Possible Indian Burial Mound Discovered in Western Pennsylvania

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stalger

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Jul 30, 2017
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Let me start by saying my knowledge of Indian Artifacts is limited. My teenaged son has recently become very interested in this and I have assisted him with research. He has an eye for these kinds of things and has already found artifacts. He is also a naturalist and is a very accomplished sportsman, hunter, trapper, and fisherman.

He showed me a site the other day that he has discovered, located in a very remote, mostly inaccessible, and undeveloped area along the river on a bank. Contained in this site are mounds that protrude from ground level to a height of maybe 2-3 feet. In the center is the largest mound and in a circular formation exist smaller mounds. The location appears to have been untouched and pristine. There does not appear to have been any presence of man or machine anywhere on or around the vicinity of the site.

My research shows this is typical of some Indian burial mounds and we are very excited as to his discovery. My question to you regulars is how do we proceed from here? The property is owned by a company that has little interest in the area. The property is not posted and locals regularly drive quads and ATV's in the vicinity. Do we start digging and possibly find remains? Should we notify a governmental entity? Should we apply for an archaeology permit?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.
 

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I noticed this is your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard stalger from another resident of the great state of PA! Take a look at Sub-Forums: Pennsylvania for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to PA.
 

Digging on private property without permission is not advised. Digging up someones grave to get a few arrowheads is a karmic mistake in my mind. I wouldn't want someone digging up mine or my families graves so I wouldn't do it to an Indian either. You'd have to dehumanize them to justify digging them up in my mind. On another note, a burial ground is not likely to be located near a river or a floodplain as the possibility of flooding would wash out the bodies one day. The bank would have to be high enough to stay dry even in a 100 year flood, the Indians weren't totally ignorant of geology. I'd just stick to looking for points on the surface in that area and the river banks and high areas that might have been camps.
 

Actually digging in ancient Indian mounds is illegal even if you own the land. Federal & State laws prohibit it. For generations the Native American mounds have been destroyed so people could collect artifacts. Some so farmers could plow a a few more acres. If your son is truly a naturalist he will agree. Surface collect on private land with permission is basically the only option.
 

Hello from NW pa! Sounds very cool. I know from researching that there were tons of mounds in my area and like newnan man said they all got plowed up and the bones "thrown in a ditch". For some reason the early folks in Ohio had a different attitude and many of those remain. In my mind the best thing you could do is figure out how to make it an official historical site so that it will be protected in the future.

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No need to be self-righteous. I'm asking for guidance on a topic I don't know much about.
 

Thanks for the advice and I believe it would take a special kind of nutcase to dig into human bones, separating artifacts from human remains. I would like to have an entity view the site but I don't think it will generate interest on the "possibility" of it being a mound. That's why I'm wondering if more evidence is necessary, and that's why we're at a catch 22. Oh this is out of a floodplain for sure. The bank it sits on is more like a cliff.
 

Here is some info pertinent to Pa. There are federal laws prohibiting disturbing remains located on public land. I am not sure of the laws pertaining to private land, but the principal federal laws only apply to public land. That said, digging Native graves is not something responsible artifact collectors do. Digging non burial sites on private land, with owner permission, is allowable in most states, as is surface collecting, on private property with owner permission....

Federal Laws and Acts Protecting Burial Sites | PHMC > Cemetery Preservation and Recordation
 

It's a legitimate question from someone who obviously doesn't know the laws pertaining to burials or mounds. Stalger, the best thing to do is try and research the "mounds" in the area; chances are they have been recorded somewhere. Just because they are pristine and undamaged doesn't mean that they haven't been explored by archaeologists in the past. It takes funding to undertake such a project, and the known history of that particular area may preclude any exploration.
That being said, don't dig or alter any of the mounds in any way. It's usually permissible to walk around on them and explore, but leave them as they are. Just by standing on one you are standing on an "artifact", something that was most likely built before any white man came to settle. Besides, the majority of mounds were for ceremonial purposes and don't contain any graves or artifacts. It's a great exercise in anthropology to try and determine why the mounds were laid out in a certain pattern, and how the settlement was constructed around them. Picture the area through the eyes of someone trying to live there prehistorically, and you will most likely find some evidence to back up your theories. After all, they lived, laughed and loved just like we do today-but with less technology. Good luck!
 

I would ask the land owner if you can surface hunt....if you find something significant I would explain the situation about the mounds and it would be up to them to bring in a team of archaeologists. Keep us posted sounds interesting. And in the meantime to keep your interest google "mound 72 in Illinois"
 

A large mound with satellite mounds ...
Draw them out on paper for future reference. Sizes and distances.
Compare to local knowledge of culture. For example the Natchez or Mississippian mounds that represented the great sun by the largest mound and it's user.

Don't dig in mounds. If a river is near you can look around gravel bars for relics. Does not mean you can legally recover them though. That is part of your home work if interested in looking.

Here are some known sites.http:// https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Native_American_archaeological_sites_on_the_National_Register_of_Historic_Places_in_Pennsylvania
 

I have seen burial ground right next to rivers in flood plain. Just down from Bennett Springs State Park in Lebanon, Missouri on the Niangua there are 3 rock mounds made out of boulders. I'd say the boulders consist of 50-100 lbs each and are 8-12ft high. This river floods often and they have stood the test of time for thousands of years. So yes, burial grounds can exist in flood plain.

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That sounds like an interesting site. I think your best bet would be to contact the local archeological society if there is one, and offer the services of you and your son, to show them the site. The odds are that it is already a known site, and may be early historic, rather than pre-historic ? If it is a currently unknown site, you can take photos of you and your son revealing it to the local archaeologist's, so that you have some sort of documentation as your son being the discoverer of the site. You do not have legal permission to dig or explore it as you would like, so if you really want to know what it is, and what might be hidden there, the only alternative is to let get legal permission yourself, or let a group who can get legal permission go at it.
 

Just look the other way and ignore the mounds thats what I do. Glad to hear somebody else has seen those types.
 

My uncle found an Indian burial ground on a piece of our family's land. We're going to check it out soon!
 

I would research the history of the area and see if the prehistoric people actually used mound burials. They could be natural formations, or effigy mounds, or maybe mounds that houses sat on. Pics would be great, but if you could draw a diagram of them (with north indicated) I would like to see that.
 

RGINN said:
I would research the history of the area and see if the prehistoric people actually used mound burials. They could be natural formations, or effigy mounds, or maybe mounds that houses sat on. Pics would be great, but if you could draw a diagram of them (with north indicated) I would like to see that.
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The ones I see are probably middens for scrap and trash not burial. But either way I dont bother them.
 

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