The Canfield Island Site, also known as Archeological Site 36LY37, is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Located on Canfield Island in the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exten ...

, the site lies east of the city of Williamsport in Loyalsock Township. It is believed to have been inhabited by prehistoric Native Americans for thousands of years, with the oldest discoveries dating back to more than one millennium before Christ.

Geology

Canfield Island is an

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...

formed by the digging of a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

near the side of the West Branch Susquehanna in the early twentieth century; today, this canal forms the northern half of the island's shoreline, and the West Branch forms the southern half. Much of the island has been cultivated during the historical period, but forests today cover a significant portion of the island. It has frequently received

deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...

from the West Branch. The island has a total area of .

Archaeological investigation

The island was first revealed to be a potential archaeological site as a result of a preliminary investigation performed by an exploratory group of members of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology who first visited the island in 1958. Beginning in 1960 and continuing periodically through 1980, a series of

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

yielded artifacts to a depth of below the surface, and surface artifacts were extant throughout the island. Since 1980, occasional investigations have continued at the site; a team from

Lycoming College Lycoming College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but operates as an in ...

in Williamsport carried out an excavation on the island in 2003.Canfield Island Dig, 2003
, Lycoming College Archaeology Program. Accessed 2009-12-02. Excavations yielded discoveries from a set of phases that was more complete than could be found at most comparable Pennsylvania sites. While

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

s are rare at the site, the presence of charcoal from a wide range of phases has provided a basis for dating charcoal found at many other sites in the state. Another significant discovery was a set of massive hearths amid large numbers of

fishing net A fishing net is a Net (device), net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example #Fyke nets, fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by ...

s, which has led to the proposal that Canfield Island was a major fishery.

Conclusions

Archaeological investigations have concluded that Canfield Island was inhabited during the

Late Archaic period In the classification of the archaeological cultures of North America, the Archaic period in North America, taken to last from around 8000 to 1000 BC in the sequence of North American pre-Columbian cultural stages, is a period defined by the ''a ...

(approximately 3,000 years BP) and a fragment found at the lowest point of investigation, while it cannot be dated conclusively, may have originated in the Early Archaic period. Various phases of the Woodland period appear at the site, and evidence exists of occupation by the Susquehannock, who still inhabited eastern Pennsylvania after the arrival of Europeans in the region.

Recognition

In 1982, Canfield Island was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in recognition of the amount of information it had yielded and because of its potential to yield even more information. The site is today part of Riverfront Park, a Loyalsock Township park that includes an archaeology-

themed trail A themed walk is a walk along which there are information boards covering a specific topic or theme, such as regional history, industrial history, mining or forestry. Features of nature (e.g. raised bogs or biotopes) or of geology are often laid o ...

on the island. Since 2003, local Native Americans have held an annual

pow-wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

on the island.Thompson, David.
Canfield Island welcomes fifth annual Bull Run All Nations Powwow
''

Williamsport Sun-Gazette The ''Williamsport Sun-Gazette'' is a morning newspaper published seven days a week in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in Lycoming County. Its earliest antecedents date to 1801. As of January 1, 2016, the daily circulation of the paper was listed as ...

'', 2008-07-22. Accessed 2009-12-02.

References

External links

{{Authority control 1958 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Archaic period in North America Geography of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania West Branch Susquehanna River Woodland period National Register of Historic Places in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania