Kinsey Scholarship, J. Alden Mason Award and Volunteer Recognition Program

This week in our travels through Pennsylvania, we are going to take time out to congratulate some special people who have made a difference in Pennsylvania archaeology.

First, the W. Fred Kinsey Scholarship was awarded this year to senior Morgan Rouscher of Gettysburg College.  Morgan presented her paper “Working Together: Exploring the Use of Public Archaeology in Waynesboro, PA” at the 84^th annual meeting of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology in Uniontown.  Award of this scholarship provides students with recognition of their research endeavors and encourages participation in a forum that focuses on Pennsylvania archaeology. Papers selected for this award are subsequently edited and reviewed for publication in the journal Pennsylvania Archaeologist. The first scholarship recipient, Jonathan R. Libbon, was published in the Fall 2012 issue of the journal and last year’s recipient, Jennifer Rankin is scheduled for publication later this year.

Ms. Roucher accepting the W. Fred Kinsey Scholarship Award at the 84th Annual Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology meeting

The W. Fred Kinsey Scholarship program began in 2011 in an effort to promote student participation at the annual meetings of the Society. Dr. Kinsey was a curator with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) in the late 1950 and early 1960s. This was followed by twenty five years at Franklin and Marshall College and The North Museum in Lancaster County. His work on the prehistory of the Upper Delaware river valley laid the foundation for much of the interpretation of this region of Pennsylvania. In addition to his contributions to archaeological investigations, he mentored many students who went on to become significant archaeologists on their own merits.

Morgan’s paper focused on an eighteenth century rural farmstead site which was occupied by one German Baptists family, the Stoner’s, from 1740 to 1850.  Assistance with this excavation was provided by members of Cumberland Valley Chapter #27 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology.  This site provides an opportunity to document the daily activities of a working farm through the archaeological evidence recovered during excavations. Farmstead sites typically provide an opportunity to examine agricultural practices- where areas were fenced, barn construction methods and size, number and location of outbuildings, and general land use patterns.  Artifacts recovered during this investigation will be analyzed for indicators of consumerism- local or imported, duration for which the product was used and conditions under which it was discarded. These questions provide archaeologists a chance to compare a working farm, occupied by German Baptists in this case, with farms operated by other ethnic groups who settled in Pennsylvania.  This site type is also a perfect connection for the local community to connect to their past in ways that more renowned sites might not. Morgan selected this site’s public involvement as a chance to educate the local community as to the value of archaeology to them and everyone’s understanding of the past.

We wish to congratulate Morgan on her accomplishment and hope to assist her with development of her paper for publication.

 

Our second award winner is Janet Johnson, Curator, The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Janet received the highest honor conferred on a professional archaeologist by the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, the J. Alden Mason Award. The following was read for her award.

Janet Johnson accepting the J. Alden Mason award at the 84th Annual Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology meeting

This award is in honor of John Alden Mason.  He was a noted North and South American Archaeologist, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and a founding member of Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. (SPA). This award is presented to a professional archaeologist or a professional in a related science and is based upon his/her contribution to education and encouragement of SPA members in the proper pursuit of archaeology.

The Archaeology Section of the State Museum of Pennsylvania houses over 4.5 million artifacts.  When need to do some research, or to examine artifacts, or to ask questions; we turn to the person who is always there when we need her. She works long hours facilitating the care of material remains of historic and prehistoric peoples who called Pennsylvania their home.  In her trust is our precious Pennsylvania history.  She is a tireless supporter of archaeology and goes the extra mile to make archaeology accessible to SPA members, students, researchers and the general public.

 

Janet Johnson began as an intern at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in 1979 and joined the staff in 1993. In 2004 she was promoted to curator.  Curator, Janet Johnson encourages the use of the museum’s collections for education and research, and in spite of her busy work schedule she makes herself available to aide persons doing research. She is especially good with young researchers and mentors high school and college students.  Janet understands that Pennsylvania archaeology cannot grow without encouraging students.

Janet is in charge of volunteers at the museum, is on the SPA C14 committee and helped establish the Kinsey scholarship.  She has participated at various excavations in Pennsylvania, including Fort Hunter.  Janet works closely each year with the archaeology exhibits at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which is a major event that encourages interest in Pennsylvania archaeology. Janet published with McConaughy in 2003 - Sugar Run Mound and Village and with Kent, Rice, and Ota in  1981 -  A map of 18th Century Indian towns in Pennsylvania.

Her most recent research has focused on New Deal historical archaeology in Pennsylvania.  Janet, is also working with the Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University, regarding Susquehannock animal and human effigies on vessels and smoking pipes.

For her many contributions to archaeology and dedication to the principles of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Janet Johnson is presented with the J. Alden Mason  Award.

Finally, this Saturday April 27^th, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will hold its annual volunteer recognition program at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Each spring the Commission celebrates the many volunteers who contribute their time, expertise and hard work to making the historic sites and museums of the PHMC premier attractions around the Commonwealth. TWIPA would like to take this opportunity to thank the individuals who make up a small army of volunteers that regularly dedicate a portion of their time with the Section of Archaeology at the State Museum of PA. Much of what we do wouldn’t happen without their help. We tip out hats to Andi, Laina, Toni, Sheila, Sid, Amber, Andy, Clydene, Merikay, Elijah, Tessa, Krissy, Cassie, and everyone else we may have overlooked, you guys are the best.  THANK YOU!

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

"B" is for . . .

"B" is for bannerstone, bird stone, boatstone or bola stone; all of which are problematic artifacts. What was their function? This week, the bola stone will be the focus of our "alphabetical archaeology".

Artifacts of the Bushkill complex from the Faucett site: A. gorgets; B. unfinished gorget;C. bola stones: D. netsinkers; E. bipitted adze blank; F. celt. - from Kinsey


The bola or bolas is a ropewith a weight attached at the ends. It is a hunting tool often thrown at small game to entangle their feet. Commonly, it has two or three balls generally made of stone, wood or bags of pebbles. Of Spanish origin, bolas were made famous by the South American gauchos. They were also used by Native Americans, notably the Inca and Inuit.

Ovate pebble netsinkers with notched ends. Note imprint on left-hand specimen of double
Cord attachment Morrow site, Ontario Co., N.Y. Photograph courtesy of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences. - from Ritchie



Archaeologically, round stones with pecked grooves around the middle have been found across the continent. However, in many references they are identified as either net sinkers of bola stones. Notched net sinkers are very common in the archaeological record of the East and bola stones could have easily functioned as a net sinker. However, why bother to peck the grove when a notched flat stone was the more common form and certainly less labor intensive. The consensus today is that they were either specialized net sinkers or, the favorite, is that they functioned as bolas.

net sinker

In the Middle Atlantic region they are mainly found on Early and Middle Woodland sites (2900 - 1200 BP). At the Faucet site in the Upper Delaware valley, six were found with the early Middle Woodland Bushkill complex (2500 - 2000 BP). Three were found in close association (representing a three stone bola) with one another and all were found with hunting gear (projectile points, scrapers and knives). W. Fred Kinsey, who excavated the site, concluded they were used along the river to entangle the feet or break the wings of water fowl.

Archaeologists rely on the results of controlled excavations to interpret these "problematic" tools left by prehistoric hunters in Pennsylvania to better understand our past.

Kinsey III, W. Fred

Archaeology of the Upper Delaware. Anthropological Series No. 2 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission 1972

Ritchie, William A.
The Archaeology of New York State. revised ed. The Natural History Press, Garden City, New York 1969

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

The Werner Collection

David Werner documenting the Zimmermann Site


It is difficult to summarize the many contributions of David J. Werner to Pennsylvania archaeology in one posting. Mr. Werner was a WWII veteran and worked most of his post-war civilian career as a ticket agent for the Erie railroad. A dedicated avocational archaeologist in his spare-time, Mr. Werner was a founding member of the Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology, the Lenape Chapter 12. His collection encompasses over 40 years of archaeological investigation of the Upper Delaware River Valley on both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides.

His son, David Werner Jr., donated the collection to The State Museum of Pennsylvania in 2004. Stored in every nook and cranny of Werner Sr.’s basement and attic, the extensive collection included over 175 boxes of artifacts and excavation documentation from over 36 prehistoric and historic sites.

The sheer magnitude of the Upper Delaware artifact assemblage is noteworthy in and of itself. However, the collection’s true value is found in the diligent recordkeeping of Mr. Werner and fellow members of the Lenape Chapter 12. Under the field direction of Mr. Werner, sites were excavated in controlled units that were documented with detailed maps and excavation records.


A great deal of time was also spent organizing site collections and compiling artifact inventories after field work was done. Artifacts were documented, sorted, boxed and bagged by site provenience and in many cases labeled with catalog numbers. It is this attention to detail that arguably produced his most significant archaeology contribution to the Commonwealth, the publication of his report on excavations at the Zimmermann Site (36Pi14) in Archeology in the Upper Delaware Valley (Kinsey, 1972).

In 1960s and early 1970s, the professional archaeological community enlisted members of avocational groups to aid with the identification and excavation of sites endangered in the proposed Tocks Island Reservoir Project Area. The Zimmermann Site was discovered by the Lenape Chapter while conducting a site survey between Matamoras and Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, and was the largest of many archaeological sites investigated by Chapter members during this period.

The site’s unique stratigraphic sequence has added greatly to the regional understanding of the change from Late Archaic hunter/gather lifeways to more horticultural lifeways developed during the Early and Middle Woodland Periods. Zimmermann is a multi-component prehistoric site, with several isolated occupational zones. Werner was able to identify a distinct regional projectile point type, the “Dry Brook Fishtail” and proposed the “Dry Brook” cultural complex based on Level 3 excavations (Radiocarbon date 1280 B.C.).
Dry Brook projectile point

Also found associated with nearly three hundred identified “Dry Brook Fishtail” points in Zimmermann Site Level 3 were sixty-seven hearth features, twenty-one of which were large platforms of fire cracked rock ranging in size from 5 to 22 feet in length and 193 steatite (soapstone) bowl fragments from an estimated 32 individual vessels. This excavation level produced some of the largest reconstructed steatite vessels found in Pennsylvania to date.

reconstructed steatite vessel

For more information about the Zimmermann Site and the archaeology of the Transitional Archaic Period check out the following link and reference.

Kinsey, W. Fred (1972). Archeology in the Upper Delaware Valley Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pa

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