Hints on PA indian sights

[fishguy]

I had just recently gotten into treasure hunting this past year, so I started to dive into the local areas history. I found places to metal detect nearby but also found out some history of my brothers land. He owns a large chunk of Bear Rocks, Pa. which has large rocks and caves all over it. I have read it was considered sacred ground to the local indians but dosn't say if it was a burial sight or what. I respectfully refuse do dig or search any old burial sights. There is a rumor also the gangs of the early twenties would use these caves. My question is what should I be looking for to tell me where to look and where not to. By the way the area wasn't called bear rocks untill the early 70's. I don't know what the ethics are for old indian sights so any tips there would help. Now on the gang side if they left some stuff behind I'll gladly scoop it up . I have walked the woods and have seen stacks of rocks that where unnatural but these areas are a good 200 yards from where the first cave pops up. Any help would be appreciated I want to enjoy my new hobby not disrespect other cultures even the forgotten ones.

 

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[pannerman]

Why would you keep the gang stuff and not the prehistoric stuff? The gangs are cultural heritage too. I'd say, if you are going to take artifacts from one culture, take them from all. I don't discriminate. But if the finds are of great historical significance, you might want to tell a local college.

 

[fishguy]

think I may have worded that wrong, if it was a sacred burial sight for gang members then I wouldnt bother it either... And the history about the gang was that they had used the caves to hide papers and other things from the feds. Now I am sure I wont be the first to explore this area since my brother had bought the land only 9 years ago but here is to wishful thinking.

 

[soughtseven1035]

Bear Rocks is 3 hours away. It seems everyone on these metal detecting forums wants to search 3 hours away from my house!

 

[JOHUNT]

You have to use your imagination of what the landscape would've looked like back then. Land features such as high bluffs overlooking major rivers made great lookout spots for Native Americans. There was alot of tribal conflict from the Iroquois up here in NY. They were the force to be reckoned with!
Aside from that, some tribes were nomadic and often used caves, rock ledges,Etc. for shelters as they traveled. These shelters may have been used for many many years, so a careful examination of the surface and rocks for anything man made could lead you to some great stuff. Most tribes preferred to make villages in the valleys with rivers. Rivers were a vital resource.

 

[fishguy]

thanks johunt, the the documents I have been reading do say nomadic native american tribes but dosn't say any individual tribe. I poked around the area this evening and found a few fish and fern fossils but not much else. My brother and I are going to do a little heavier exploring this fall as the green briar is almost impassible. Found a stacked stone foundation back in the woods so I'll also be bringing the detector along. I think my brother has been bitten by the treasure hunting bug also now.

 

[JOHUNT]

Sounds like a good spot! Try historicmapworks.com for researching the foundation. The property lines could also be a good place to find good stuff like old bottles and the farm dump. There was likely a privy(outhouse) on the downhill side of the house that could be worth digging too.

 

[Jay In NewKen]

Think I've been to these Bear Rocks before, if it's the same ones. That area was known to be a location associated with the Seneca tribe. As for other eras, definitely been well known since the early 1900's, probably earlier.

 

[fishguy]

It wasn't developed untill the 1970's with high hopes of building a resort / skiing area along with nearby forest lake but ended up just being more of a club community. A lot of nice homes in there mostly summer and fall getaways. Would be a metal detectors nightmare since the entire area is covered in boulders the size of dump trucks and larger. My brother and I are going to be hitting the caves near our church early fall, a little logging going on now and where it isn't it very overgrown with all the rain we are getting this year. Added a few more fossils to my collection and things that are either very poorly made arrowheads or my imagination is really changing rocks into them

 

[JOHUNT]

Think I've been to these Bear Rocks before, if it's the same ones. That area was known to be a location associated with the Seneca tribe. .

That's interesting. Do you have a link to that info? It's entirely probable that the Seneca's went through Bear Rocks, but their territory is 110 miles to the north. A 38 hour walk, but the Iroquois could have probably done it in half of that.

 

[Jay In NewKen]

That's interesting. Do you have a link to that info? It's entirely probable that the Seneca's went through Bear Rocks, but their territory is 110 miles to the north. A 38 hour walk, but the Iroquois could have probably done it in half of that.

I don't have any proof other than hearsay, but again, if its the same location i remember a place called "Seneca Point" no more than a few miles away.

 

[JOHUNT]

The Great Indian Warpath also known as The Seneca Trail might have some correlation to your areaGreat Indian Warpath - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia