PAHGS: Archaeological talking points
PUNXSUTAWNEY — On July 12, the first in a series of five Wednesday afternoon sessions for the Society’s History Hunter program took place.
This program for youth ages 11 to 14 was supported by the Punxsutawney Area Community Foundation, Inc. and designed by the Punxsutawney Area Historical and Genealogical Society’s education committee to focus this year on one what one could learn about the early peoples who inhabited our area.
Our resource person for the afternoon was Ken Burkett of the Jefferson County History Center and the North Fork 29 Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. Ken has decades-long experience working at archaeological sites, both locally and across the country. From his viewpoint, the history of our early peoples goes back thousands of years. What that really means is that activities farther back in time were modified over the centuries so that there is not a “one size fits all” traditional way to hunt, cook, seek shelter and clothe oneself.
Case in point: hunting tools evolved over time, as did the points attached to the business end of these tools. Projectile points vary widely in shape and size and can help define the shorter time spans archaeologists use to describe the past.
Our native display in the Reschini room, designed in part by Tom Glover, begins with the Paleolithic Era (14,000 BC to 8,000 BC) and ends with the Contact Period, which means when European explorers were able to create written records.
In early times, large animals would be chased, perhaps trapped and stabbed with spears. Later, spears were thrown as modern javelins are thrown. At some point,
people learned that spears could go farther and be more effective if a spear thrower was used, effectively extending a hunter’s reach. The term generally in use is “atlatl,” which is an Aztec word used today by archaeologists and modern native tribesmen. Eventually, bows and arrows became commonplace and were joined, after contact with Europeans, by ever-evolving modern firearms. The projectile points found locally vary dramatically and variously would have been used with arrows, darts or spears.
Ken brought atlatls and lightweight spears to demonstrate the spear throwing technique and allow the History Hunters to practice their use. He also explained how archaeological illustrations of points and other artifacts have historically been done on site, working with the group as they drew illustrations in their journals of items from the society’s collections. Of course, cameras have now emerged as the more common way to document finds.
Ken also brought for “show and tell” a large packbasket such as what a person could carry like a backpack but much, much larger. It was made of woven wood strips. In the basket he had a large, tanned beaver pelt, a quantity of tools such as knives, scrapers, drills and combs made of stone or bone. He also showed us a reproduction of a small clay cooking pot, designs pressed into the damp clay with woven cords. The pot had a pointed bottom and could, therefore, not sit on a flat surface but was likely intended to nestle in the ashes in a fire or in a pit surrounded by fire, perhaps even be suspended over a fire.
Drawing on his experience with the dig at Fishbasket in Clarion County some years ago,
Ken explained that archaeologists deduced from their work there that, over many years, the communities which inhabited the region would occupy one site, building a number of singlefamily sized round dwellings one might describe as wigwams. Saplings would be placed in the ground, their tops pulled together into a dome shape and the outside covered with large pieces of bark, somewhat like extra-large shingles, leaving a space on top for smoke to exit. Benches would be constructed around the inside perimeter of the dwelling to serve for sleeping or sitting. Items were stored underneath or hung from parts of the dwelling’s support structure. Perishable items might be stored in pits underground. The family unit would include parents and children with, perhaps, an elder grandparent. The native society was generally matriarchal in nature, with women making many group decisions. The community of multiple wigwams might have had a palisade of saplings surrounding it to provide some protection. After a period of years, if game or planting areas became depleted, the community might move to another nearby area and rebuild. There is evidence of this at the Fishbasket site, which is recognized by Pennsylvania with an historic roadside marker on Route 28 in Alcola.
Ken will be our guest speaker at our annual fall dinner Oct. 7. Save the date.
The rest of our Wednesday discoveries will be detailed in future months.
In the meantime, a lot is happening in a short period of time:
• Sept. 3, 4 p.m. Annual Coal Memorial event and tile reveal at 404 W. Mahoning. Bring a lawn chair.
• Sept. 8, 9 and 10. Community Wokjak Weekend. Events over the weekend include a threeday art and artifact show, as well as a special display at 400 W. Mahoning, a Race to the Face plus history rides and a bus tour, all associated with parts of the native paths of the area. Details to come on Facebook
Please note our updated hours for the Bennis and Lattimer Houses.
— Marty Armstrong, Accessions, Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc.; PO Box 286, 400-401 W. Mahoning St., Punxsutawney, PA 15767; phone: 814-9382555; email: punxsyhistory@outlook.com; website: www.punxsyhistory.org; Facebook: Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society.
PAHGS current hours for Bennis and Lattimer Houses, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1 to 4. Advance appointments are required for genealogy database research. Research using the Tibby Library’s books, periodicals and military and yearbook indices does not require an appointment.