Sourcing the source: Bald Eagle Jasper quarries and the Houserville Habitation Complex

Abstract

The construction of a road extension of Park Avenue through the Pennsylvania State University’s agricultural fields offered an opportunity to reinvestigate, in more detail, the Tudek jasper quarry site (36CE238). The original investigation was led by Dr. James Hatch and graduate students from the University’s Department of Anthropology. Initial studies yielded in excess of 27,000 artifacts that were used in this analysis. Our reinvestigation resulted in the construction of a detailed outline of the quarry site and the pattern of usage of the materials from the site. Additionally, radiocarbon dating indicated that the site was intensively utilized for a long period of time (3500 BC to 1500 AD) and confirmed that, like many quarry sites, the activities included primary materials collection and testing, reduction of the lithic materials for transport to another location where the final finishing of tools took place. Moreover, the availability of raw material likely changed through time and across the quarry. Observed color changes in the jasper suggest some heat treatment on site, primarily during later time periods.