Student Archeologists Discover Ancient Campsite
November 14, 2007 - 11:14pm — PaulaZ
Location(s)
Loysburg Dig
Loysburg, PA Students in Mr. Phil Waite’s history class at Central High School in Martinsburg, PA are having quite a week. Yesterday they honored their local military veterans, listening to the first person experiences of the soldiers who laid their lives on the line in defense of democracy. Today those same students discovered an ancient campsite near Loysburg, PA.
The students moved their history class outside today to celebrate Archeology Day in PennDOT’s District 9 in south central Pennsylvania. About 20 students and about a dozen professional archeologists convened on a hillside hay field above a PennDOT stockpile of anti-skid materials. PennDOT would like to expand the crowded yard and maintenance facility, and today’s archeological investigation was part of the process to make sure that no historical or archeological sites would be destroyed by the expansion. It’s the Commonwealth’s responsibility under the State History Code to consider what impact its actions, including relatively minor projects like the stockpile expansion, will have on the “cultural resources” of Pennsylvania, including the campsites of ancient hunters and gatherers.
Our goal today was simple – investigate the area by digging small test pits to check for evidence of humans. That evidence could be artifacts, that is, things made and used by people, and features, such as fire pits. And today we found both!
Each “pit crew” was made up of two students and a professional archeologist. The professionals, taking a break from their usual assignments, were from several companies, including Dawood Engineering, Heberling Associates, GAI Consultants, IUP Archeological Services, KCI, and ACH. What a great chance for both the students and archeologists to work together, and from the outbursts of laughter that often erupted across the field, it sounded like all the teams were enjoying both the work and the company.
When the students arrived, they were given an overview of the day’s activities while the archeologists marked the locations of the shovel test pits. After their orientation, the students met their archeologists and the digging began.
Brianna Musselman and Leah Stiles of Central High School in Martinsburg, PA become archeologists for a day.
A shovel test pit is a small hole, about 50 cm across. Some people dig them square, some circular. As the dirt is shoveled out of the hole, it is tossed into a box with ¼-inch mesh screen across the bottom. This screen is mounted on two legs so that it can be shaken back and forth. The dirt falls through the screen, leaving the artifacts and other objects that are too big to pass through the mesh. It’s a pretty efficient method for finding artifacts.
Once the digging began, it didn’t take long before the first artifacts were found. A team down the line found a projectile point. That got everybody excited and made everyone optimistic. A projectile point is a stone tool that was the business end of a dart, spear, or arrow. It is usually made of a hard stone, like chert (flint), rhyolite, quartz or argillite. It was made by using percussion (banging it with another rock or a hammer made from the base of an antler) and by pressure (pushing on the edges of the stone with the tine of an antler to remove small flakes, making a fine serrated – and sharp! – edge). In our first shovel test, we found some of the flakes of stone that some hunter removed while making a point thousands of years ago.
In our second shovel test, we found some more flakes, but then, just before our lunch break, we found our own projectile point. It wasn’t fancy, and it was actually only a fragment of a point. But we didn’t care.
Projectile point fragment, one of 4 or 5 found today.
I’ve been an archeologist for 30 years now. In that time, I’ve worked on more than 2,000 sites, and I’ve found thousands of artifacts. But it’s still a thrill. It’s such a direct link to somebody who lived long ago. Think about it. The last person to touch that point was the person who lost it thousands of years ago. It’s almost like they’ve handed that artifact to me. Here we were today, on the same hillside that some hunter worked on long ago, enjoying the mild weather, looking at the same mountain ridges. Now a lot has happened around Loysburg since that time (the village has an interesting history), but our ancient hunter would probably still recognize the spot. That’s the kind of connection with a person from the past that you just can’t get from a book.
By the end of the day, more flakes and points were found. We had accomplished our goal. We had discovered that someone had been here at this site. As the analysis of the artifacts and data proceeds, we’ll learn more. But we also shared a great experience, and I was reminded again that archeology is not only about the past, but the future. After all, the history students from Central High are the next generation of archeologists and conservationists. One day, somebody from their generation will have my job. After today, I have a good feeling about that, that our heritage will be in good hands.
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Comments
great!
what happens now that you found evidence of human acivity?
Excellent question
There is a process for evaluating sites like this that has been developed by government agencies (like PennDOT and the PA Historical and Museum Commission), professional archeologists, and American Indians. Basically, it involves the collection of more information and analysis to understand just what people were doing here since the last Ice Age. This information is provided to the engineers who may be able to re-design the construction so that the campsite will be preserved. If that's not possible, and the site is of an age and type that is unusual in Pennsylvania, more excavation may be performed so that we can learn more about the people of that time.
Digging for the Past!
I enjoyed reading the story about the digging and finding projectile points. My husband, Bob, and I worked at Greenwood Furnace digging several years ago. It was exciting learning how to mark off a block of earth and sift through the dirt to uncover parts of the history of the people who lived in the area and their work. We uncovered sections of the old furnace and you can see them when you go to Greenwood Furnace State Park. Pennsylvania State Parks - Greenwood Furnace - PA DCNR
Iron man!
I've seen your discovery! Paul Fagley has a great program over at Greenwood; I've been over a couple of times to help with workshops, etc.
I went over one day several years ago and walked around the site with Paul Fagley, Paul Heberling (the archeologist), and his grandson, Paul. Three Pauls and a Paula -- what do you think the chances of that happening anywhere are?! All I can say is that communication was difficult that day -- I'd say "Paul" and three heads would snap around!