Chapter Meeting
Friday, August 20.
Charles Williams
“The Venango Path
Then and Now”
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Saturday, September 4
Antique Rifles and Indian
Artifact Show
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Chapter Meeting
Friday, September 17
Ken Burkett
Petroglyph Studies Update
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Saturday, September 25,
MEAD Island Tradition PHMC Marker Dedication
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Chapter Meeting
Friday, October 15
Bill Black
Wilson Shutes
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Chapter Meeting
Friday, November 19
Brian Fritz
The Paleo Digger
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No Meeting in December
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2021 Meeting Schedule
Program Abstracts
The Venango Path Then and Now - Charles Williams
The Venango Path was a Native American pathway that ran from the Forks of the Ohio (present-day Pitts-burgh) north to the village of Venango at the mouth of French Creek, and through the French Creek Valley to Presque Isle near Lake Erie. The Venango Path was an important north-south “landscape of movement” for Native Americans and Europeans alike, facilitating trade, migration and settlement, and military activities. During George Washington’s 1753 journey to oust the French from their forts in the French Creek Valley, the Venango Path provided access to the backcountry vital to his mission. This presentation will focus on the forgotten landscapes and historic environments traversed in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in the French Creek Valley, and how natural and human factors have changed these landscapes over time.
Petroglyph Discoveries - Ken Burkett
Several new examples of Native American rock art have been discovered during the past couple years. This program will provide new information and technology highlights on the recording of the Chickaree Hill Pictograph (36CB8) which is currently the only known prehistoric pictograph recorded in Pennsylvania and the Buffalo Creek Point petroglyph site and the Flick Petroglph both recently discovered by Tom Rabbit.
Wilson Shute (36Cw05) - Bill Black
Between 1960 and 1963 Fred Brown led the Cussewago SPA chapter in an extensive excavation of the Wilson Shute Site. When completed, he wrote a paper that was never published that included site maps, and examples of pottery and artifacts. Bill will present a review of the site history, research limitations, and examples of pottery and artifacts to provide a better understanding of this important site.
The PaleoDigger Machine: ArchaeologyX and the Search for the First Americans - Brian Fritz
Brian will discuss the development of his new invention that utilizes specialized power equipment to deep test archaeology sites. He will also discuss the potential for using his PaleoDigger machine for SPA chapter excavations along the Allegheny River.
Chapter Meeting Abstracts