Andrew J. Waychoff Point Collection
Thousands of years of History exist within the borders of Greene County Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. That is a fact that is sometimes easy to forget, however how many of us have been walking along a creek and found an arrowhead? Or have you been having some excavation work done for water lines, utilities, foundations, and witnessed an ancient projectile point present itself in the spoil heap? Our Archaeological History is just as rich as the events of the Historic Period in this region.
This week, I am featuring one of my favorite collections housed here at GCHS. This is a collection of “Arrowheads” or more correctly known as “Projectile Points” collected by one of our Founders and Author of a History of Greene County Pennsylvania, Andrew J. Waychoff.
This specific collections is one of the best, and was collected locally by Waychoff, items found in the earth of plowed up fields, creeks and streams, as well as few Archaeological Digs in the first quarter of the 20th century. How old are these points? Not all of the collection is shown, but Waychoff’s collection alone represents the entire span of prehistoric human habitation in Greene County. A few of his points date back to Paleo Indian times!
Here is a brief overview of the “Archaeological Periods” represented in Greene County:
Paleo Indian Period - Ca 13,500BC – Ca 8000BC:
The Dates are approximate of course, not only for the Paleo Indian Period, but for all Cultural and Archaeological Periods mentioned here, however the Paleo Indian Period began a minimum of 13,000 years ago, yes that is thirteen thousand years ago, and there is evidence that suggests Humans may have traveled to North America long before that. The Paleo Indian people were purely hunter gathers, spending little time in one place and following their food sources. These people went after big game, in the grandest sense. Mammoths, Mastadons and other Large Extinct Mammals were a major part of their diet. There is little evidence of them in the archaeological record however, a few sites do exist, such as Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Washington County Pennsylvania. A fluted Clovis Style Point is the most common artifact found from these times.
Archaic Period – Ca 8000BC – 1000BC
We see a bit more in the Archaeological Record from the Archaic Period. By this time, most of the large game had gone into extinction, and we see a wide and diverse variety of tools. Many of the points in the photo here are from the Archaic Period. This is when axes, adzes, and other wood working type tools begin to appear. Towards the end of the Archaic period we see a shift in subsistence that lays the foundation for agriculture.
Woodland Period – Ca 1000BC – 1000AD
The woodland period is probably one of the most interesting to study. This is the time of the Moundbuilders! In the early Woodland Period the Adena Culture begins to develop. The Adena existed in the Ohio Valley (To include Greene County Pennsylvania) and were responsible for mounds of all sizes, from the small mounds on the Crow Farm, near the site of the Crow Massacre in Richhill Township, to the giant Grave Creek Burial Mound in Moundsville West Virginia! In the Middle Woodland Period we meet the Hopewell People. The Hopewell didn’t exist so much in Southwestern Pennsylvania, however the occasional artifacts do show up. The Hopewell Culture was centered in Southern Ohio, specifically in areas around Chillicothe, and Newark OH. The Hopewell are famous for “The Hopewell Interaction Sphere.” The Hopewell Interaction Sphere was a huge, nearly continent wide network of Interactions, involving Trade, Ideas, Spiritual Beliefs and Travel that had an affect on nearly every area of what is now the United States from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains. The Hopewell Culture seemed to collapse around 400AD. The Hopewell are also known for their large Mound and Earthwork sites that can be found all over the Middle Ohio River Valley. After the decline of the Hopewell, we see several other Cultures begin to emerge to fill in the “gap” left by the dissolution of their culture. In Greene County, in the Late Woodland Period we have our own unique Culture, the Monongahela Culture. They were named so because their primary area of Occupation was the Monongahela River Valley. The Monongahela were true agriculturalists, living in settlements with sometimes as many as 100 families. There are HUNDREDS of Monongahela sites in Greene County. The Monongahela never had direct contact with Europeans, and seem to have disappeared by about 1630. The did have indirect contact however, via trade, and many European Trade Items are found in late Monongahela sites.
The painting below is an artist’s rendition of a Typical Monongahela Villiage that you may have seen in Greene County Pennsylvania approximately 700 years ago.
Comments
Post a Comment