Students dig for 13th century artifacts

Students are hoping to find a piece of the past under the watch of IUP's director of Archaeological Services this summer at a dig site near Shelocta, as they search for artifacts from the 13th century.

Laura Short (sophomore, anthropology), who is under the direction of anthropology professor Beverly Chiarulli, said the students are looking for ceramics, fire-cracked rock and other historic artifacts.�

On the Fleming site, named for Carl Fleming, who owned the land until the 1960s, the students have set up a series of one square-meter excavation units. The students are piecing together a historical puzzle for a pre-Columbian time period that was previously unrecorded.

So far, the group has found bases of fire pits, pieces of pottery and a couple of pits with charcoal in them. The majority of the finds are from the 1300s, but some date back as far as 8,000 years ago.

There are differences between the pottery artifacts found in Northern Indiana County compared to Southern Indiana County. "The significance of the finds is to look for what defines these Native American cultures and what makes them different from the better-known Southern cultures," Chiarulli said.

The excavation will go on for six weeks, the duration of summer session II. The project is not particularly expensive since it is being done close to campus. There is no charge to the students beyond the cost of taking a six-credit summer course.

Chiarulli said the students should learn the basics techniques -- such as how to "dig a square hole and look for features" like fire pits and post holes of houses -- by the time they complete field school.

Short is pleased with the educational opportunity.

"It's great hands-on experience. We're learning as we go how to set up units, how to measure, map and do laboratory analysis," she said.

Project intern Sara Fortnam (senior, anthropology) agrees: "It is a really good experience to be in charge and see how things work from the top."

Of the 24 students participating, 18 are from IUP, three are from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and three are from other schools.�

"Anyone can go to field school, but the enrollment is limited to 20 to 25 students," Chiarulli said. "Because of the number of faculty who participate, first priority goes to archaeology and anthropology majors."

Originally, the local field school this summer was going to take place at two sites, the Fleming site and one in Blairsville; however, excavation of the Blairsville site proved difficult.

"It appears that there is so much sediment from flooding, the site is too deeply buried," Chiarulli said. She estimates the sediment was 6 to 8 feet deep, but could be up to three times deeper. This would have been the Southern Indiana County component used to compare the pieces of pottery the Native Americans left behind.

The site was previously used by IUP in 1980 by Virginia Gerald, a former field school professor, and his students. "Apparently they found a house, but they couldn't finish excavating the post holes," Short said.

Short has advice for people who are considering enrolling in field school: "It's not like Indiana Jones or National Geographic. If it were, we would need classes on how to crack whips and dodge boulders."