As of September 2026, we have over 28,500 archaeological sites recorded in Pennsylvania. This reflects nearly 100 years of Pennsylvanian’s appreciating and recording information on the archaeological evidence of past populations. Of those sites, over 21,900 are pre-contact period archaeological sites – sites that date to the thousands of years that people lived in what is now Pennsylvania before Europeans arrived. Continue reading
Category: Archaeology (Page 1 of 19)
Last month, we took a look at some uncommon artifacts that are found on historic archaeological sites. This month we are going to take a look at some of the different types of artifacts that are found on precontact sites that we think are very exciting. Archaeologists are mostly likely to find lithic tools such as projectile points and their associated fragments like flakes and shatter, or Native American pottery if the site is from a more recent time, the Woodland period. But while these are the most common artifacts found on precontact archaeological sites, there are many different kinds of tools which are often found at specialized site which give archaeologists an insight into what activities were performed at these locations. Lets take a look at some of the examples which are held here at the State Museum!
Archaeology Month is just around the corner!
Every October, events and programs are held across Pennsylvania to celebrate the commonwealth’s deep past. PA SHPO partner agencies and organizations, including the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) and their local chapters, the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC), local historical societies and universities, offer public archaeology programs for all ages to highlight their region’s archaeological and historical significance.
We know you’re as busy as we are, so save these dates now so you don’t miss out!
As summer comes to a quick end (it feels like it was May just yesterday!), we want to spotlight the wonderful work done by our three Keystone Interns this summer.
This is part of a biannual blog series highlighting the agreement documents executed by PA SHPO in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations.
This year’s Independence Day is the United States’ 250th birthday and all over the country there have been celebrations and events to honor this anniversary. this is a great opportunity to examine the archaeological record in the City of Brotherly Love.
One of the fundamental concepts in archaeology is the Law of Superposition, which states that older material is located underneath more recent material. So generally, on an archaeological site, the deeper you dig, the older the materials will be. It’s a simple concept that at times can require a good amount of interpretation and investigation. But for archaeologists before the mid-20th century, the law of superposition provided the only means of estimating the age of objects at an archaeological site.
In the late 1980s, the City of Harrisburg began to experience economic rejuvenation under the driving force of the newly elected mayor, Stephen Reed. One of his projects was the revitalization of City Island, situated in the middle of the Susquehanna River.
There are lots of things I look forward to in March as spring nears, like melting snow, daffodils, warmer sunny days, and… the PA SHPO Annual Report!
The Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS) is the Commonwealth’s inventory of recorded archaeological sites. The program officially started in the late 1970s—when site files held by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History were combined with those kept by the State Museum of Pennsylvania—but it was built on a foundation of nearly 100 years of site recording by numerous institutions and individuals across the state. Since that time, the PASS files have been kept in a centralized repository at the SHPO, where they are now submitted, archived digitally, and made available to qualified archaeologists and researchers through PA-SHARE.
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