer pipe trench, and top of Feature 173 (dark stain to left and right of the exposed sewer pipe) (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

The archaeologists began removing the B-horizon in levels; however, it soon became obvious that these levels, which should only have produced prehistoric Indian artifacts, were instead producing a mixture of prehistoric and historic artifacts. A reassessment of the situation led to the conclusion that this soil had been disturbed, and it was renamed Feature 192. Although it was thought that Feature 173 had been completely excavated last year from along the east wall, removal of the Feature 192 soils revealed that Feature 173 was still visible and even appeared to be growing larger and spreading west along the floor of the unit. Large rocks, bone fragments, chunks of charcoal, and historic ceramics began to emerge.

Top of Feature 173 exposed in N60 W45. Note bone fragments and ceramics (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

Many interesting historic artifacts were uncovered in Feature 173, including mid-18th century ceramics, musket balls, cut animal bones, a horseshoe, copper fragments, straight pins, and a clasp knife. Tiny fish bones, flakes of spalled-off ceramic glaze, and a number of white seed beads (of the type that would have been traded with the Indians) were recovered straight off the feature floor. These objects were so small they would have fallen through the screening material and been lost before anyone knew they were there. Two dozen beads were eventually recovered from the feature.

Three white seed beads on the floor of Feature 173 (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

In another part of the feature, a swipe of the trowel cut across the top of what at first appeared to be a small mound of pebbles lying in the dirt. Closer inspection revealed that the pebbles were actually a pile of small caliber lead shot! From their position lying in a pile, it is likely they were once enclosed by a leather bag or shot pouch, which would have rotted away and left the lead contents intact.

Pile of lead shot lying in the floor of the feature (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

At this point, the time allotted for our field work was up. However, due to the excitement over our finds we decided to stick it out another week and attempt to complete the excavation of Feature 173 in Unit N60 W45. By this time, the feature had resolved itself into a square shape with a possible corner in the northeast corner of the unit. Three additional layers of rock and soil were removed from the unit and Feature 173 was beginning to appear in Unit N60 W50, just to the west of N60 W45. Very large pieces of charcoal were found throughout the feature, some of which were collected as samples, and two large pieces of furnace slag from metalsmithing were recovered.

Unit N60 W45 showing Feature 173 possible structure corner (darker soil in floor) (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

The most interesting finds of the season were made that last week (at least according to this archaeologist!). A large fragment of a Delft bowl base was recovered from the second level of the feature, as well as a strike-a-lite, more trade beads, a thimble with pins, and a beautiful pair of pewter and green glass cuff buttons. I must admit that my mind screamed "Emeralds!" when I first caught sight of them. But just as amazing is that they are still connected by a tiny brass loop after 250 years in the ground.

Pewter and green glass cuff buttons (Photo: The State Museum of Pennsylvania)

Unfortunately, due to time restraints we had to pack up and leave the site before getting to the bottom of Feature 173. It is still unclear exactly what this feature represents since we did not get it completely finished. One theory is that it may be part of the defensive ditch that was described as encircling the blockhouse. Another more likely possibility is that it is a cellar of a structure, either related to the fort or to an earlier period.

The presence of furnace slag, metal objects, large amounts of charcoal, crucible fragments, and a whetstone also point toward the possibility of a blacksmithing operation somewhere in the area. Research indicates the presence of both a blacksmith and gunsmith on the property in the 18th century, but the location of the operation is not known. The small amount of burnt soil and slag and metal do not seem to indicate this is the primary location of a smithy, but who knows what next year will bring.

It's going to be very difficult to wait an entire 11 months to get back out to the site. Next year, we hope to uncover the entirety of Feature 173 in the surrounding units to determine its size and shape. Hopefully even more amazing finds will be made, and we can get an answer to the function and age of this feature. Meanwhile, there is still work to complete in the lab, including having the charcoal samples and slag analyzed and possibly x-raying of rusty iron items. This analysis may be able to give us more information on the types of wood being burnt and chemical composition of the slag, as well as letting us see the objects beneath the rust to aide in accurately identifying these artifacts.

For additional information on blacksmithing and early trade at Fort Hunter, please see our blog from May 11, 2018 ("To Be Ore Not To Be: Crucibles are the Answer") or November 20, 2015 ("New Perspectives on an Old Subject: Trade and Native American Relations at Fort Hunter").

The end of October and the end of our field season at Fort Hunter also marks the end of Archaeology Month in Pennsylvania. We hope you had an opportunity to visit an archaeology program in your community to learn about our rich heritage in Pennsylvania. If you didn't have an opportunity to do so, there is still time! The annual Workshops in Archaeology Program is Saturday at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Registration is available at the door and our presenters are excited to share their knowledge and research of the Monongahela culture.  This series of lectures provides an overview of the Monongahela culture, highlighting changes that occurred over time and discussion of their disappearance from the archaeological record. We hope you can join us November 9th, 2019 - registration desk opens at 8:30 am.


For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Discover the Monongahela Culture Archaeology of Southwestern, Pennsylvania

Monongahela, Youghiogheny and lower Allegheny valleys

Archaeologists began exploring prehistoric Native American sites in the Monongahela, Youghiogheny and lower Allegheny valleys as early as the late 1800’s when much of the emphasis was placed on mounds (cf. Hayden 1883; Thomas 1894; Carpenter 1951). Other sites were added by the Pennsylvania Indian Survey in 1928 under the direction of Dorothy Skinner. This was an expansion of the work begun in 1924 by Frances Dorrance, Director of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society (Smith and Herbstritt 1977).

Francis Dorrance 

In addition to the interest in mound sites other information was published in the 1930”s (Cadzow 1933); Engberg (1931); George Fisher (1930) that broadened the distribution of sites known at that time for southwestern Pennsylvania, especially Late Prehistoric villages located in upland (hilltops and mountain ridges) and valley settings. 

Archaeological investigations in Somerset County during the late 1930’s identified a number of Native American villages. The work was done with government funding through the Works Progress Administration better known as the WPA. In a report to the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, Dr. Mary Butler (1939) linked these people to a mixed material culture having Algonquin and Iroquoian traits and so named it the “Monongahela Woodland Culture”.

Mary Buttler

Over time, archaeologists dropped “Woodland” from the name, and the “Monongahela Culture” was borne into the literature that presently describes the Late Prehistoric through Protohistoric period Native American occupations of southwestern Pennsylvania where their material traits are found (Mayer-Oakes 1955).

Clay Monongahela pottery vessels

The Carnegie Museum carried on its research interest into Monongahela archaeology after Mayer-Oakes field work was completed and published in the museum’s Anthropological Series No. 2 “Prehistory of the Upper Ohio Valley: An Introductory Archaeological Study” (Mayer-Oakes 1955). Don Dragoo (1955) and later, Richard George (see for example 1974; 1978; 1983; 2011) who conducted field work and published extensively on the Monongahela Culture, began organizing the differences observed in the  artifact assemblages using the concept of “Phase” developed by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips (1958) which with some modification remains in current use (Herbstritt 2003; Johnson and Means 2020). The following cultural phases/subtraditions for Monongahela are in current use.

Early Monongahela                  1050-1250 AD     Drew, Kiskiminetas, 
Somerset I subtradition
Early Middle Monongahela     1250-1450 AD     Campbell Farm, 
Somerset II subtradition
Late Middle Monongahela       1450-1580 AD     Scarem, Youghiogheny, Johnston, 
Terminal Somerset II subtradition
Protohistoric Monongahela      1580-1640 AD     Throckmorton (Early sub-phase), Foley Farm (Late sub-phase)

Triangular projectile points

Attempts have been made to link the cultural identity of Monongahela to different Native American language groups such as Siouan and Iroquoian based on linguistic (cf. George 1980, Johnson 2001; Sorg 2003; Swauger 1974), oral history and the cartographic/historical record (Hoffman 1964), research topics that have drawn critical review.

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Marginella shells, fish vertebrae and a carved shell ornament

Archaeologists recognize the disappearance of the Monongahela culture from the archaeological record in the mid-1600’s. The impact of European diseases is not certain. Iroquois warfare is more easily supported. Droughts played a significant role in reducing the population of Monongahela villages and impacted survival. Examination of the curated artifacts and site information for these villages, as well as more recent excavations has enabled archaeologists to gain a better understanding of this culture group.

Glass trade beads

To learn more about the Monongahela Culture please join us in Harrisburg on November 9^th 2019 when the State Museum of Pennsylvania will host its annual Workshops in Archaeology Program “Defining Monongahela: Western Pennsylvania’s Archaeological Mystery”.  This is a program for the general public interested in how Native Americans lived in the Upper Ohio Valley centuries ago.    Featured will be different topics on Monongahela Culture with eight presentations by archaeologists familiar with this unique Native American culture that disappeared in the early 17^th century. 

2019 Annual Workshops in Archaeology 

References

1939       Three Archaeological Sites in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Historical Commission. Cadzow, Donald A.

1933     Mr. George Fisher’s Discoveries in Western Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 3(3): 3-5, 16-17. Harrisburg. Carpenter, Edmund S.

1951     Tumuli in Southwestern Pennsylvania. American Antiquity 16(4): 329-346. 

             Salt Lake City. Dragoo, Don W.

1955     Excavations at the Johnston Site, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 25(2): 85-141. Engberg, Robert M.

1931      Algonkian Sites of Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 14: 143-190. Fisher, George S.

1930      Indian Sites and Excavations in Western Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 1(2): 8-9.

              George, Richard L.

1974      Monongahela Settlement Patterns and the Ryan Site. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 44(1-2):1-22.

1978     The McJunkin Site, A Preliminary Report. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 48(4): 33-47.

1980     Notes on the Possible Cultural Affiliation of Monongahela. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 50(1-2): 45-50.

1983      The Gnagey Site and the Monongahela Occupation of the Somerset Plateau. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 53(4): 1-97,

2011     The Wylie #3 Site (36WH283): Part I. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 81(1): 1-27. Hayden, Horace

1883      Antiquities of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1881, pp. 638-641. Washington. Herbstritt, James T.

2003       Foley Farm: The Importance of Architecture and the Demise of the Monongahelans. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 73(1): 8-54.  Hoffman, Bernard G.

1964      Observations on Certain Indian Tribes of the Northern Appalachian Province. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 191. Johnson, William C.

2001      The Protohistoric Monongahela and the Case of an Iroquois Connection. In Societies in Eclipse: Archaeology of the Eastern Woodland Indians, A.D. 1400-1700, edited by David SBrose, C. Wesley Cowan and Robert C. Mainfort, Jr., pp.67-82. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. Johnson, William C. and Bernard K. Means

2020    The Monongahela Tradition of the Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric Periods, 11 - 17^th Centuries AD. In the Lower Upper Ohio Valley in The Archaeology of Native Americans in Pennsylvania. In press. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. Mayer-Oakes, William J.

1955    Prehistory of the Upper Ohio Valley: An Introductory Archaeological Study. Anthropological Series No. 2. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 34. Smith, Ira F. and James T. Herbstritt

1977     A Status Report on the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

             Sorg, David J.

             Linguistic Affiliations of the Massawomeck Confederacy. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 73(1): 1-7. Swauger, James L.

1974    Rock Art of the Upper Ohio Valley. Akademische Druck – u. Verlagsanstalt Graz/Austria  Willey, Gordon R. and Phillip Phillips

1958    Method and Theory in American Archaeology. 

           University of Chichago press, Chichago. Thomas, Cyrus

1894    Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

          Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of  Ethnology, 1890-1891, pp. 494-503. Washington.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .
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