39°33′45″N 78°51′2″W / 39.56250°N 78.85056°W Barton Village Site, also known as the Herman Barton Indian Village Archeological Site, is a large, multi-component archaeological site near Cumberland in Allegany County, Maryland.
Barton Village Site | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Cumberland, Maryland |
|---|---|
| NRHP reference No. | 75000860 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 12, 1975 |
History of research
editThe site was explored in 1960 by Henry Wright, whose work revealed six cultural layers representing three phases of late prehistoric occupation, c. 1000-1500. It represents data for the terminal Woodland to the terminal Prehistoric periods in the Upper Potomac River Valley. Significant evidence exists that the site was a village of the Monongahela culture.[2]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1]
The site was purchased from John Barton in 2002 by the Archaeological Conservancy.[3]
Archaic period
editThis large, multi-component site also features some Archaic period occupations dating to the beginning of the Holocene. The human settlement here appears to have been continuous for at least 12,000 years.[4][5]
The early lithic assemblage is represented by the finds of debitage as well as cores, and tools surrounding a hearth. Bifaces, scrapers, and flake tools were discovered. Locally available Shriver chert was used for manufacturing these tools.[6]
The North Branch of the Potomac River seems to contain numerous other prehistoric settlements similar to Barton. In particular, the Black Oak area, 9 km south of Barton, where very little work has been done as yet, seems promising. Similar cultural deposits may be found there.[7]
The Flint Run Archeological District, and in particular the Lockhart site (44WR20) is another similar location. This is a quarry-related site where jasper was processed.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Maryland Historical Trust". National Register of Historic Places: Shawnee Old Fields Village Archeological Site. Maryland Historical Trust. October 5, 2008.
- ^ Sawyers, Michael (June 16, 2011). "Unearthing history at Potomac River's North Branch". Cumberland Times-News. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ Barton Village Site (18AG3) - Western Maryland Chapter - Archeological Society of MD
- ^ Barton Site 18AG3 - Maryland Archeobotany
- ^ Wall, Robert D., Paleoindian Occupations at the Barton Site, Upper Potomac River Valley. The 85th Annual Meeting of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation, 2018
- ^ Timothy J. Horsley and Robert Wall (2009), Archaeological evaluation of alluvial landscapes in Western Maryland, USA.
External links
edit- Herman Barton Indian Village Archeological Site, Allegany County, including photo in 1995, at Maryland Historical Trust