Those Who Came Before:
The Archaeology of Centry County's Native Americans

Exhibit Dates: Jan. 1 - Jun. 15, 2012
Tour Hours: Wed., Fri., Sun. ~ 1:00-4:00 p.m. (Groups by appt.)
Location: Centre Furnace Mansion - Ice House Exhibit Room
1001 E. College Ave., State College, PA 16801

Unveiled in October 2011, the new exhibit titled Those Who Came Before – The Archaeology of Centre County's Native Americans explores the rich history of the people who lived in Central Pennsylvania for thousands of years before Euro Americans arrived. On display inside the Centre Furnace Mansion’s reconstructed ice house, this exhibit is presented by the Centre County Historical Society, the Bald Eagle Archaeological Society, and Penn State’s Matson Museum of Anthropology.

Native Americans first came to the region about at the end of the last Ice Age. For thousands of years, they moved seasonally from camp to camp, hunting animals and gathering food. Eventually, they began fishing, gardening and settling down in permanent settlements. About one thousand years ago, they lived in villages and survived by growing corn, beans, and squash while continuing to collect the bounty of the forest and rivers around them. By the time Andrew Boggs, James Potter and a few others had settled in the 1760s-70s in what would be named Centre County, the original inhabitants had already left their territory in response to the encroachment of colonists and other native peoples, the ensuing conflicts, and the resulting spread of diseases.

Because this pre-history is not written in a book, it must be reconstructed by archaeologists from the material remains found of Native American camps and villages. The exhibit will include artifacts, photographs of excavations in the region, and images that try to capture what the lives of Native Americans were like over the millennia that they called Centre County their home.