Archaeology Month is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., and the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council. Its purpose is to increase awareness of the important historic and prehistoric archaeological sites in the Commonwealth. These sites are part of the heritage of all Pennsylvanians.  Everyday, archaeological sites are destroyed. We hope that through the Archaeology Month events, more Pennsylvanians become aware of this part of our history and work to protect our endangered resources.

Northeast
Southeast
Central 
West
Distinguished Speakers Series
Just Outside Pennsylvania
Archaeology Month Contributors

Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology - Forks of the Delaware Chapter 14

Event:  Chapter Monthly Meeting.
Date:  Thursday, 3 October.
Time:  7:30 PM
Contact:  Philip Perazio, Phone: 570-421-9525, Email: pperazio-kar@sunlink.net.
Description:  Program of archaeological interest. Details and directions can be found at Chapter 14's web page at the Siftings web site - www.siftings.com.

Event:  A trip to the City Island excavation in Harrisburg will be organized.
Date:  Saturday, 28 September.
Time:  All day. Departure time 8:30 AM.
Contact:  Philip Perazio, Phone: 570-421-9525, Email: pperazio-kar@sunlink.net.
Description:  A trip by rented van and/or carpool will be organized to visit the
Archaeology Month excavations at City Island (see PHMC announcement, below). Assembly point will be the Palmer Township Municipal Complex (see Chapter 14's web page at www.siftings.com for directions.

Event:  Excavation at the Brodhead Site.
Date:  Selected Saturdays during September and October
Time:  9 AM - 3 PM
Contact:  Philip Perazio, Phone: 570-421-9525, Email:  pperazio-kar@sunlink.net or John Wright, Phone: 570-588-2432, Email: John_R_Wright@nps.gov
Description:  The public is invited to visit ongoing excavations at the prehistoric
Brodhead Site, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The work
is being conducted under the auspices of the National Park Service by
Kutztown University and volunteers from Chapter 14. Please check with
contacts listed above for exact dates and directions.

Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology - John Shrader Chapter 21

Event:  Hay Creek Valley Historical Association's (HCVHA) Apple Festival
Location:  Joanna Furnace, Route 10 near Morgantown, Berks County
Date:  Saturday, 12 October 2002
Time:  7 AM-4 PM
Contacts:  Cathy Spohn, President, Chapter 21 - Phone  610-678-1274 (home) or 610-205-6711; Email cspohn@dot.state.pa.us, Charles Jacob - Phone 610-469-9530
Description:  John Shrader Chapter 21 will have an information stand at HCVHA's annual Apple Festival at Joanna Furnace. Chapter members have been actively engaged in the archaeological investigations and restoration of Joanna Furnace over many years. SPA members will provide information on archaeology, the role of the SPA, and the various projects Chapter 21 members have been involved with in addition to our work at Joanna. We will  have an exhibit of the archaeological research and field schools held at Joanna Furnace. The current excavations at the hot blast engine area and casting house will be open for visitors to see. Admission is free.

SPA Chapter 21 will also have an information stand at HCVHA's annual Fall Festival that runs from Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8, 2002, also at Joanna Furnace. Admission is $5 per person over age 12 on Friday and $7 per person on Saturday and Sunday. Passes for $10 for two are available through the contacts listed above. Besides the archaeological exhibits, there will be nineteenth century crafts, antique cars and agricultural machinery, a Civil War encampment, music and other attractions.  The funds raised go to sponsor archaeology and restoration at Joanna Furnace, as well as a field school for local students. 
 

Event:  Public Presentation - "Lenape: The Archaeology of a Culture in Transition."
Location:  Rydal Park Community Center, Rydal, PA
Date:  Tuesday, 22 October.
Time:  1:30 PM
Contact:  Marion Norris, Phone: 215-885-4042.

The PHMC Commonwealth Archaeology Program and the City of Harrisburg

Event:  Archaeology Month on City Island 2002
Date:  Thursday, 19 September through Friday, 4 October
Time:  9:00AM to 4:00 PM daily.
Contact: Doug McLearen at (717) 772-0925 or dmclearen@state.pa.us
Description:  The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will once again introduce the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Archaeology Month with the City Island archaeology program.  The program, which is located in the North Parking Lot on City Island in the City of Harrisburg, will have its opening day on Wednesday, September 18th. Following the opening day ceremony, tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m., the program will run every day from September 19th through Friday, October 4th.

This year's activities will again include: the site excavation; school tours;  sales; Agency Day; Penn DOT Day, and experimental archaeology.  The site excavation will continue in Excavation Block "C", which was partially excavated last fall. Excavation in the deep end of that block was not completed due to flooding that slowed down work intended to uncover the deepest artifact-bearing levels.  Higher in the profile, however, a number of Late Archaic features were defined and mapped and mapped during this last season.  The largest of these features, a massive fire-cracked rock cluster interpreted as a splayed out hearth, was fully uncovered, photographed, and mapped, then carefully covered in two layers of bubble-wrap and buried.  This year, the hearth rocks will be removed, areas beneath them will be examined, and squares that surround the hearth will be excavated.

The experimental work this year will focus on using stone tools and looking at wear patterns that can be compared to those on actual archaeological examples.  In addition, the pottery-making experiments, which have been refined from years before, will also be featured. For the lithics experiments, we intend to procure some high-grade material, such as jasper, which shows wear patterns clearly.

In conjunction with the Londonderry School, we will again look at high-tech imaging of artifacts and replicas. This season, rather than generalized demonstrations of the imaging equipment and applications, however, we will utilize the technology in focused experiments.

Pennsylvania Archaeological Council Essay Contest

Event:  PAC Essay Contest Award Ceremony.
Location:  City Island archaeological site (see above).
Date:  Saturday, 28 September.
Time:  TBA
Contact:  Valerie B. Perazio, 570-421-9525 

Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology - Bald Eagle Chapter 24

Event:  Activity to be scheduled.
Date:   TBA
Time:   TBA
Contact:  Mary Alice Graetzer (814)-238-5239 or Melissa Diamanti (814)-466-6607, State College.

Event: Artifact Display
Location: Lilian S. Besore Memorial Library, Greencastle
Date: Month of October
Description: The artifact display will feature historic and prehistoric items found during various excavations conducted near a 1750s limestone house, owned by member Al Bonnell.
Contact: Pandora Yeakle (717) 597-3215

Event: Artifact Display
Location: Allison-Antrim Museum House, Greencastle
Date: Month of October
Description: The artifact display will feature historic and prehistoric items found during several years of excavation.  Two open houses are planned: one for Sunday, October 13, from 1 to 4 pm, and for Thursday, October 17, from 12 to 3 pm.
Contact: Pandora Yeakle (717) 597-3215

Event: Artifact Display
Location: At a "Summer Gathering" near St. Thomas
Date: Saturday, 5 October
Description: The artifact display will feature a cross section of historic items found at all seven excavations conducted at Renfrew Museum and Park in Waynesboro.
Contact: Pandora Yeakle (717) 597-3215

Event: Artifact Display and talk at our regular meeting
Location: At a "Summer Gathering" near St. Thomas
Date: Tuesday, 8 October
Description: Featuring historic and prehistoric items found by members Ron and Lori George who live near Shippensburg.
Contact: Pandora Yeakle (717) 597-3215

McKean House Museum, Kittanning, PA.

Event:  Kenneth Burkett (Carnegie Museum Field Associate) will present a program entitled "Native American Petroglyphs of the Middle Allegheny Valley".
Date:  Sunday, 6 October
Time:  2 PM
Location:  Carriage House of the McKean House Museum, 300 N. McKean St.,
Kittanning, PA.
Contact:  Information at (814) 257-8152

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh

Event:  Public Presentation - "The Search and Discovery of Our Earliest Ancestors," by  Dr. Meave Leakey, Paleoanthropologist and Zoologist.
Date:  Thursday, 17 October.
Time:  7 PM
Description:  Dr. Meave Leakey is the standard-bearer of a family of paleoanthropologist who have dominated their field since the beginning of the 20th Century.  Spend an evening listening stories regarding her research and field expeditions in Africa that have uncovered clues to the origins of our earliest ancestors.

Tickets: $15. To order tickets: 412.394.3353 or www.proartstickets.org

Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology - Somerset Chapter 20

Event:  Archaeology Lab Workshop
Date:  Saturday, 26 October.
Time:  9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Contact:  Brian L. Fritz  814-893-0179 or bfritz@shol.com
Description:  Learn what happens to artifacts after they are discovered and removed from the ground. Participants will help sort, catalog, label, photograph, and refit artifacts that were found in local archaeological excavations. If not too cold out we may also process archaeological soil samples through a soil washing apparatus called a flotation tank. Artifacts to be processed will be from the Consol site, Lions Park Site, and McCoy Pottery site. There will be no charge for this event but bring your lunch and drinks. This Archaeology Lab Workshop will be held at the home of Brian L. Fritz near Stoystown, Pa.  Call for directions. Large groups, please call ahead so we can better plan this event.

Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology - Ohio Valley Chapter No. 22

Event:  In conjunction with the Butler Ethnic Festival, the Ohio Valley Chapter will have an excavation at the Shaw House in Butler, with displays, flint knapping demonstration, membership forms, and members available to explain the procedures to visitors.
Date:  Saturday, 14 September.
Time:  10 AM 'til 3 PM
Contact: Amanda Valko 724-654-2744 or email: avalko@mbakercorp.com

Other Activities: In October:  A field school at Camp Lutherlyn on Rt. 422 West. Date - 26 & 27 October. Details will be advertised in local newspapers and on the SPA website as well as the chapter's website. www.ohiovalley22.homestead.com,

We are also planning to hold joint meetings with the Butler County Historical Society and will be using the excellent video created by Bill Tippins. This will also be advertised throughout the area.

Dept. of Sociology/Anthropology, Edinboro University of PA

Event:  Open House, Fort LeBoeuf Museum
Location:  Waterford, PA
Date:  Every Saturday and Sunday in October
Time:  Noon to 4 PM
Contact:  Dr. Renata B. Wolynec, (814)732-2570
Description:  Archaeological displays at the museum include remains from the beaver trade, WPA excavations in the later 1930's, and Eagle Hotel excavations conducted by Edinboro University Archaeological Field Studies from 1975 through 1987.  Of special local interest is a replica of the only known original of Celeron's lead plate and a highly detailed model of an Iroquois village.  There is no admission charge.

Event:  Open House, excavations near the Yellow House, Battles Farmstead, Museums of Rural Life 
Location:  Girard, PA
Date:  Every Tuesday and Thursday morning in October, weather permitting (except October 8)
Time:  9:45 AM to 11:45 AM
Contact:  Dr. Renata B. Wolynec, (814)732-2570
Description:  The public is invited to observe students enrolled in Edinboro University of PA Archaeological Field Studies as they search for evidence for a smokehouse and granary.

Event:  Lecture - "Studying the Past from Human Mortuary Behavior"
Location:  Hendricks Hall 126, Main Campus, Edinboro University of PA
Date:  Wednesday, October 2
Time:  3PM to 5:30 PM
Contact:  Dr. Renata B. Wolynec, (814) 732-2570
Description:  The presentation will discuss how archaeologists use human skeletal materials and burial behaviors to learn about people when they were alive.

Event:  Lecture - "The Archaeological Past in Jeopardy"
Location:   Hendricks Hall 126, Main Campus, Edinboro University of PA
Date:  Tuesday, October 29
Time:  6 PM to 7:15 PM
Contact:  Dr. Renata B. Wolynec, (814)732-2570
Description:  The discussion and activities will center around the video "Silent Witness: Protecting American Indian Archaeological Heritage," narrated by Robert Redford and Produced by the National Park Service as part of the Parks as Classrooms Project.

With the assistance of a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology will sponsor a series of public presentations by  distinguished archaeologists on important topics in Pennsylvania archaeology during Archaeology Month. Details will be posted here when the information becomes available.
 

Event:  The Annual Meeting of the Council for Northeast Historical Archeology (CNEHA)
Date:  Friday-Sunday, 18-20 October
Location:  Wilmington Wyndam Hotel, Wilmington, DE.
Contact:  Wade Catts, 610 436-9000, or wcatts@johnmilnerassociates.com .
More information (hotel and advanced registration, paper abstracts and tour descriptions) can be found on the CNEHA webpage.
Description:  The CNEHA organization is composed of archeologists working in the eastern US and Canada, thus providing an international flare to a regional meeting.  People interested in historical archeology should make plans to attend. Right now there are three concurrent sessions scheduled for all day Saturday and Sunday morning, as well as pre-and post-conference tours and workshops.  A special one-day registration will be offered for the general public or for those who can't attend for the entire weekend.

Michael Baker, Jr., Inc.
Louis Berger & Associates, Inc.
U.S. Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest
John Milner Associates, Inc.
Archaeological and Historical Consultants, Inc.
C.H.R.S., Inc.
Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology
Pennsylvania Archaeological Council
GAI Consultants
Christine Davis Consultants, Inc.
Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc.
Herberling Associates, Inc.
PennDOT
Bureau for Historic Preservation, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission
Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, Mercyhurst College
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
ASC Group, Inc.
KCI, Inc.

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