Meadowcroft Rockshelter
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The Meadowcroft Rockshelter is an
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...
which is located near
Avella Avella is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. It is renowned for the cultivation of hazelnuts, whose specific name ''(Corylus avellana)'' derives precisely from this territory. Etymology Could be relat ...
in Jefferson Township, Pennsylvania. The site is a
rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long or wide, rock shelters are alm ...
in a bluff overlooking Cross Creek (a tributary of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
), and contains evidence that the area may have been continually inhabited for more than 19,000 years. If accurately dated, it would be one of the earliest known sites with evidence of a human presence and continuous human occupation in the New World. The site is located twenty-seven miles west-southwest of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
in the
Pittsburgh metropolitan area Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and s ...
. The site operates as a division of the Heinz History Center of Pittsburgh and has a museum and a reconstruction of a circa 1570s Monongahela culture Indian village. Meadowcroft Rockshelter is recognized as a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Treasure, and as an official project of Save America's Treasures.


Geology and location

The rockshelter is a natural formation beneath an overhanging cliff of Morgantown-Connellsville
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, which is a thick Pennsylvanian-age sandstone, brown in color. Meadowcroft is in the Allegheny Plateau, northwest of the Appalachian Basin.


Archaeology


Excavations

Native Americans left the site during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. It was not rediscovered until many years later, when, in 1955, Albert Miller found the first artifacts in a groundhog burrow. Miller delayed reporting his findings so as to not attract vandals, until he contacted James M. Adovasio, who led the first excavations of the site in 1973 until 1979 by the Cultural Resource Management Program of the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
. Further University of Pittsburgh field school excavations were conducted through 1989. Since the 1990s, more recent work has also been undertaken by Adovasio through the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute. The methods of excavation used at Meadowcroft are still seen as state-of-the-art. It is viewed as one of the most carefully excavated sites in North America.


Finds

Meadowcroft has produced what may be pre-Clovis remains, found as deep as 11.5 feet underground. The site also has yielded many tools, including
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
, bifaces, bifacial fragments, lamellar blades, a lanceolate projectile point, and chipping debris. Recoveries of note also include fluted points, which are a marker of the Paleoindian period. Remains of
flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
from Ohio, jasper from eastern Pennsylvania and marine shells from the Atlantic coast suggest that the people inhabiting the area were mobile and involved in long-distance trade. At least one basin-shaped hearth was reused over time. Meadowcroft has also yielded the largest collection of flora and fauna materials ever recovered from a location in eastern North America. The arid environment provided the necessary and rare conditions that permitted excellent botanical preservation. In total, animal remains representing 149 species were excavated. Evidence shows that people gathered smaller game animals as well as plants, such as corn, squash, fruits, nuts, and seeds.


Dating

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
of the site indicated occupancy beginning 16,000 years ago (14,000 BCE) and possibly as early as 19,000 years ago (17,000 BCE). However, the dates are still controversial. A recent (2013) survey carried out by the Society for American Archaeology reported support from 38% of archaeologists, with 20% rejecting the early dates. Criticism of these early radiocarbon dates has focused on the potential for contamination by ancient carbon from coal-bearing strata in the watershed. The samples, tested by an independent third party geomorphologist, concluded that the samples showed no evidence of groundwater activity. Tests performed via accelerator mass spectrometry also support the earlier dates. Proponents of the notion that contamination occurred note that the alkali-soluble humates in charcoal samples from the site are older than the charcoal in the samples. If authentic, these dates would indicate that Meadowcroft was used in the pre- Clovis era and, as such, provides evidence for very early human habitation of the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. Meadowcroft Rockshelter may be one of the oldest known sites of human habitation in North America, providing a unique glimpse into the lives of prehistoric hunters and gatherers. Paleoindian, Archaic, and Woodland remains have all been found at the site.


Miller complex

An unusual type of arrowhead was found at the site, which has been named the ''Miller Lanceolate projectile point''. Similar unfluted lanceolate points have also been found at the adjacent sites. As Goodyear writes:
Enough lithic artifacts were recovered to define the Miller complex. This complex consists of thin bifaces, including one lanceolate point, the Miller Lanceolate; small prismatic blades; retouched flake tools and blades, and
debitage In archaeology, debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction – the production of stone tools and weapons by knapping stone. This Assemblage (archaeology), assemblage may include the different kinds of lithic fla ...
related to late-stage core and biface reduction and tool kit maintenance.
The Miller complex is further defined by surveys done in the Cross Creek watershed, where other lanceolate points, small prismatic blades, and small polyhedral blade cores have been recovered. According to Adovasio et al., this complex has a Eurasiatic and Siberian appearance. These authors also note that small blades and polyhedral cores are absent from subsequent Paleoindian fluted-point assemblages in this region, reinforcing the technological distinctiveness of the Miller complex. The adjacent ''Krajacic Site'' is located about ten miles southeast of Meadowcroft, and it is also important in defining the Miller complex. This site yielded a great variety of distinctive Meadowcroft-style blade implements and several small, cylindrical polyhedral cores. At Cactus Hill in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, similar points have been found, where they are dubbed as the Early Triangular type. Some similar finds were made at the Page-Ladson site in Florida as well. --(Debra L. Friedkin site is also known as Buttermilk Creek Complex) Because of the very long occupational sequence at Meadowcroft, it became a very important site and is seen as quite valuable for comparative analysis:
The Pre-Clovis artifacts from Meadowcroft Rockshelter include a lanceolate point (named the Miller Lanceolate), bifaces, unifaces, prismatic blades, core fragments, and debitage. Remains from other Pre-Clovis sites (e.g., Cactus Hill and Saltville, Virginia, Topper, South Carolina, etc.) are usually compared to the Meadowcroft assemblage. In addition, claims for Pre-Clovis inhabitants in other sections of the New World also are evaluated with Meadowcroft in mind.
According to some scholars, Clovis, Folsom, and other fluted point complexes may have derived from such unfluted lanceolate points.


Other relevant sites in the northeastern United States

Other sites in the northeastern United States with evidence of possible pre-Clovis human presence include: Burning Tree Mastodon (Ohio), Mitchell Farm (Delaware), Barton ( Barton Village Site, Maryland), Miles Point, and Parsons Island.


Tourism and historical designations

Renovations to the rock shelter in 2008 were made so that visitors can see some of the tools and campfires made by the first Americans thousands of years ago. The rockshelter is recognized as a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Treasure and is an official project of Save America's Treasures. The historic site also includes a recreation of a 16th-century Monongahela village as well as 18th and 19th century buildings from European and United States settlement. The site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1978. In 1999, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a historical marker noting the historic importance of the site. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 2005. It is also designated as a historic public landmark by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation.


See also

* Chiquihuite cave * List of Native American archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania * List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania


References


Citations


Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life
* "The Greatest Journey," James Shreeve, ''National Geographic'', March 2006, p. 64. Shows dates 19,000 to 12,000 years ago; as well as Clovis (13,500 years ago) and Monte Verde 14,800 years ago.
Heinz History Center


Further reading


Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on Meadowcroft expert

American Indian Village reenactment
*Adovasio, J. M., with Jack Page. ''The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery.'' New York: Random House, 2002. Chapter 7 focuses on the Meadowcroft Rockshelter; the rest of the book sets the dig and the controversy surrounding it in a broader scholarly context. *Chandler, Graham. "The Dawn of Civilization" ''Equinox'', 96 (1998): 18. A brief article about the site and its artifacts. *Shea, Neil. "The First Americans?" ''National Geographic'', 207.5 (2005): 2. *"Who's Really on First?", ''Natural History'', 109.9 (Nov 2000): 10. Presents differing opinions between James Adovasio and Anna Curtenius Roosevelt regarding the accuracy of dating artifacts from Meadowcroft.


External links


Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village official website
* {{authority control Archaic period in North America Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania History of Pennsylvania Museums in Washington County, Pennsylvania National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Archaeological museums in Pennsylvania Native American museums in Pennsylvania Pre-Clovis archaeological sites in the Americas Rock shelters in the United States Paleo-Indian archaeological sites in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Pennsylvania Western Stemmed Tradition