A Geomorphic and Elemental Analysis of the Johnston Site (36IN002)

Summary

The Johnston site (36In002), in Blairsville, Pa, is the type site for the Johnston Phase of the Monongahela Tradition. This site was first discovered by Ralph Solecki during the River Basin Surveys carried out in preparation for flooding of the Conemaugh River Lake. Following its discovery the site was partially excavated in the 1950’s by Don Dragoo for the Carnegie Museum. The Johnston site has been revisited by archaeologists from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; however, little geomorphological work or chemical analysis have been completed by either group of investigators. Elemental chemical analyses were conducted with a portable XRF to differentiate areas with a higher probability of yielding archaeological data upon subsurface investigation. Soil samples from the base of the plowzone and the horizon immediately below the plowzone were collected from a 90 square meter block and from a single transect spanning the site and analyzed for elemental content to ascertain preferred locations for subsurface investigation. Particle size analyses of column samples taken from three locations were used to correlate horizons across the site, and to propose a rational history of the development of the landform.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage