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I have written a lot about the native people in our area. To me, this subject is one that never seems to be exhausted. As I have written, there have been people here for a very long time. One of the numerous ways that we can learn about these people and many folks and periods in the past is through archaeology. Whether that work is to find evidence of the past from more recent moments in time, or to find our long-buried history, digging for the truth is something that has been done here a lot over the years. In my look back to one of my articles on Native American history here, much of what we know is through archaeology.
When we talk about how long people have been here in our area, we have to look back a long way. It is hard to imagine that people have been walking through our area for tens of thousands of years. Just in Avella along Cross Creek in Pennsylvania, there is the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter that has recorded human habitation in that location for possibly up to 19,000 years. These people were traveling up and down Cross Creek to and from the river and stopping over at the location for shelter. With that in mind, I think it is very probable that folks have been trapesing over our locations since then.
According to the WV Encyclopedia, there were several different eras of Native American occupation in our area. The oldest we have is the Paleo-Indians. The Panhandle archaic group was a group of Native Americans that were here maybe about 7,000 years ago or more. These groups lived on the mountain tops surrounding the river and depended quite heavily on the river for food. What we see often in these communities is shell middens. These are basically ancient trash heaps that are made up of a pile of freshwater shellfish. Native people used to use these shells for tools, jewelry and the like. The most well-known place where one would find a Panhandle Archaic site would be the location directly above the Market Street bridge on the West Virginia side of the river along the top of the hill. This site was excavated completely when the hillside was cut back to make way for the widening project for state Route 2. What was found were objects, shells and even burials. It is possible that many of the hilltops surrounding the river were home to such sites. After the graves of these Native Americans were excavated, they were reburied in the same general area. A monument stands as a reminder at Highland Hills Cemetery of these early people.
The era from 1000 BC to 200 BC was the Early Woodland period and, according to the WV Encyclopedia, it was the moment in history when Native people built the many burial mounds that have dotted our historic landscapes. There were many historic mounds in our area that have now disappeared to history. Also, around this time, pottery appears. It is interesting to note that when European settlers arrived and asked many of the Native Americans here what the mounds were, many did not know as that history was already lost by that time.
During the period of European settlement, there were many different tribes here in our area. Mainly at that time, this area was used as a hunting ground due to wars waged among native peoples that removed some of the resident tribes here. Ultimately, the Iroquois were more or less in control of the Upper Ohio Valley after these conflicts.
During the years up to and during the American Revolution, there was much fighting between settlers and Native peoples in our area. Fighting would continue through what was called Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774, and all through the late 1770s. By end of the Revolution and subsequent passing of the Northwest Ordinance, the land that would become Ohio would be ready to be surveyed and broken up to be sold.
Not all the tribes left here in Ohio would be satisfied with that arrangement. The reason Fort Steuben was built, was to protect the surveyors who were measuring out this land from the Native Americans. Still, by the late 1780s, concerns about conflicts between the sides were still prevalent. It isn’t until the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 that the Indian wars of the Northwest Territory came to an end.
Native American history in our area is fascinating. Evidence of these groups of people who have lived and died in our area can still be discovered in the traces of history they left behind. From places like Meadowcroft and the various burial mounds that dot our landscape, to the places that tell the story of conflicts, they all give an interesting look at our early history. This past has persisted for thousands of years here and will continue to do so well into the future.
If you are interested in learning more about our local Native American History and archaeology in general, I would encourage you stop down at Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville on Oct. 17 for their upcoming Archaeology Day. There will be public tours of the archaeology facility, in addition to hands-on programs such as Adena pottery making, spear throwing, demonstrations in flint-knapping and floatation -- a method of extracting artifacts using water.
Finally, you can visit the activity room in the facility for displays, presentations and discussions with GAI Consultants, the West Virginia University archaeology lab, the Youngstown State University anthropology department and cultural resources analysts. At 1 p.m. in the auditorium, Ben Ford will give his keynote talk, “Great Lakes Underwater Archaeology -- Pulling Back the Blue Curtain of History.” All in all, a trip to Grave Creek Mound is a great jumping off point in the discovery of our deep and ancient history.
(Zuros is the executive director of Historic Fort Steuben)