THE EFFECTS OF EROSION ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER AT A STUDY AREA IN MUNCY, PENNSYLVANIA

Abstract

The effects of erosion along river banks are leading to the loss of Pre-Contact Native American archaeological sites. Studies along the Mississippi River document this process and loss, but after a review of the identified literature, there is no systematic study looking at erosion and archaeological sites along the Susquehanna River near Muncy, Pennsylvania. This thesis asks: How is erosion likely to affect archaeological sites along the Susquehanna River? The thesis focuses on a study area adjacent to the Susquehanna River near Muncy, Pennsylvania. The study area has many documented pre-contact sites and has been predicted to have high and moderate potential for more sites based on the Pennsylvania pre-contact probability model. One of these sites, the Muncy Survey area, is used to show what a site around this area could look like and the type of information that is at risk of being lost. This thesis combines data sets to overlay known archeological sites recorded during a cultural resource inventory of the project area on a predictive soil erosion model to show areas of erosion and understand what sites are at risk. This study is important as it addresses a larger issue of the loss of archaeological sites and demonstrates a workable model for predicting vulnerability to future erosion from flooding of the Susquehanna River. These areas that are subject to erosion are also those with the highest probability of containing archaeological sites based on distance to water, elevation, and soil type, which are common variables for predicting archaeological site location. Without these sites, we lose the ability to understand and appreciate our history and culture.