TWO HISTORIC INDIAN CEMETERIES
IN LAWRENCE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
Verna L. Cowin
___________________________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT This paper documents two Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, historic Indian cemeteries: the West
Pittsburgh site (36LR1) and the Chambers site (36LRll). These burial grounds were formerly situated along the
Beaver and Mahoning tributaries of the Ohio, not far from the present boundary between Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Data presented include descriptions found in the original field notes, lists of scattered collections of artifacts from
burial contexts, and results of the study of the available skeletal material. This research was initiated as a response
to the passing of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Following the defeat and dispersal of the Erie people by
the Seneca in 1654, the territory between the Ohio River
and the Great Lakes was virtually unoccupied; the land was
set aside as hunting territory and was under the control of
the Six Nations Confederacy (Fenton 1998:355; Hunter
1972). However, after 1701 pressure from Euro-American
settlements along the East Coast forced Iroquoian and
Algonquian remnant populations to take up residence in
areas to the west, often in joint settlements (Fenton 1998:
355).
The Ohio trade is first mentioned in official Pennsylvania records in 1727 when a reference in Provincial
Council minutes reads: “the remoter parts, where James
LeTort trades, this is the Allegheny on the branches of
Ohio.” The activities of LeTort and others motivated the
Delaware to move and establish new settlements. Traders
out of Philadelphia and Lancaster followed, carrying rum in
their pack trains over the Allegheny Trail to communities of
mixed American Indian populations near the Forks of the
Ohio (Fenton 1998:452). In exchange for the rum, furs and
deer hides were transported back across the trail either for
export or for processing in eastern tanneries.
The first Pennsylvania treaty negotiations with the Six
Nations commenced in the summer of 1732 (Fenton 1998:
402-403) and the Iroquois were urged to exert influence
over the other Indian groups, particularly the Shawnee, and
they were to make it clear that the Six Nations were allied
with the English. Between 1736 and 1753, a series of
meetings and treaties attempted to regulate trade and to
mitigate grievances between colonists and the Indian
hunters (ibid.:453). The English trader, George Crogham
emerged to prominence as an effective Indian manipulator
________________________________________________
Verna L. Cowin, Ph.D. Carnegie Museum of Natural
History Section of Anthropology Edward O’Neil Research
Center 5800 Baum Blvd. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 152063706
and he eventually came to serve as William Johnson’s
deputy in the region (ibid.:455). During this period,
Montreal merchants, concerned about the increase in
English trade and influence, sent Captain Pierre Joseph
Celoron to take possession of strategic points, to plant lead
markers proclaiming French title, and to drive the English
traders out of the region. According to Fenton (ibid.),
Celoron was amazed at the dramatic increase of mixed
Indian populations compared to what the Frenchman had
observed during his visit to Ohio country just 10 years
earlier.
After 1750, young Seneca hunters drifted into the
territory because game was abundant; they traded deerskins
with Pennsylvanians, forged new alliances, and asserted
their independence (Fenton 1998:452). In the summer of
1748, Conrad Weiser described the mixed settlements that
he encountered in the region of the Forks of the Ohio as
lacking both a common language and a firm tradition of
political unity. Weiser enumerated the fighting men as 307
Iroquois, 165 Delaware, 162 Shawnee, 100 Wyandot, 40
Chippewa, and 15 Mahican warriors (Fenton 1998:455).
This brief overview of conditions in the upper Ohio valley
during the mid- to late-18th century indicates that although
the two Indian cemetery sites discussed in this report are
referred to as “Wyandot” and “Delaware,” they must be
considered as populations of mixed identities.
CEMETERY SITES 36LR1 AND 36LR11
Collections from the West Pittsburgh and Chambers
sites were reviewed by staff at the Carnegie Museum of
Natural History (CMNH) during inventories required under
the Native American Graves Protection Act (NAGPRA)
when skeletal material and associated grave goods were
examined. It soon became evident that CMNH had little
material from the West Pittsburgh site and that most of the
artifacts from that site were no longer available for study
because they had been sold at either an auction or a flea
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
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market.
nation as Wyandot and date the site at 1747 to 1750+.
Portions of the collections from the Chambers site were
on loan for display at the Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh
but were recalled by the State Museum of Pennsylvania in
Harrisburg about the time that this study began. Some beads
and items made of silver were the property of the Fort
Ligonier Museum in Ligonier and were on display there.
Carnegie Museum’s artifacts were donations; the other two
institutions purchased their holdings from the excavator.
The Chambers site contained both an historic cemetery
and a Woodland mound containing intrusive historic
burials. The location was described in a report to the Smithsonian Institution (McConnell 1871) as an historic cemetery
containing about 20 graves and located a few rods south of
a mound. McConnell reported that the ground over each
grave showed a depression of about 6 in. with a piece of flat
stone set at the head and foot of each grave, a practice he
attributed to the influences of missionaries. The village
associated with the burial ground was one of four “towns”
visited by the Moravian missionary Christian Frederick
Post in 1758. These occupations are recorded under the
names Kuskusky or The Kuskuskies, with various spellings.
Kuskusky defines a region containing a number of towns or
villages. According to Donehoo (1928:86), two settlements
at Kuskuskies were prominent trading villages between
1755 and 1773. We assume that Donehoo is referring to
“Old Kuskusky” (36LR1 – West Pittsburgh), and “New
Kuskuskies” (36LR11 – Chambers).
This research was launched in the hope of recording
data prior to repatriation of the skeletal material and the
objects that were associated with the historic burials. Data
presented were gleaned from the skeletal analysis of the
West Pittsburgh interments authored by John Witthoft and
W. Fred Kinsey (n.d.), from Paul Sciulli’s studies (l992a;
1992b) of the Chambers burials housed at CMNH, and from
archives and collections housed at the aforementioned
repositories. Copies of the excavators’ hand-written field
notes as well as photographs were located at the State
Museum of Pennsylvania. Additional information came
from published reports in the newsletter of the Beaver
Valley Chapter #7, Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology,
and from a personal interview with John Zakucia.
The two cemeteries, West Pittsburgh (36LR22) and
Chambers (36LR11) are located in Lawrence County,
Pennsylvania (Figure 1) within the Beaver drainage consisting of the Mahoning, Shenango, and the Beaver rivers and
their tributaries. The Beaver River initiates at the
confluence of the Mahoning and Shenango Rivers and
flows southward to the Ohio just below the Forks of the
Ohio at Pittsburgh.
The West Pittsburgh site was investigated by Marco M.
Hervatin in the early 1950s. He initially surface collected
the area and in 1958, with assistance from members of
Valley Chapter #7 and the Erie Chapter #6 of the Society
for Pennsylvania Archaeology, excavated 28 human burials
and one dog burial. Twenty-four of the burials had
associated grave goods. In 1979, a sand and gravel project
impacted the site and John Zakucia and Earl Roman
observed and removed two additional burials with grave
goods. An adaptation of Hervatin’s map of the cemetery is
shown on Figure 2 (Hervatin n.d.).
William Hunter, then on the staff of the Department of
Archives in Harrisburg, reviewed the available records
about the site and attributed the historic occupation at West
Pittsburgh to a band of Wyandot led by Chief Orontony
(Chief Nicolas). Members of this band killed some French
traders near Sandusky, Ohio, in 1747 and afterwards fled to
British-dominated land to the east (Hervatin 1958a:l;
1958b, 1958c; Hunter, 1972; Witthoft n.d.). Witthoft dated
the site 1747 to 1763. Kent et al. (1981:9) affirm the desig-
6
Between 1957 and 1959, the Chambers site was
investigated by John Zakucia, an avocational archaeologist
and a field associate of the museum. Limited CMNH
excavations were conducted in 1959 using funds from the
Laurel Foundation that were secured by the then Curator,
Don W. Dragoo. Kent et al. (1981:9) classified the historic
occupation of Chambers as Delaware and dated the site
1763 to 1776. Figure 3 is an adaptation of Zakucia’s map
of the Chambers cemetery (Zakucia n.d.a; n.d.b).
The West Pittsburgh Burials
The burials and grave good for 36LRI are listed in
Appendix A and summarized in Table 1. The lists were
taken from Hervatin’s handwritten notes on forms he
apparently used during the excavations. The lists for the
two burials removed by Zakucia and Roman were obtained
from an inventory list that was included in a letter offering
the objects for sale to a museum in Canada. Neither the
State Museum of Pennsylvania nor the National Museum of
Man would purchase the grave goods and eventually the
collection was brought to CMNH where the curator also
declined the offer of sale; however, permission to
photograph the artifacts was requested and granted. The
elaborate grave goods associated with a child burial
included six red pipestone maskettes (Figure 4), a variety
of glass and red pipestone beads, as well as a number of
triangular pendants fashioned from red pipestone and a
single piece made from blue and white striped ceramic
material. The George II medallions and crucifixes from this
burial are shown on Figure 5. The Appendix lists the
available inventories and the holdings at CMNH.
Apparently not all of Hervatin’s material was sold
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Figure 1. Locations of the West Pittsburgh (36LR1) and Chambers (36LR11) Sites, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
7
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Figure 2. Adaptation of the Hervatin map of the West Pittsburgh Site (36LR1) burials,
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
because a field associate of CMNH arranged for the
donation of a small lot of artifacts from the West Pittsburgh
Site. Unfortunately, the inventory from at least one unprovenienced burial is not consistent with the other interments.
Certainly the numerous pieces of cut kettles do not conform
to the grave goods placed with the other burials. It is
possible that the cut kettle pieces are an indication of the
mixed populations discussed above or perhaps these
specific grave offerings were included as a tribute to the
artisan who fashioned tinklers and other utilitarian and
ornamental pieces for the group.
In general, the more elaborate inclusions at the West
Pittsburgh site were found with children; glass beads were
common to all categories. Pocket knives, axes, and brass
8
objects were more often associated with males and children
while the commemorative medallions were deposited with
females and children.
The Chambers Burials
In his analysis of the skeletal material held by CMNH,
Sciulli noted that the population differed in comparisons to
pre-contact Delaware and prehistoric western Pennsylvania
Monongahela samples (Sciulli 1992b). The closest affinity
with a prehistoric group is with Fort Ancient. Sciulli’s
studies note that there was a lower proportion of maize in
the diet of the Chambers population and this likely resulted
from the addition of non-native foods to the diet. Another
factor could have been the mobility forced on certain native
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Figure 3. Adaptation of the Zakucia map of the Chambers site (36LR11), Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
(north to top of map; Burials 60, 61, and 62 immediately west of Burial 63).
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Table 1. Grave Associations at the West Pittsburgh Site (36LR1).
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(Presence or absence in each grave’s inventory)
Artifact Type
Male
Pipe
2
Knife
5
Buckle
-Beads
Metal
1
Glass
1
Wire wound
-Bracelet
Brass
3
Thimble
2
Hawk bell
1
Medallion
-Ring
2
Earring
1
Hand bell
-Pipestone
Effigy
-Bead
-Pendant
-Axe
1
Crucifix
-Pewter
-Brooch
Circle
1
Heart
2
Large
1
Brass
4
Wampum
1
Tinkler
1
Ochre
3
Comb
1
Antler ladle
-Mirror
1
Gun part
1
Gun flint
1
Brass kettle
1
Watch key
1
Sleigh bell
-Knife or fork handle
--
Female
2
1
1
2
1
-1
1
1
1
3
--1
-----1
1
-1
--1
---------
Child
-4
-1
2
1
1
2
2
2
-1
1
-1
-1
1
2
-2
-3
2
-2
-1
---1
---
Undetermined
-1
-1
2
---1
------1
-1
--1
-2
--------1
-1
--
--
1
N=26 (8 males; 4 females; 8 children; 6 undetermined)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
populations caught in conficts during the period between
Pontiac’s Rebellion and the Revolutionary War. Sciulli
(1992b:22) notes that while stressors were present, skeletal
and dental nutrition of the Chambers burials show unusually moderate biological stress.
The presence of grave goods in the Chambers cemetery
10
is summarized on Table 2 and a complete list of the burials
and associations is contained in Appendix B. Glass beads
are the most common inclusion; however, there are also
some round and cylindrical stone beads. Some of the beads
are earlier types and these items were either curated within
families or were obtained by what Zakucia termed
“looting.” Examples of the Chambers site beads are illus-
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thongs still attached; large, medium and small “hawk”
bells; metal trinket boxes; rings; coiled brass wire hair
ornaments; an iron fire starter; a metal smoking pipe
encrusted with beads; and a variety of tinkling cones.
Thanks to the care of the excavator, textiles were preserved,
notably braid and finger-woven, beaded garter fragments.
Presence of nails in most of the burials is indicative that the
interments were in wooden coffins.
EXTERNAL CORRELATIONS
Figure 4. Red pipestone maskettes associated with a
child burial at the West Pittsburgh site (36LR1).
Photograph courtesy of the State Museum of
Pennsylvania.
trated in Figure 6.
Witthoft (1967:61) noted that eastern sites of the
Seneca, Delaware, Conoy, Shawnee, and others with beads
dating 1700-1750 also contained bead types dating 16301690. He further notes that 25-90% of earlier graves were
looted and that only beads and wampum were removed
from the graves. Since the early graves were looted prior to
any plowing, Witthoft concluded that the evidence is clear
that as prosperity declined, the eastern tribes were reduced
to the expedient of digging the graves of their ancestors to
obtain wampum and beads.
Zakucia’s notes indicate that the small- to medium-sized
white seed beads were the most common adornment at
Chambers and the seed beads were found most often around
the neck or about the head. They also occurred in the pelvic
region and along the outer margins of the legs. There are
large and medium-sized pierced and engraved brooches as
well as the familiar smaller circular and crowned heart
varieties in the Chambers inventory. One silver armband
contains a “PS” in a square cartouche with cut corners
attributed to Philip Syng, Jr., Philadelphia, 1703-1789
(Currier 1938:136, Gillingham 1936:26, Brix 1920:100). A
silver hair ornament is stamped “Benjamin Price”
manufactured either by a silver-goldsmith in the Lancaster/
York area between 1747 and 1762 (Metzger 1989:92;
Whisker 1993:229) or elsewhere (Alberts 1953:33, 37-38).
Other metal objects are a brass kettle; thimbles with leather
Three historic burials in coffins, two females and a male
with trade goods, were reported by Seeman and Bush
(1979) from the Enderle site, northern Erie County, Ohio.
Seed beads were found in direct association of the femurs
and tibiae of female Burial #11 and were interpreted as
representing a design or decoration sewn on a garment.
Likewise, Burial 12, also female, was in a coffin with a mat
lining. Seed beads in this burial were distributed in a similar
fashion to that of Burial 11. Another burial was male, also
in a coffin with a reed mat lining; the only reported artifacts
were three iron nails and associated wood.
Schoff (1943:28) lists grave goods from the Kendaia
site, Seneca County, New York, as glass beads, iron tools,
Jesuit medals, crucifixes, finger rings, bracelets, brass
kettles, and notes that five George I medals were found in
an area near the site. Schoff (1949) later published an
inventory of burial goods from Seneca and Cayuga sites.
These items included iron trade knives, an iron hoe, glass
beads, finger rings, and numerous brass trade kettles with
contents such as parts of wooden ladles. In addition, a
wooden bowl, rush mat fragments, a wampum bracelet, a
copper wire bracelet, flint-lock musket parts, fire flints, fire
steels, an European gunflint, a lead musket ball, “hawk”
bells, brass bangles, a metal box containing mirrors, kettle
fragments, brass arrow points, berry seeds, a silver altar
bell, a rosary of black beads, and a pewter figurine were
listed.
At the East 28th Street site in Erie, Pennsylvania, details
were reported about European trade goods from 24 graves
representing some 30 adults and children (Carpenter et al.
1949:3-16). Objects listed include iron axes, a chisel, a firemaking steel, a schosser (sic) blade, a finger ring, two
bracelets, knife blades, brass rattles, a thin brass ladle, brass
and copper tubular beads, three “hawk” bells, a strip of
brass, several thousand glass trade beads, and one “star”
bead.
A burial from Ontario reported by Kidd (1951) had a
cloth bandeau decorated with silver buckles along with
glass and wampum beads associated with a male burial,
interpreted as a status individual. The buckles are the
typical circle and tongue variety, about 20 cm in diameter.
The individual was buried in a heavy cloth garment
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Figure 5. Medallions and crucifixes associated with a child burial at the West Pittsburgh
site (36LR1). Photograph courtesy of the State Museum of Pennsylvania.
Figure 6. Varieties of beads recovered from the Chambers site (36LR11). From left to right: white seed beads;
round blue beads – often referred to as “Washington Borough blue”; white, blue, and black glass seed beads;
round glass beads – probably from mixed contexts within the cemetery; blue, red, and yellow straw beads;
and two strings of mixed white, blue, and black seed beads.
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Table 2. Grave Associations at the Chambers Site (36LR11).
_______________________________________________________________________________________
(Presence or absence in each grave’s inventory)
Artifact Type
Male
Female
Child
Undetermined
Pipe
-1
--Knife
--1
-Buckle
1
---Beads
Metal
---2
Glass
6
6
11
9
Shell
1
-1
2
Silver
--1
2
Cannel coal
-1
--Bracelet
Brass
--1
1
Silver
1
---Thimble
--2
-Hawk bell
1
-4
-Medallion
--1
-Ring
1
1
1
1
Pipestone
Pendant
---1
Pewter
--2
-Silver brooch Circle
-1
3
-Large
--1
-Brass
-1
1
4
Wampum
--3
-Tinkler
Brass
3
2
2
1
Silver
-1
--Iron
--1
1
Mirror
--1
-Gun part
---1
Gun flint
-1
--Brass kettle
--1
-Woven cloth/braid
1
3
4
2
Hair/fur/leather
---3
1
Hematite
-1
1
1
Vanity
-1
-1
box
Silver pendant
-2
-1
Silver hair ornament
1
1
--Charred corn cobs
--1
-Carved button
--1
-Button or button fragments
--2
-Ceramic
---1
Silver earring
1
---Metal strike-a-light
-1
--Lead musket ball
---1
Note: Zakucia lists 70 burials; 57 burials housed at CMNH were identified by Sciulli. Remainder of burials
documented through State Museum records.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
13
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
decorated with strips of braid and brass buttons. Other
European grave inclusions were an iron axe head, a copper
kettle, and six small copper bangles with fiber attached.
These inventories are consistent with the items reported
from the Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, cemeteries and
appear to fit descriptions recorded by a Moravian missionary:
The present dress of the Indians is well known to
consist in blankets, plain or ruffles shirts and
leggings for the men and petticoats for the women,
made of cloth, generally red, blue or black. The
wealthy adorn themselves besides with ribands or
gartering of various colors, beads, and silver
broaches. These ornaments are arranged by the
women, who, as well as the men, know how to dress
themselves in style. Those of the men principally
consist in the painting of themselves, their head and
face principally, shaving or good clean garments,
silver arm spangles and breast plates, and a belt or
two of wampum hanging to heir necks. The women,
at the expense of their husbands or lovers line their
petticoats with blue or scarlet cloth, blanket or
covering with choice ribands of various colors, or
with round buckles. They adorn their leggings in the
same manner, their mocksens are emboidered in the
neatest manner with coloured porcupine quills, and
are besides almost entirely covered with various
trinkets, they have, moreover, a number of little
bells and brass thimbles fixed round their ankles,
which, when they walk, make a tinkling noise
(Heckewelder 1881:203).
CONCLUSIONS
The question arises: How did the West Pittsburgh and
Chambers people acquire the Euro-American goods?
Certainly beaver was the fur-trade item of the early
commerce. This required labor on the part of the Indian
women who plucked out the guard hairs - an improvement
over shearing because the long, stiff hairs were completely
removed by the plucking. Tanning and plucking meant
many days of work for Indian women and, as a result, the
women had much to say in the negotiations of the trade
(Witthoft 1967). In The Covenant Chain, Grigg (1980)
quotes from Sir Williams Johnson”s papers that the barter
rates in 1765 were as follows:
- Brass kettles as the Weigh at the rate of 1 lb Bever
per pound
- Silver Arm Band, well made, 4 bucks or 3 Bevers
- Rist band, silver, well made, 2 bucks or 2 small
Bevers
- Brooches of Silver, 1 Raccon Musquash (Indian
name for muskrat)
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- 1 pair silver ear bobs, 1 good Doe Skin or small
Bever
- 1 piece best roll garterins, 1 Bever or 2 doe skins
or 6 racoons
- 2 fathom (1:6’) of rimmond, 1 buck or middle
sized bever
and states that in 1782 about 18,000 pieces of silver were
requested for the Indian Trade at Detroit alone. If we apply
Johnson’s equivalents for trade, Burial #18 with the silver
hair ornament, arm bands, metal tinklers, and beads would
amount to an exchange of 28 deer or 20 beaver. But trade
was not the only vehicle by which goods were transferred.
The Covenant Chain refers to the symbol of a pledge of
friendship that was first illustrated as a Dutch ship tied to a
tree, initially by a rope and later with an iron chain, and
finally, a silver chain (Grigg 1980:11). With periodic
renewal of Indian-European alliances, the Covenant Chain
was reaffirmed by gifts; wampum, silver, weapons, furs,
and tools, were exchanged as tokens of good will.
The great era of treaties and the Covenant Chain began
with the English in 1643 (Fenton 1998:717) and came into
prominence in the 1690s. There were a series of treaties
held in Pennsylvania at Logstown (Ambridge), Philadelphia, Lancaster, Carlisle, and at the Forks of the Delaware.
On July 9, 1759, King Beaver along with his Delaware and
Shawnee associates, entered into a treaty of peace at Fort
Pitt and, in the fall of 1762, the Delaware headed by Beaver
Wendocalla, and Tissacoma, conferred at Lancaster to
renew the old Covenant Chain (Weslager 1972:23 8). Some
Wyandot attended a conference in Albany, New York, in
1742 and it is possible that the George II and Caroline
bronze medals and the pewter porringers were acquired at
such a gathering. At the Canadiagua Treaty, signed
November 11, 1794, Indians were given kettles, vermilion,
powder, lead, clothing, and adornment (Fenton 1998:689).
Indians coming to treaty in Albany in August of 1775
were described by Colonel Barlow as “very likely, spry,
lusty fellows, drest very nice for Indians. The larger part of
them had on ruffled shirts, Indian stockings and shoes, and
blankets richly trimmed with silver and wampum.” The
Colonel also remarked that they made “a very beautiful
show, being the likeliest brightest Indians I ever saw”
(Beauchamp 1905:351).
The silver from the West Pittsburgh and Chambers
cemetery sites falls well within the items classified as trade
silver by Quimby (1966) and in the Covenant Chain Trade
Silver catalog compiled for an exhibition at the National
Museum of Canada. According to Grigg (1980:43)
presentation silver played a part in Indian-white relations in
North America for several centuries, but silver was actively
traded only from about 1760 to 1821. Grigg (ibid.:49) says
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
that it would appear from portraits and lists of goods buried
with tribal leaders that silver was a sign of rank and the size
of silver medals corresponded with the importance of the
recipient. If this is the case, Burial # 18, a male ca. 32 years
of age, is likely the ranking male at Chambers.
The grave goods reported herein represent a portion of
the material culture of two 18th century groups of Native
American Indians, no longer dependent on maize-based
agriculture and adapting to conditions imposed by an
expanding European influence. The grave goods suggest
that the “refugee” populations were not merely displaced
persons. The people interred in these two cemeteries were
impacted by the European discovery of America, they were
manipulated during the European expansion, courted by the
English and French during struggles for control of their
former land, and ultimately, some of them went to their
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graves wearing European clothing and adornments. But
something else is evident. Traditional ways were not
completely abandoned. The inclusion of red pipestone
maskettes and shell beads in some of the burials indicates
that certain native objects retained their significance as
either ritual items or as decorative attire.
POSTSCRIPT
Perhaps we would not have taken this sojourn back to
learn about these two populations if NAGPRA had not been
legislated. Like many collections in museums, especially
scattered ones, materials stored in boxes on shelves are
forgotten as daily curatorial chores and new projects
consume our time. NAGPRA created the stimulus to
document the materials from the two cemetery sites and,
hopefully, to add insights to this period of the historic past.
APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF WEST PITTSBURGH SITE (36LR1) 1959-1960 EXCAVATIONS
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Burial #
Statistics
Associated Grave Goods
1
Adolescent
None
2
Female, mid-30s
3
Female, ca. 25 years
4
Infant, 1-2 years
5
6
Female (?), ca. 30 yr.
Child, 8 years
Soapstone Micmac human effigy pipe bowl
Large, wood or bone-handled jacknife
Pair shoebuckles, possibly silvered iron
Several strands small brass beads
Three George II and Caroline medals minted ca. 1738
Medal with standing figure shooting an arrow
Two brass thimbles drilled for suspension
One brass hawk bell
One “Jesuit” ring set with blue glass crucifix
One ring, glass set, lion rampant
One ring, clear glass set, four colored glass side sets
Two red pipestone human face effigies
Four circular silver brooches
Two crowned heart-shaped brooches
Iron single-bladed axe, partial haft remaining
Iron jacknife
Silver earring (pierced ear) with cone dangler
Portions of two crucifixes set with green & white glass
Blue faceted wire-wound bead
Pewter or silver spoon bowl with shell design on reverse
Five single brass wire bracelets
Brass sanctuary bell with wooden handle
Brass secular bell
Small pocket knife, brass handle with twist pattern
Pewter porringer without handle
[None]
One silver crowned heart-shape brooch
15
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7
Male, 18-20 years
8
9
Child, 3-4 years
Child, 5-6 years
10
Male, late 30s
11
?
12
Male, late 20s
13
Youth, 10 years
16
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2003
Three George II & Caroline medals
Small twist of brass
Wampum and tri-cornered shaped wampum spacers
Bark
Several strands brass beads
Three trapezoidal-shaped red pipestone beads
Acorn(?) fragments
Small cone-shaped brass jinglers
Small antler ladle
One knife handle fragment
One iron knife blade
Iron jacknife, wood or bone handle with fused glass beads
Four brass wire bracelet fragments
Iron nail
Strands of brass beads with associated wampum
Wampum and wampum spacers
Ring with green glass intaglio of Queen Anne
White seed beads
Small medal
Pewter porringer, Francis Bassett touch mark
Small brass-handled pocket knife
Ochre powder
Three hawk bells
Three drilled thimbles
Bear (?) tooth
One silver crowned heart-shape brooch
One brass coil with associated fabric, beads
Bark
Two iron jacknives
Three nails
Five iron fragments
Brass coils
Six iron fragments
Five hawk bells
Glass beads
Glass mirror without silvering
Ochre powder
Brass wound on a stick
Brass fragments
Clay Micmac pipe with stamped design and perforation
Gunlock with three flints fused
Gun flint
Iron (?) knife with whetstone and brass coil fused
One lump of ochre
Large jacknife
Bone-handled jacknife
Iron knife blade
Ochre powder
Seven thimbles drilled for suspension
One hawk bell
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
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Female, 18-20 years
15
Male, in 30s
16
?
17
Male, ca. 20 years
18
19
20
Male, late 20s
Male (?), 20-22 years
?
21
22
23
24
25
[no data]
[no data]
Dog burial
[no data]
Child, 8-9 years
26
27
Child, 3-4 years
Child, ca. 8 years
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2003
One small brass-handled pocket knife
Brass fragments, associated wampum, and spacers
Pewter pipe stem fragment
Silvered iron (?) ring fragment
Brass wire bracelet fragment
Two fused silvered-iron (?) rings
Twist of brass
Fragments of brass & glass bead string
Ochre powder
Silver earring (pierced ear) with cone dangler
Brass scraps, fragment of brass wire bracelet
Iron knife blade
Banded blue and white perforated nose piece
Brass wire bracelet fragment
½” wide tooled brass bracelet
Brass kettle
Wooden comb
One circular brooch
Bone handle knife fragment
Two iron knife blade fragments
Iron pocket knife
Crowned heart-shaped brooch with cloth fragment
Two pendants with glass sets
Three circular silver brooches
Bark
Cloth and leather with red stain
Four thimbles drilled for suspension
Two hawk bells
Decorative circular silver brooch
One circular silver brooch
One crowned heart-shaped silver brooch
Two brass jinglers
Seven nail fragments
One clay potsherd
[none]
Two iron scraps
Bark fragments
One thimble drilled for suspension
Brass-handled pocket knife, fabric fused
Brass wire bracelet fragments
Blue and White glass beads
[no data]
[no data]
--[no data]
Brass handled pocket knife
One small brass kettle
Eleven nails and other iron fragments
[none]
Seed beads
17
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
28
Male, ca. 20 years
Unknown #*
---
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2003
Iron single-bladed axe
One “soapstone” “Cherokee” full-figure effigy pipe
Ochre powder
Silvered iron ring fragments
One brass wire bracelet and two fragments
One watch key, brass (?), cast with French heraldry design of the 1730-1740
period
44 brass kettle fragments
1 kettle handle
1 brass kettle, no handle, fabric inside
1 small brass kettle
2 rolled brass beads
1 drilled brass pendant
1 brass sleigh bell
4 drilled spoon or knife handles
1 iron hinge fragment
1 iron knife blade forged from ox shoe
1 iron hook
1 iron spike
1 iron pin
2 jacknife fragments
1 copper bracelet
1 copper strap with large holes
1 fork handle
1 brass-wrapped wooden knife handle with blade
1 silver cross
Glass and shell beads
Data from following two reports on file at the State Museum of Pennsylvania:
State Museum Inventory of Wyandot Materials (n.d.)
Witthoft, John and W. Fred Kinsey (1962) “West Pittsburgh Site: Skeletal Remains”
* F.C.# 8141, CMNH, donated by Vincent Mrozoski and listed as from 36LR1 but grave lot is unlike others. The CMNH
8141 also contains both human and animal bone fragments.
*********
West Pittsburgh (36LR1) burials reported by Zakucia and Roman (1979)
Burial #**
1
18
Statistics
Child
Associated Grave Goods
7 triangular, perforated red pipestone pendants
1 blue and white, ceramic, triangular nose piece
13 Medallions: obverse – George II bust in armor; reverse – Queen Caroline
1 large George I medallion with Indian holding bow
2 silver crucifixes
70 large, black, barrel-shaped rosary beads with leather remnants in perforations
1 small brass buckle, a broken buckle, brass buttons, brass chain, and a brass
spring coil
2 ornate brass buckles
17 square red pipestone beads with central perforations
2 green glass seed beads
7 barrel-shaped glass beads with blue floral design
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
Volume 18
2003
1 medium-sized brass bell
10 transparent melon glass beads
6 brass rings
5 brass rings with glass inserts
18 shell, V-shaped, bead spacers
6 red pipestone maskettes
Several hundred white tubular and blue tubular glass beads, green seed beads
2
Child
1 blue faceted, wire-wound glass bead
1 spherical, wire-wound glass bead
12 black glass, barrel-shaped beads
75 blue, tubular-glass beads
** Data from letter and enclosures from John Zakucia and Earl Roman to Dr. Pammet, Museum of Man, Ontario, Canada,
dated September 27, 1979.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
APPENDIX B: INTEGRATED LIST OF BURIALS AND GRAVE GOODS AT CHAMBERS SITE (36LR11)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stature
(cm) Sex
Associations
152.8 Female 60 woven cloth fragments
148.1
-1 hair/fur
1 wood fragment
Brass: 19 small beads, 1 half-moon-shaped ornament, 6 bracelet fragments, 1 wire,
1 possible brass
Glass beads: 22 white seed, 51 straw, 1 barrel-shaped
1 hematite concretion
26 iron box fragments
31 tubular shell beads
Adult
--White seed beads
---27 pieces leather with beads
18 brass tinklers,
1 brass spiral ornament
336 glass seed beads
1 glass straw bead
70 minute seed beads
1 iron tinkler
153 tubular shell beads – eight with cordage
1 triangular silver pendant
Adult 160.1 Male
321 white glass seed beads
Adult
-Female 14 pieces braid and woven cloth
545 white glass seed beads
21±3
-Female Silver: pendant, hair ornament jinglers
Glass beads: black and white seed
Copper alloy tinklers with red-stained hair
3 copper alloy beads
17.6±3 --Beads: white seed, larger white
3±0.5
--6 unidentified hair/fur fragments
3 charred corn cobs
Burial # Age
1
32±5
2
20-30
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
19
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
10
11
12
13
--3.2±0.5
4.8±0.5
-----
14
--
15
16
32±5
Adult
169.4
--
17
Child
--
18
32±5
153
19
--
--
--
20
21
22
20-30
Child
Child
156.8
---
23
24
25
26
26A
27
28
29
8±1
-35±5
Adult
20-25
5.6±1
Child
Adult
--154
153.8
155.1
----
20
Volume 18
2 fragments wood
6 unidentified organics
Brass: hawk bell, kettle, 4 thimbles
1 George I medal
1 mirror fragment
1 unidentified piece pewter
-“Looted” – coffin nails present
-“Looted”
-White, barrel-shaped beads
-Silver gorget with red ribbon, crucifix
Beads: 1,011 white seed beads
26 tubular shell beads
6 pieces leather with beads
Wampum
8 unidentified organics, matting
1 carved wooden button (toggle type)
Brass: 3 bracelet fragments, 4 button fragments
9 metal tinklers
5 pieces woven cloth
-1 brass bracelet
1 brass brooch
1 tin-glazed earthenware cup handle fragment
Zakucia also lists a silver brooch and a variety of beads
Male
Silver earring, white seed beads
-711 glass seed beads
56 glass straw beads
75 other brown and black beads
-1 unidentified hair/fur
15 glass seed bead
Zakucia also lists 5 hawk bells
Male
Piano-convex silver hair ornament
Silver arm bands
Metal tinklers
-13 glass seed beads
4 other glass beads
-Green braid, white seed beads
-[None]
-35 glass beads – Washington Borough Blue
1 silver brooch
-White, black, green, red seed beads
-Reported as “looted” – coffin nails present
Female [None]
Female [None]
Male
2 pieces iron buckle
-[None]
-[None]
-60 glass seed beads
5 pieces hematite concretions
10 pieces metal vanity box
2003
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
30
Adult
--
31
32
33
34
14-19
Child
Adult
Child
-----
35
Adult
--
36
37
38
1.5±0.5
Adult
4.5±0.5
----
39
40
41
13±3
-Adult 169.7
14±0.5 --
42
17.6±0.5 --
43
44
45
46
47
Adult
Infant
17.6±0.5
Adult
Child
------
48
Child
--
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
Child
-Infant
-Adult
-1.5±0.5 -Child
-Child
-10.2±1 -22±3
157.4
Adult
-Adult
--
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1 metal smoking pipe with fused beads
Silver: 2 brooches, 1 triangular pendant, 8 ornaments
-Silver cuff links
Pair of triangular earrings
40 beads
4 silver beads
-[None]
-1 silver brooch
Female Zakucia – White and black tubular beads
-6 pieces woven and braided cloth
1 silver brooch
Male
Brass: 3 hawk bell fragments, 2 tinklers, 1 ring with glass set
15 pieces braided and woven cloth, two with beads
1,212 glass seed beads
10 metal tinklers
6 tubular shell beads
Silver: rings, 1 ornament
-[None]
-Zakucia – Black, white glass beads, silver beads
-3 pieces bark or wood fragments
10 pieces woven cloth
1 fused iron tinkler
-[None]
Male
[None]
-White seed beads
Metal tinklers with hair
Ring with set
Female 1 piece hair (human?)
1 brass dangler, fused to cloth
4 pieces woven cloth
16 silver tinklers
-Zakucia – piece of brass ring
-[None]
-Zakucia – white seed beads
-1 piece woven cloth
-3 hand wrought iron nail fragments
3 pewter spoon fragments
-Zakucia – Black and white tubular beads, white barrel-shaped beads, faceted brown beads
wampum belt, brass ornament, hawk bells, thimbles, pocket knife
-White seed beads
-Hawk bell and a few black and white tubular beads, some white seed beads
-[None]
-Zakucia – blue seed beads
-Cloth and a button fragment
-White, blue, black, and green seed beads, white barrel-shaped beads, wampum
-[None]
Male
Zakucia – white seed beads
-[None]
-32 glass straw beads
21
Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology
59
43±5
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Adult
Infant
Infant
-Adult
-15.9±1
Adult
Infant
-Adult
LR11/71
154.8
------------
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2003
1 glass barrel bead
1 red pipestone turtle pendant
Female 1 brass button
21 glass barrel beads
3 faceted cannel coal beads
1 gun flint
1 metal striker for fire lighting
1 iron hinge
1 ring
-[None] (reported by Zakucia as “looted by Indians”)
-[None]
-[None]
-“Looted”
-[None]
-Also reported as “looted by Indians”
-163 glass seed beads
Male
Zakucia – white seed beads
-[None]
-Gun flint in fill; no grave goods in direct association
-3 pieces brass wire
132 glass seed beads
1 ramrod ferrule
1 flattened musket ball
“General Digging”
3 large silver pendants or brooches, 1 string of round glass black and red beads,
1 string blue, red, and yellow straw beads, 1 string round glass early blue beads
3 gunflints, 2 musket balls, kaolin pipe fragments, thimbles, bone, nails
Historic burials intruded into the Chambers Mound
1
---386 white glass seed beads
2
42±5
163.5 Male
Black and white glass seed beads
Black tubular beads
Wood fragments
12 rusty nails
List derived from catalogs and inspection of objects at CMNH, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, and at Fort Ligonier.
When no actual collections were located, the inventories were taken from Zakucia’s field notes. These are generally prefaced
with his name in order to distinguish between the objects actually studied and those that are merely reported. Zakucia
indicated that he gave some pieces to the landowner. Zakucia’s notes agree with many of the inventories present in the
museums and it is assumed that his lists are accurate.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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1953
Trade Silver and Indian Silver Work in the Great
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Beauchamp, William M.
1905
A History of the New York Iroquois, Now
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22
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Brix, Maurice
1920
Philadelphia Silversmiths and Allied Artificers
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Carpenter, E. S., K. R. Pfirman, and H. L. Schoff
1949
The 28th Street Site. Pennsylvania Archaeologist
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Currier, Ernest M.
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1938
Marks of Early American Silversmiths. The Southworth-Anthoensen Press, Portland, Maine.
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1928
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Fenton, William N.
1998
The Great Law and the Longhouse. University of
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1936
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1980
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1881
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Hunter, William
1972
The Ohio Valley in the Early Historic Period.
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1981
A Map of 18th Century Towns in Pennsylvania.
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1951
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1871
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Metzger, Thomas J. (compiler)
1989
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1986
Indian Culture and European Trade Goods.
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1979
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Schoff, Harry L.
1943
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1949
“Black Robes” Among the Seneca and Cayuga.
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Sciulli, Paul W.
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1972
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Archaeology as the Key to the Colonial Fur Trade,
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23