Jennifer Rankin, URS Corporation

1. Exploring Prehistory in the Lower Delaware Valley: A Look at
Native American Occupations in Philadelphia
Jennifer C. Rankin (URS Corporation)
jennifer.rankin@urs.com
Presented at the 2012 Preservation Combination | July 15-19, 2012 | Lancaster, PA
Byways to the Past XIII | Heritage Partnership Conference XXXIV | TRB ADC50
Session: “Under the Pavement: Urban Archaeology in American Cities”

2. Delaware River
Cramp Shipyard & Port Richmond Coal Yard ca. 1940
View of northeastern Philadelphia during industrial
development. (n.d.,)

3. Locating Prehistoric Sites
2009 Shackamaxon #2 Excavation 2012 Dyottville Glassworks Excavation
Example at Shackamaxon #2:
Areas shaded blue within this
city block represent areas of
the highest probability for
identifying prehistoric
occupations.
Sanborn 1916

4. Locating Prehistoric Sites (con’t)
Phase II Systematic Testing at Gunnars Run South
2012 Tumananaraming #1 Excavations 2009 Shackamaxon #1 Excavations

5. Village of Shackamaxon and
Penn’s Treaty
Treaty Wampum Belt
Hills 1810
William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, When Swedish encounter with the Lenape, ca 1700
he Founded the Province of Pennsy, 1681., by
Benjamin West (1771)

6. (www.phillyh2o.org)
Hills 1796

7. Shackamaxon #1
Historic Barrel/Box Features (cross-cutting)
Excavations in Progress
I-95 Project Boundary
Basement
Archaeological Feature (Historic) 1026
I-95 Construction Disturbance Shackamaxon
Historical Foundation Street

8. Shackamaxon #1
Reworked and Contracting Stem Bifaces
Various Finished Bifaces Colonoware: Native Americans??

9. Shackamaxon #2 (36Ph163)
Reworked Groundstone Tool
Site Excavation in Progress

10. Shackamaxon #2 (36Ph163)
Utilized Flakes and Spokeshaves
Microwear: Woodworking Trace at 150x
Finished Bifaces (Brewerton and Meadowood)

11. Gunnars Run South (36Ph162)
Netsinker
View of the Project Area prior to Excavation
Various Projectile Points and Finished Bifaces
(including knives and scrapers)

12. Gunnars Run South (36Ph162)
Steatite Bannerstone Projectile Point
(Fragment) (Argillite)

13. Hope Farm/Richmond Hall (36Ph160)
Railroad Fill (Coal Ash and River Dredge) ranged
Excavation in Progress from 2 to 12 feet.
Gorget Adze

14. Ceramic Sherd from F-96

15. Tumananaraming #2
Ceramic Pipe Stem (Fragment)

16. Tumananaraming #1
Ab-horizon
Located below portions of the Dyottville GlassWorks,
the first Ab-horizon and prehistoric occupations were
ca. 8 feet below the current ground surface.

17. Tumananaraming #1

18. Tumananaraming #1
Utility Disturbance (Sewer) with Intact Soil Horizons
Post Feature

19. Starch Grain and Phytolith Analysis
Tumananaraming #1 Tumananaraming #2 Hope Farm/Richmond Hall
Dayflower (Commelina virginica)
Foxtail (Setaria spp.) Marine diatom frustule
Winter Squash (Cucurbita spp.)