Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Category: Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (Page 1 of 4)

Quarrying our Data for Quarry Districts

Happy Archaeology Month!

One of the most common objects shown to archaeologists for identification are rocks. Most of the time, these objects just end up being rocks, but sometimes people do find one that has been altered in some way by human hands. These artifacts are called lithics and they can be found all over the United States and throughout the rest of the world.

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Intern Introspect: 2023 PASS Internship

As I look back at my time here at the PA SHPO, I realized how much new knowledge and experience I have gained. Prior to this internship, I had very little experience in the world of preservation, especially when it came to the bureaucratic level. This internship allowed me to jump into the world of archaeology here at the PA State Historic Preservation Office.

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Digging into the PASS Year: The 2022 Annual PASS Report

Earlier this year, PA SHPO issued its PA Archaeological Site Survey (PASS) report  for 2022.  Definitely add the PASS report to your “must read” list because it is chock full of interesting information about archaeology in Pennsylvania.

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Community Archaeology at Midland Cemetery

Last fall the State Museum of Pennsylvania hosted their annual workshop in archaeology entitled Hidden Stories: Uncovering African American History through Archaeology and Community Engagement. The theme was born out of the acknowledgement that African Americans are vastly underrepresented in the historic record and the representations that are present are typically unfairly biased.

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A Look at the PASS Year: The 2021 Annual PASS Report

It’s that time of the year again! Time to report and reflect on another successful year of archaeological site recording efforts throughout Pennsylvania. In 2021, over 300 new archaeological sites were recorded by cultural resource management (CRM) projects, independent and university research projects, Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) members, and long-time avocational archaeologist.

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Baseline Survey: An Essential Ingredient in Our Preservation Pantry

There are some time-honored recipes in the historic preservation cookbook. The most successful, and dare I say scrumptious, preservation medleys include an essential ingredient – survey. Survey in the historic preservation profession is like the flour in your favorite holiday desserts.

Without survey, many preservation projects are challenged to rise to a superior outcome, just like a cake. My mind just might be overflowing with visions of sugar plums and cookies this holiday season, so I’ll do my best to refrain from too many more baking similes while I share initial Year 1 outcomes from the PA SHPO’s Baseline Survey effort. I think you’ll be as excited about the results as we are!

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Uncovering the Susquehannock Village at Lemoyne

November is Native American Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people.

One way we can learn about indigenous peoples is through archaeology. Archaeology can help expand the Native American voice beyond what’s written in history textbooks and grow our respect for the people who came before us.

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