Canfield Island Site
Coordinates: 41 ° 14 ′ 32 " N , 76 ° 57 ′ 11" W.
The Canfield Iceland Site , as Archeological Site 36LY37 known, an archaeological find site in Lycoming County , Pennsylvania in the United States. The site is on Canfield Island in the West Branch Susquehanna River , east of Williamsport in Loyalsock Township . It is believed that the area was inhabited by pre-Columbian Indians for thousands of years; the oldest artifacts go back to the second millennium BC.
geography
Canfield Island is an 8.5 acre man-made island that was created in the early 20th century by digging a drainage canal on the west bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River. Today this ditch forms the north bank of the island, the river is on the south side. Much of the island was plowed and used for agriculture in the historically known period, but a significant part of the island is now covered by forest. The river has regularly deposited material on the island.
Archaeological research
That the island is a potential archaeological site was the result of a preliminary investigation carried out by a group of members of the Society for Pennsylvania Archeology in 1958. From 1960 on and carried out periodically until 1980, excavations uncovered a number of artifacts that were up to 15 m below the surface; surface artifacts were scattered across the island. Investigations have continued occasionally since 1980, such as in 2003 by a group from Lycoming College in Williamsport.
The excavations led to the discovery of artifacts from a set of archaeological phases more complete than at most comparable sites in Pennsylvania. While ceramics are rare at this site, the presence of charcoal from a long series of phases provided a basis for identifying charcoal found in many other Pennsylvania sites. Another significant discovery was the discovery of a number of large ovens beneath a large number of fishing nets , leading to the theory that Canfield Island was used for fishing .
The archaeological research concluded that Canfield Island was inhabited during the late Archaic period approximately 3,000 years ago. A find discovered at the deepest point of the excavations cannot be precisely dated, but it probably dates from the early Archaic period. Various phases of the Woodland Period are represented on the island, and there is evidence of settlement by the Susquehannock , who continued to inhabit what is now eastern Pennsylvania after the Europeans arrived in the region.
Canfield Island was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 because of the extent of archaeological finds and the possibility of additional finds in the future . The island is now part of Riverfront Park, which also includes an archaeological trail on the island.
literature
- Broyles, Betty. Preliminary Report: The Saint Albans Site (46KA47) Kanawha County, West Virginia. In: The West Virginia Archaeologist No. 19 (1966): 1-43.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ All locations are numbered in the USA. The first two digits stand for the state (36 for Pennsylvania), followed by a two-letter abbreviation for the county, then a sequential number in the order of the time of discovery.
- ↑ a b National Register Information System ( English ) In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Stevenson, Christopher M., and Conran A. Hay: National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: Archeological Site 36 LY 37 ( English , PDF; 561 kB) National Park Service. January 20, 1981. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ↑ DeLorme Pennsylvania Atlas & Gazetteer ( English ), 8th edition, DeLorme , Yarmouth 2003, ISBN 0-89933-280-3 , p. 50
- ↑ a b Canfield Island Dig, 2003 ( English ) Lycoming College Archeology Program. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ Archaic Period ( English ) Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service . 1996. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ↑ Jon D. May: Conestoga ( English ) In: Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture . Oklahoma Historical Society . Archived from the original on July 20, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ↑ About Us ( English ) Northcentral Chapter 8 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archeology. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
