Interested in Susquehannock (Conestoga,Andaste,Minqua) Artifacts

BurntBear

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I grew up on the Susquehanna River in Maryland. During my home-school education, I studied this tribe extensively. I even purchased a small dictionary of their language dialect for about $20 and has since been sold online for $350-$400! I can't seem to find my dictionary though. I do remember the words,"Onskat?"=One,"Oneegha/Caneegha"=Water and "Chanoona?"=Pipe.

I am truly fascinated by this tribe. They apparently were the only tribe to trade with all the nations of European settlers and also possessed firearms and cannons as well. Does anyone have any artifacts from the Susquehanna River area south of New York? Thanks!
 

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discoidal roller

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May 4, 2012
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Hey BB, do you know about the Bald Friar Petroglyphs? They are an unbelievable group of rock art that was carved on an island in the middle of the lower Susquehanna, prior to the Conwingo dam construction. Luckily, our great state of Maryland removed them (with dynamite) and then dumped them in a big pile in Druid Hill Park, in the middle of Baltimore. There they sat for over 50 years, before an interested citizen said, hey where are all those cool rocks? Oh yeah, they're in a big pile over in the 'hood totally overgrown by weeds and ignored. Thanks Maryland Historical Trust, for instilling so much trust.

Maryland Historical Trust
 

redbeardrelics

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Hey there BurntBear, I grew up in Harford County, Creswell area, and have a lot of artifacts found in that vicinity. My Grandfathers farm was in the Street/Darlington area, and I have most of the artifacts that he found there, as well as a few that I found there myself.
The problem with trying to identify or collect Susquehannock artifacts is that they were a contact period group or tribe. I am not sure what the current theories are in the anthropology community about how far back in time the Susquehannock identity can be traced, but I assume it is only back to about 1000AD, if even that far. I think that most, if not nearly all, of the chipped stone artifacts found in known Susquehannock village sites are triangle points, and possibly a few basal notched examples. It is not possible to now for sure if a triangle point found in areas where the Susquehannocks lived and traveled, belonged to them, or to a different tribe? Most of the points found in the Susquehanna area are far too early and old to be attributed to the Susquehannocks.
From what I have read the Susquehannocks were a very interesting group. They were from further north in the NY area, and traveled and migrated southward down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake Bay region, where they were said to have dominated the local tribes living in that area. English explorer John Smith who met them while in the Chesapeake Bay region had some interesting comments about how large and impressive in build and stature the Susquehannock warriors were, and that when they spoke their voices were very deep as if speaking through a barrel, or from a cave, I can't remember his exact terminology. I think I read somewhere more recently though that skeletal evidence shows they were probably not as large as John Smith suggested.
 

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BurntBear

BurntBear

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Absolutely correct redbeard. I grew up in Conowingo! I believe they found evidence as far back as around 1100 A.D. Their skeletal remains, to my knowledge; were larger than normal, but not "giant" as described. Most around 6' in length. Thanks for your reply and if you happen to have any photos of any artifacts from that vicinity, I would be very interested in seeing them; regardless of era.
 

bsit1361

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Feb 23, 2010
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I'm from the area as well. I hunt bush river and the Susquehanna as well as other areas close by. You can check out my pictures in my past posts. Nice looking collection!!
 

MadisonMike

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Jun 29, 2014
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Some of my finds from near the susquahanna. 001.JPG 002.JPG 012.JPG 021.JPG 024.JPG
 

jmaschal

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May 29, 2015
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Trying to learn more myself about the susquehanoks. I have bee recently walking and creeks and found a few relics. Looking for more places to hunt with my 5 year old. ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1432946471.452616.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1432946491.940310.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1432946508.666239.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1432946535.644472.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1432946547.957044.jpg
 

jmaschal

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A few pieces in my few days of hunting. The thick dark head I have questions. Is this a training stone or unfinished one? Also any insights on places to search in Harford or Baltimore,Counties
 

The Grim Reaper

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Apr 3, 2008
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Some of these in this tray are from the Susquehanna area. All of these are from Maryland. Not sure which ones without digging out my records.
 

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