Discoidal from Peck 2

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a crude discoidal that was excavated sometime between from March 2 and May 18, 1937, as part of work relief archaeology at the Peck 2 site, a Monongahela village in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

Excavators at Peck 2

It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). It appears to be unfinished and its final form may have been intended to be a chunkey stone, such as this one from the Fort Hill site, another village excavated by work relief archaeologists.

Pottery Fragment with Carbonized Residue from Peck 1

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

 

Today’s animation is a pottery fragment recovered archaeologically from the Peck 1 site, a Monongahela village site located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was excavated by a Work Projects Administration (WPA) crew from October 13, 1936 to January 29, 1937 and under the direction of Edgar E. Augustine.  This artifact is now in the collections of the  Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Scanning at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

This particular sherd was radiocarbon dated as part of an effort to determine the ages of Monongahela villages excavated by the WPA in Somerset County (Means 2005, 2007).  The research potential of museum collections is shown by what we have been able to learn from this otherwise mundane fragment of a ceramic vessel.

Means, Bernard K.

2005 New Dates for New Deal Excavated Monongahela Villages in Somerset County.  Pennsylvania Archaeologist 75 (1):49-61.

2007 Circular Villages of the Monongahela Tradition.  The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

Deer vertebra from Peck 1

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a deer vertebra recovered archaeologically from the Peck 1 site, a Monongahela village site located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was excavated by a Work Projects Administration Crew from October 13, 1936 to January 29, 1937 and under the direction of Edgar E. Augustine.

This artifact is now in the collections of Carnegie Museum of Natural History where it was 3D scanned.

Animation of the Week: Bone Bead from Monongahela Village Site

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a fragment of a bone bead recovered in 1939 or 1940 by a Work Projects Administration (WPA) crew from the Fort Hill site, a Monongahela tradition village site located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP).

Animation of the Day: Bark Bed Reconstruction from the Sheep Rock Shelter Exhibit

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a bark bed reconstruction from the Sheep Rock Shelter exhibit at  The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). A stone-lined hearth is visible at a lower level.  This section of the Sheep Rock Shelter was scanned with a Sense 3D scanner on July 21, 2014.

Animation of the Day: Bone Bead from Fort Hill

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a bone bead recovered archaeologically from the Fort Hill site, a Monongahela village excavated by a Work Projects Administration (WPA) crew in 1939 or 1940  in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Edgar E. Augustine  (Means 2002).  This artifact is now in the collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Reference Cited:

Means, Bernard K.

2002 “….To Reconstruct These Houses of Men Who Lived in a Stone Age:” ModelingVillage Community Organization Using Data from the SomersetCounty Relief Excavations.  In Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 – A.D. 1300, edited by John P. Hart and Christina Rieth, pp. 43-71. New York State Museum Bulletin 496. The University of the State of New York, Albany.

Animation of the Day: Groundstone Wedge from Fort Hill

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a groundstone wedge that was excavated in 1939 or 1940 as part of work relief archaeology at the Fort Hill site, a Monongahela village in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). The exact function of this wedge is unclear, but it may have been a woodworking tool.  More information on the Work Projects Administration excavations at Fort Hill can be found here.

Line of post holes at Fort Hill where wooden posts once stood.

Animation of the Day: Stone Ball from Fort Hill

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a stone ball that was excavated in 1939 or 1940 as part of work relief archaeology at the Fort Hill site, a Monongahela village in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). It was presumably used for game playing.  More information on the Work Projects Administration excavations at Fort Hill can be found here.

Excavating at Fort Hill in 1939 or 1940.

Animation of the Day: Chunkey Stone from Fort Hill

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a chunkey stone that was excavated in 1939 or 1940 as part of work relief archaeology at the Fort Hill site, a Monongahela village in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). Chunkey stones were used in the game of chunkey, where the goal was for two players to throw sticks close to where they expected the stone to come to rest after it had been rolled down a prepared court, without hitting the stone.  This stone was damaged in play and repaired in the early 1940s for display.  More information on the Work Projects Administration excavations at Fort Hill can be found here.

WPA excavations at Fort Hill. Image courtesy of The State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Animation of the Day: Pierced Turtle Carapace

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a fragment of a drilled turtle carapace that was excavated as part of salvage work at the Martin site, a Monongahela village now under the waters of the Youghiogheny Reservoir. It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). This particular object was scanned on December 17, 2013 by Digital Curation Supervisor Ashley McCuistion and Digital Zooarchaeologist Mariana Zechini at TSMP with support from the Department of Defense’s Legacy Program.

Crew member stands adjacent to excavated Monongahela house in 1941.

Update! Matthew Bradley viewed this post and presents evidence that this might be a leg rattle using online collections links.  We appreciate his insights.  See the links cited here:

http://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/databases/common/image_dup.cfm?catno=50%20%20%2F%207292&from_anthro=no

http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/anth/?irn=8337882