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.
Category: This Week in Pennsylvania Archaeology
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.
In painstakingly precise recreations, archaeologists of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) created three vessels during the innovative outreach program, the Pennsylvania Dugout Canoe Project, which educated thousands of visitors about this fascinating aspect of travel by Native Americans. This project, which concluded in 2005, was done through public programs using replicated historic and/or prehistoric tools and techniques.
During the week of June 15. 2009, archaeologists from the State Museum of Pennsylvania and Temple University tested a pre-contact Native American site along the Lehigh River in Lehigh Gorge State Park, Carbon County. The site (designated 36CR0142 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 is the edge of a stone tool under 200x magnification. By comparing this image with experimental tools used on different materials, we know this was used on hard wood.
In the 1990s, a federal construction project for a new detention center in Philadelphia resulted in the identification of an urban archaeological site in the area of North 7th and Arch Streets.
October is Pennsylvania Archaeology Month! Every October, events and programs are held across Pennsylvania to celebrate the Commonwealth’s deep past.
PA SHPO partner agencies and organizations including the the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) and their local chapters, the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC), as well as local historical societies and universities, offer public archaeology programs for all ages to highlight their region’s archaeological and historical significance. We have a lot of announcements this year so here we go!
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