Quarry Picks

This unique artifact type is principally found on Susquehanna and Delaware Valley sites of the Transitional Broad Spear Tradition circa 3500-4000 years ago. In terms of function, stone picks were prehistoric mining implements used to extract blocks of steatite from outcrops found in the east-central Piedmont region of southeastern Pennsylvania. Once quarried, the blocks of steatite, also known as soapstone because of the material’s slippery feel when handled, were carved into stone bowls and other utilitarian containers used in boiling liquids and cooking food.

Stone picks, shown here, were made from hard resistant lithic materials like diabase, hornfels and basalt, also local to the Piedmont region. These crudely made bifacially formed tools usually have an elongated shape 11 – 20 centimeters in length and possess a blunt or nearly rounded poll. The opposite end normally tapers to a point or bit which acts as the tool’s working edge used to carve and shape the soft blocks of steatite into finished bowls and other items. Upon close examination the working or tapered end on these tools is characterized as chisel-like, a part of the tool that had to be intentionally sharpened with an abrasive honestone of gritty gneiss or sandstone. Rarely were stone picks bi-bitted although one example in our collection has a bit point on each of its ends.

Many of the steatite containers in the State Museum of Pennsylvania retain the residual chisel-like scars of the stone pick. Most often these scars form parallel discontinuous grooves on the exterior and basal portions of the bowl. Rarely are the telltale grooves evident on the bowl’s interior face where the scars were apparently scraped smooth during the final production stage.

Certainly the quarry pick was a crude tool aesthetically, but it was also an important element of the Transitional Broad Spear Period tool kit. It was an implement used to make other implements, that in turn, supported a cooking technology new to the region that accommodated an improved way of life well before the development of ceramic containers at the onset of the Woodland period about 3000 years ago.

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

Donation December: The Gift of Giving

Each week this month will focus on an artifact collection generously donated to the State Museum Section of Archaeology by an amateur archaeologist. Well documented collections with detailed provenience information are of particular significance because they have the potential to contribute the most information about Pennsylvania prehistory. However, archaeologists are able to compare and examine all collections to interpret broad cultural changes.

The most recent donation to The Section of Archaeology comes from Mr. James H. Armstrong and provides us with additional specimens from an important site in the Susquehanna River Valley. Mr. Armstrong received this collection from his grandmother and decided to donate the artifacts so that they would be preserved for future generations and to assist in the research of early occupants of Pennsylvania.

The projectile points in this photograph were made by native peoples who occupied the Lower Susquehanna River. The points date from the Archaic Period (8000-1800 B.C.) thru the Late Woodland Period (800 -1550 A.D.). These periods are defined by changes in technology and changes in lifeways. The points at the bottom of the photo are the earliest, Archaic, and the points at the top represent the Woodland Period.

The stone tools in this photograph are representative of the Archaic and Middle Woodland Periods. During this time native peoples were evolving from a hunting and gathering lifestyle to one more dependent on horticulture. The notched net-sinkers would have been used along the river for securing fishing nets. The other tools function as wood-working implements such as the grooved axe (top), and the celt (second row, right) and chipped stone axe (second row, left). The third row includes three unfinished bifaces, left to right, which are essentially “blanks” for projectile point production. On the far right is a pick possibly used for carving steatite vessels dating to the Transitional Period (1800-1200 B.C.).

Archaeologists know the function and age of these artifacts through careful excavation of stratified archaeological sites and analysis of the levels at which these artifacts are found. We have blogged the past few weeks about the C-14 and AMS dating of artifacts and how archaeologists determine the age of artifacts. By compiling data from lots of sites and artifacts we are able to determine the point styles associated with the Archaic and Woodland Periods. Stratified excavations that then yield points produced by the same techniques as the dated points are considered contemporary. Changes in shapes of points indicate a change in technology or function over time.

Hunters prior to the Late Woodland Period are using a spear thrower or atlatl and the points are notched in various forms to allow for hafting to the spear shaft. In the Late Woodland Period the change in shape of projectile points indicates a shift to bow and arrow technology.

Please consider donating your collection to The State Museum to further our understanding of the heritage of our Commonwealth and Preserve our 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 .

ESAF Meeting

The Eastern States Archaeological Federation (ESAF) will hold its annual meeting at the Holiday Inn in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on November 5-7. The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology will host this highly educational event that is open to the public. There will be over 40 presentations focusing on rockshelter archaeology, the Transitional Period, Monongahela archaeology and the analysis of soils in archaeology.

The guest speaker on Saturday evening will be Dr. Dennis Stanford of the Smithsonian Institute. The title of his presentation is “Seeking a New Paleolithic Paradigm”. He will discuss several recent discoveries in the Middle Atlantic region that suggest the ancestors of Native Americans migrated to the New World at a much earlier date than previously thought.

The Eastern States Archaeological Federation is an organization of state archaeological societies representing much of the Eastern United States and Canada. ESAF was organized in 1933-34 to provide a forum for the exchange of archaeological information among archaeologists and state archaeological societies. With a membership of 12 state societies and over 300 individual memberships, ESAF continues to foster international cooperation and information exchange within the archaeological community, as well as supporting public outreach, education, and participation.

The objectives of ESAF are:
a. To serve as a bond between the Member Societies.

b. To encourage and promote scientific archaeological work by the Member Societies, Individual Members and Institutional Members.

c. To publish and encourage the publication of reports and articles about the archaeology of the region; anthropological studies related to the archaeology of the area; and contributions from inter-disciplinary fields related to the study of Eastern North American archaeology.

d. To promote the spread of archaeological knowledge.

e. To engage in the archaeological projects which exceed the capabilities of the Member Societies.
As a regional organization, ESAF publishes an annual journal. Registration for the meeting is available to the door. For more information on the meetings or the journal, visit the web site at www.ESAF-Archaeology.org

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

Recent archaeological excavations in Lehigh Gorge State Park, Carbon County

During the week of June 15, archaeologists from the State Museum of Pennsylvania and Temple University tested a prehistoric Native American site along the Lehigh River in Lehigh Gorge State Park, Carbon County. The site (designated 36Cr142 in the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey files) was brought to our attention by local amateur archaeologists who were alarmed that it was being looted and valuable archaeological information was being lost.

It was reported that artifacts from the Transitional period (3000-4200 years ago) and the Late Archaic period (4200-6000 years ago) were the focus of the looters. The Transitional/Late Archaic period is a time of significant change throughout the Middle Atlantic region. Native American cultures were experiencing new technological developments, a dramatic increase in trade and the first widespread examples of ceremonialism. The hallmark of the Transitional period is the broadspear. The one pictured below is of the Perkiomen style and it was recovered less than 3 feet from the surface. The asymmetrical blade suggests it was also used as a knife. We felt it was important to learn more and document this site before it was completely destroyed.

With the assistance of local volunteers, we conducted a week long investigation to determine the extent of the destruction and the potential for earlier occupations. In addition, as part of our visit, we were hoping to educate the local archaeological community as to the advantages of proper excavation techniques but also to make it clear that further looting would not be tolerated. The site is located on state property and it is protected under Section 511 of the State History Code. Collecting or digging for artifacts on state land is punishable by a $2500 fine and/or a year in jail.

Over a period of six days, we expanded two looters pits into an 8 X 14 foot unit and a 7 by 7 foot unit. The site is stratified although the top 3 -4 feet have been extensively dug-up by looters. The excavations proceeded by natural and cultural levels and all soils were screened through ¼ inch mesh. The work was hampered by rain storms but one unit was partially excavated to the bottom where a layer of cobbles representing the Ice Age stream bed were encountered. No artifacts were recovered from this depth and we assume this level dates to approximately 12,000 years ago.

This project only sampled a small portion of the site but we have been able to generate several working hypothesis. The site was occupied by at least six different Native American groups between 3000 and 9500 years ago and possibly earlier. We were able to develop a good description of the soil stratigraphy and the different occupations can be correlated with distinct soil strata. Although the Transitional/Late Archaic occupation has been adversely impacted, the Middle Archaic occupation, dating to between 6000 and 8500 is largely intact. Middle Archaic times are one of the most poorly understood periods in the region and this site has the potential to greatly increase our understanding of Native American culture during this time. The bifurcate based projectile point (of the LeCroy type) was found at over 4 feet below the surface. In addition, there were artifacts below the Middle Archaic occupation, probably dating to the Early Archaic or even the Paleoindian period and these would also be very significant.

This site clearly has the potential to add new and significant data to our understanding of Native American cultural behavior in the past. Towards that goal, Temple University is planning to continue the investigation with a college field school planned for the summer of 2010.

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