Text and photo caption for Lifeways section...
Caption for riverscene_rev5:
During seasonal encampments at the East Steubenville site, Native Americans harvested the bounty of the Ohio River: freshwater mussels were collected in the shallows and catfish were caught as well.
Text for Lifeways:
While not the earliest Native inhabitants of West Virginia, the Panhandle Archaic people were pioneers in another sense. By being the first Archaic people to rely heavily on fish and shellfish from Ohio River for sustenance, they created a new Native American lifeway not seen before in the Upper Ohio Valley.
Visit us again this fall -- our studies of the excavated artifacts and food remains and radiocarbon dating of the East Steubenville site are nearing completion. These findings, to be reported here, will provide the first complete picture ever of how the Panhandle Archaic made a living in the landscape of northern West Virginia 4000 years ago.
Ryan -- placed this at end of Archaeology section...
2001: Native American Remains -- Consultation, Study and Reburial
During excavations, archaeologists discovered six Native American burials at the East Steubenville site. Laid to rest in shallow graves, these were probably burials of family members who died during the Panhandle Archaic encampments. After the first of these burials was discovered, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and WVDOT consulted with West Virginia historic preservation officers, Native American groups, and archeological organizations to ensure appropriate and respectful treatment of these human remains.
Photo Caption:
Meeting with Native American groups at East Steubenville site, March 2000, to discuss human remains.
Through consultation, FHWA developed a formal agreement that balanced archeological scientific and Native American concerns by requiring osteological study of the skeletal remains followed by reburial. After completing osteological studies, a reburial ceremony was held on October 6, 2001 at the Highland Hills Memorial Gardens, just north of the East Steubenville site. Chief Waterman, member of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation, directed a Native American ceremony to reinter the six Panhandle Archaic Native Americans. Bundled in buckskin, the remains were returned to earth by a granite monument commemorating the event.
Photo Caption:
Reburial ceremony, October 6, 2001: Chief Waterman and assistance (to right) and struck participants in the ritual placing of soil in bundle burial graves.
An open event, the reburial was attended by over 100 Native Americans, archaeologists, and members of the public. For the attendees, this moving ceremony made clear why a commitment to hearing the concerns of all parties in transportation planning projects is not only the law, but the right thing to do.