Kenneth Burkett and Edward Kaufman

DISCOVERY

Early in the spring of 2000, Frank Wasicki plowed a small plot near his family camp in preparation for a cover crop of clover to attract the local deer. Walking along the edge of the field, he noticed and gathered a large number of light colored crude stone blades. His curiosity sparked, he repeatedly returned to the same spot over the next several months and continued to discover additional similar specimens. Not being familiar with these items and unsure of the nature of the discovery, he gave one to a friend to show Bill Fulton, a knowledgeable area artifact collector. Bill immediately recognized these artifacts as being of an uncommonly large size and unusual material for western Pennsylvania and subsequently contacted the authors about the find and assisted in making arrangements for us to visit the site and view the collection.

Frank Wasicki with Cache Blade

LOCATION

The Wasicki Site is approximately 1.1 km (.7 mile) east of the village of Rossiter in Canoe Township of Indiana County, Pennsylvania. This location was formally recorded with the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site survey at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh as 36In396.

The site is situated along the eastern margin of a small fairly level field that is approximately 74.9 m (250 ft) north of a small-unnamed tributary of Canoe Creek. This area is covered by Ernest very stony silt loam (EsB), which is a moderately deep and fairly well drained soil formed from colluvial material (Weaver and Ruffner1968). The plow zone averages 17.78 – 35.56 cm (7 – 14 in) in depth and is comprised of a grayish-brown silt loam that is underlain by yellowish–brown mottled clay that is firm and brittle. This soil type is noted as not being well suited to cropland and although obviously plowed in the past, the field has been fallow for at least forty years

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

We first visited the site in April 2000 and in addition to photographing the artifacts, were able to surface survey the field concentrating on the area of the previous finds. Although Mr. Fulton reported finding several additional artifacts while visiting the site earlier in the month with Mr. Wasicki, we were unable to discover any evidence of lithic manufacture, fire burnt stone, or other normal indicators of a prehistoric occupation.

In July a test excavation totaling 36 square meters was oriented over the approximate center of the area where the blades were found. A total of eight subsurface disturbances were encountered most of which could be attributed to removals of stumps and some of the numerous sandstone boulders that range up to three meters in diameter during past attempts to help make the field more productive. These features often contained charcoal fragments, unburned wood and occasional historic artifacts consisting of glass, square nails, and other items of metal. No prehistoric features were found and only two artifacts both belonging to the cache were recovered, one within the plow zone and the other near the bottom of a plow scar.

Excavation Overview

ARTIFACTS

To date, a total of 44 artifacts have been discovered, all of which by size, form and material appear to relate to a single groupage. Twenty-two are complete while the balance ranges from slightly damaged to small fragmented sections. The total weight of this assemblage is 3.671 kg (8 lb 1½ oz) and it is assumed that the intact group would have exceeded 4.536 kg (10 lbs).

Artifact Cache

In general, the Wasicki artifacts are derived from large flakes or slabs that have been bifacially thinned and edge modified to produce fairly thin blades with biconvex cross-sections in the basic outline of the intended future form. These typical early stage quarry blanks and preforms (Cresson 1990) still lack the final tooling and basal grinding necessary to complete the shape and hafting elements for a functional point or tool. This method of partially preparing the blade at the lithic source provides a readily transportable form that reduces excessive bulk and helps identify material flaws that would result in blade failures at the site of reduction rather than after transporting over great distances. Evaluation of the individual forms characterizes five distinct subcategories.

Subpentagonal Blades

Nine blades have formative asymmetrical shoulders that are typically rounded and crudely developed contracting stems with a slightly rounded or flattened base. While the largest of these measure 11 cm (4.33 in) long, the overall average length is 9.38 cm (3.67 in) long with the blade widths averaging 6.22 cm (2.45 in).

Elongate Ovate

Three specimens exhibit an elongated form with ovate bases. Two are broken laterally across the blade, but the complete specimen measures 10.5 cm (4.13 in) long with a blade width of 4.5 cm (1.77 in). The average width of all three blades is the same.

Triangular Ovate

Twelve specimens are ovate to almost triangular in form and 3) with rounded non-stemmed bases that do not reveal the final intended form. The average length of these blades is 8.17 cm (3.22 in) and the average width measures 5.79 cm (2.28).

Large Ovate

Two large ovate blades measure 23 cm (9.05 in) and 14.5 cm (5.71 in) long respectively while a tip portion of another blade represents a probable third specimen. The largest of these has a somewhat elongated triangular form and although damaged appears to have had a slightly rounded base. The other specimen has a curvilinear blade form resembling a knife. None of these specimens are finished tools exhibiting refined edge tooling or wear use.

Slabs

Measuring in length between 12 and 14 cm (4.72 and 5.51 in) are three relatively unmodified flat slabs that have a minimal amount of bifacial thinning and appear to have been reduced only enough to distinguish that there are no flaws in the material.

Other The remaining eleven specimens represent small fragmented portions of unidentifiable blades. Refitting of these items to other specimens was attempted with failure leading us to believe that a significant number of unrecovered artifacts still remain at the site.

LITHIC MATERIAL

All of the recovered artifacts at the Wasicki site are made of Metarhyolite, which is a purplish extremely fine-grained holocrystalline rock containing moderately abundant phenocrysts of feldspar, albite and quartz (Drake 1999). Each has weathered to a typical surface patina that is nearly white with purple, bluish and black shaded lines, swirls and speckling.

Metarhyolite was created when Precambrian lavas were metamorphosed by extreme heat and pressure during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Pan-regionally, this material outcrops only within the Blue Ridge physiographic province as part of the Catoctin formation on South Mountain in Franklin and Adams counties in Pennsylvania and Frederick county Maryland where large notable prehistoric quarrying and reduction workshop sites for this material are located along a short 30 linear mile series of small outcroppings (Stewart 1987).

REGIONAL AFFILIATIONS

This group of artifacts matches the form, size and material usage that is common within the generalized Broadspear tradition that emerged in eastern Pennsylvania during the Late and Terminal Archaic period between 2500 – 1000 B.C (Custer 1996). These people are thought to have a settlement and subsistence pattern that focused on riverine resources and the repeated seasonal rotation and return to specific procurement localities. Their expanding artifact inventory included soapstone bowls, net weights, broadpoints and heavy woodworking tools such as ground stone axes, adzes, and celts that were probably used to construct dugout canoes.

That these people had a preference for Metarhyolite is obvious. Bressler, Mariatta, and Rocky (1983) described a component that is probably typical for this period at Canfield Island (36Ly37) located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna near Williamsport. This riverine site apparently served as a summer base camp possibly based on a fishing economy. Although these people were over a hundred miles from the quarry sources of South Mountain, they were seemingly able to still procure an annual supply of metarhyolite for their chipped stone tools. While little is still known about the scope of annual migrations, it is possible that their inclination for this material may indicate an early pattern of trade and exchange in lieu of individual travel over great distance.

Data from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History files as reported by Richard George in 1991 (George 1991) indicates that there are 42 known sites relating to the Terminal Archaic within the Upper Ohio Valley. Most of these are situated on terraces along the major rivers with an apparent majority found on waterways that serve as east to west travel corridors from the Susquehanna basin. While these sites do produce broadspears of metarhyolite, jasper, and other exotic materials procurable only in the mountains eastward of the Allegheny basin, they are usually heavily reworked to the point of discard and are often accompanied by contemporaries manufactured of other locally availably cherts. This utilization of local materials and the lack of new or lightly utilized tools suggests a lack of heavy trade activities or an annual return to the eastern quarry locales in order to replenish depleted lithic supplies.

DISCUSSION

John Witthoft (1953) in his early defining monograph on broad spearpoints commented that the related pentagonal blades and rounded base performs occasionally are found as caches. Custer (1996) also notes that on sites with major components indicative of annual reoccupation these blades along with other large heavy items such as stone axes, steatite cooking vessels and netsinkers are often found buried within storage features indicating an apparent intention of the owner to retrieve and reuse them.

Other buried broadspear artifacts that are often referred to as caches are in fact artifacts placed ceremonially as burial offerings. William Ritchie (1969) described an isolated Terminal Archaic feature containing cremated human remains and 50 – 60 intentionally broken non-fired Perkiomen points at the Piffard site in western New York. Further north the Susquehanna Broadspear tradition is reported at the Griffin site (Pfeiffer 1980) in southern Connecticut which contained 19 cremated burials with non-fired large blades, projectile points, large ground stone tools and steatite bowls while the Millbury III Cremation Complex on the Blackstone River in Massachusetts (Leveille 1990) produced similar findings associated with 28 cremation features.

CONCLUSIONS

That the Wasicki artifacts appear as a group without the presence of other related cultural artifacts infers that they were once part of an isolated cache. As this site location is atypically in an upland setting and without any other evidence of occupation it is improbable that they were purposely deposited at an annual campsite with the intent of future recovery.

It is possible that they were intentionally buried as part of a burial offering. Some of the blades are obviously broken and have a weathered patina on the breaks that is indistinguishable from the surface indicating that they are old breaks. In most cases however the blade damage appears random ranging from complete shatter of the blade to only minor edge damage of the tip, blade, or base which is untypical of fracture patterns usually seen with blades that were intentionally and ceremonially “killed”. Several of these breaks have a dark coloration indicative of more recent damage. According to Stewart (1987), it takes only 145 years of exposure for metarhyolite to attain weathered look. As the area of the find has been subject to farming since the early 19th century, it is perceivable that the patina on most broken artifacts has developed over early plow-damaged breaks.

That the total of the recovered artifacts did not include finished points or tools seems to best indicate that they were being transported with the intent to complete them at a later time, either as needed by the owner or by others to whom they were traded. The sheer quantity and weight of this group would lend to the impression of a commodity rather than as a personal supply for replacement of worn out tools.

What then is most unique about the Wasicki site is its merit of being located adjacent a likely canoe portage. This elevated valley provides continued access into the canoeable headwaters of the Allegheny River from one of the few easily traversed low elevation passes over the drainage divide from the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Utilizing either branch of Bear Run, a portage of a little over 3 miles (less if the water is optimal) would put boats into floatable waters of Canoe Creek, which empties into the Mahoning creek and thence the Allegheny River. Based on this utilization of the waterways, as the avenue of transportation the cache would have traveled approximately 260 miles from the likely quarry source to the Wasicki site.

Site Location

Whether the Wasicki cache was intentionally hidden, lost, discarded or placed as offerings for a burial we may never really know. The presence of this random find of a major quantity of Metarhyolite artifacts in such a remote location within the Upper Ohio drainage does however provide insight into the interregional movements of these people and provokes additional thought on the formation of early trade networks.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This information would not be available if it were not for the interest and hospitality of Mr. Frank Wasicki and his family. We would like to thank Bill Fulton for bringing the site to our attention and then assisting with the excavation along with Ann Frey and Jack Burkett. We would also like to thank Dr. Verna Cowin for reviewing and providing insight and suggestions for this paper.

REFERENCES

Bressler, James P., Ricki Maietta and Karen Rocky
1983 Canfield Island Through the Ages. North Central Chapter 8 Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology and the Lycoming County Historical society. Grit Publishing Company, Williamsport Pennsylvania.

Cresson, Jack
1990 Broadspear Lithic Technology: Some Aspects of Biface Manufacture, Form and Use History With Insights Towards Understanding Assemblage Diversity. In Experiments and Observations On the Terminal Archaic of the Middle Atlantic Region (105-130). Edited by Roger Moeller, Archaeological Services, Box 386, Bethlehem CT 06751

Custer, Jay F. 1996 Prehistoric Cultures of Eastern Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Drake, Avery Ala Jr.
1999 (Chapter 3B) Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic Metamorphic and Igneous Rocks – South Mountain and Reading Prong. In The Geology of Pennsylvania Edited by Charles H. Shultz. Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh Geological Society

George, Richard L.
1991 The Spangler Site and the Youghiogheny River Site Cluster: Susquehanna Broadspears in the Upper Ohio Valley. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 61 (1): 76-87

Leveillee, Alan
1990 Transitional Archaic Ideology as Reflected in Secondary Burials at the Millbury III Cremation Complex. Man in the Northeast 27:157-183

Pfeiffer, John E.
1980 The Griffin Site: A Susquehanna cremation burial in southern Connecticut. Man in the Northeast 19:129-133

Ritchie, William A.
1965 The Archaeology of New York State. Natural History Press, Garden City, NY

Stewart, Michael R.
1987 Rhyolite Quarry and Quarry-Related Sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Archaeology of Eastern North America Vol. 15, Partners’ Press, Kenmore Avenue Buffalo New York

Weaver, Jay B. and Joseph D. Ruffner
1968 Soil Survey of Indiana County Pennsylvania. United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Washington, DC.

Witthoft, John
1953 Broad Spearpoints and the Transitional period cultures. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 23(1-4):4-31

Subpentagonal Blades	Subpentagonal, Elongate Ovate and Triangular Ovate Blades
Triangular Ovate Blades	large Ovate Blades
Slabs	Blade Fragments