Exploring Pennsylvania History in the ground
Archaeological field school
Since 2006, Penn State’s Department of Anthropology has excavated farmsteads in the Stone Valley Forest of Central Pennsylvania. Most of the farmsteads date from the nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. Today, the forest is primarily used for recreation, research and management of forest products. In the past, numerous mills, charcoal kilns, and farms dotted the landscape. Archaeologists are investigating the remains of farmhouses, barns, and outbuildings as well as the detritus left by activities in and around these structures to understand the way of life of Pennsylvania farmers and how they changed over time.
Each summer (from mid-May to the end of June), up to 16 undergraduate students learn how to excavate and interpret their findings under the close supervision of trained staff and student interns. The students learn how to lay out excavation units, use a transit and total station, excavate, take careful field notes, and conduct preliminary laboratory work. Most instruction involves hands-on training in the field. The students benefit from lectures by experts in forestry, history and historic archaeology, as well as a field trip to a local contract archaeology firm. There are also opportunities in fall and spring semesters to continue working on artifacts discovered by students in the previous season.
Contact Dr. Milner (cmm8@psu.edu) for further information.
Base of stoneware crock
Field School Director
Dr. Claire McHale Milner, Curator and Director of Exhibits, Matson Museum of Anthropology
