The recent discovery of mound builder
artifacts in the small town of Loganton, PA. has excited local residents and
archaeologists. “We are just beginning the investigation, but I can tell you
that if all is what it seems - this is an important discovery,” said Thomas
“Tank” Baird, President of North Central Chapter 8 of the Society for
Pennsylvania Archaeology.
There will be a presentation and the artifacts can be viewed
on Monday, February 3, 2020, at 6:00 P.M., at the Thomas Taber Museum, located at 858 West Fourth Street, Williamsport. A
second presentation will be given Saturday, February 15 at 1:00 P.M., at the
Sugar Valley Charter School, 236 E. Main Street, Loganton, PA.
The artifacts are from the Adena Culture, the first long
distant Native American traders. Beginning in about 800 BC, they survived as an
important culture set apart from the Early Woodlands peoples while building
incredible mounds and earthworks in their homeland of southcentral Ohio. Often
referred to as “Egyptian like” because of the culture’s trading for exotic
materials across a prehistoric landscape and burying them with important dead
in conical burial mounds, they traveled and traded for copper, freshwater
pearls, gypsum, and exotic flint and stone.
NCC8 has been hard at work with research and site visits, in
cooperation with the Sugar Valley Historical Society, since the site’s
rediscovery in the spring of 2019. This collection of projectile points and
other artifacts includes materials from Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. Finely crafted, these items showcase the
skill of these people.
Part of the mystery is where the artifacts were found.
Although the distribution and ceremonial centers dot areas along the Delaware River
and the Chesapeake Bay, as well as western Pennsylvania, the Adena seemingly
avoided travel on the Susquehanna River and may have used overland paths to get
to and from the East Coast. “They do not appear to be part of the
archaeological record on the north or west branch of the Susquehanna and that
is precisely why this discovery is important,” said Baird.
Was this a burial or just trade goods lost along the way? We
know that the discovery site is along a known historic Indian path, but was this
simply a path or a Native American highway? Come be part of the discussion.
NCC8 is the Lycoming County chapter of the Society for
Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., which promotes the study of the prehistoric and
historic archaeological resources of Pennsylvania and neighboring states.
NCC8, a 501(C) educational nonprofit organization, relies
upon donations. Without the community’s generosity, the group could not pay for
the Insurance needed to host digs. NCC8 needs donations to purchase supplies,
such as trowels, shovels, tarps, and artifact preservation bags. Please donate
today and help preserve and protect Lycoming County's cultural heritage.
Learn more about the group and make a donation online at
www.PennArchaeology.com.
