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Geology and Archaeology of Meadowcroft Rockshelter and the Multiple Ice Ages of Southwestern Pennsylvania

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Geology and Archaeology of Meadowcroft Rockshelter and the Multiple Ice Ages of Southwestern Pennsylvania GEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF MEADOWCROFT ROCKSHELTER Meadowcroft Rockshelter (photo from Anonymous, 2018b). AND THE MULTIPLE ICE AGES OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh Geological Society Field Trip September 7, 2019 Guidebook PGS Spring Field Trip September 7, 2019 Geology and Archaeology of Meadowcroft Rockshelter and the Multiple Ice Ages of Southwestern Pennsylvania Trip Leaders: Mary Ann Gross, Range Resources—Appalachia John A. Harper, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Albert D. Kollar, Carnegie Museum of Natural History i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 The Pleistocene in southwestern Pennsylvania ................................................................. 2 Pennsylvanian climate-driven sedimentary cycles with emphasis on the Monongahela Formation ...................................................................................... 12 Road log ........................................................................................................................ 20 Stop 1. Meadowcroft Historic Village and Visitor Center ......................................... 23 Stop 2. Meadowcroft Rockshelter ......................................................................... 25 Stop 3. Cross Creek County Park – lunch .............................................................. 36 Stop 4. Tour of MarkWest Houston, PA plant ......................................................... 38 Stop 5. Former Pleistocene bog site ...................................................................... 44 Stop 6. Pennsylvanian Ice Age stratigraphy ........................................................... 49 References ..................................................................................................................... 55 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. North America during the Wisconsinan glaciation .............................................. 2 2. Glacial and interglacial stages of the Pleistocene Epoch ..................................... 2 3. Glacial map of western Pennsylvania ................................................................ 2 4. Maps of western Pennsylvania before, during, and after the Pleistocene ............. 4 5. Carmichaels Formation at Carmichaels, Greene County, showing the direction of flow of the Pleistocene Pittsburgh River ........................................................ 5 6. Reconstruction of Lake Monongahela ................................................................ 5 7. Pleistocene terrace deposits in southwestern Pennsylvania ................................ 6 8. Map of eastern North America during the Wisconsinan ...................................... 7 9. Rock cities in southwestern Pennsylvania .......................................................... 7 10. Spruce Flats Bog in Laurel Summit State Park, Westmoreland and Somerset counties and sphagnum, or peat moss ............................................................... 8 11. Map of Pennsylvania peat bogs ........................................................................ 8 12. The Great Meadow at Fort Necessity in Fayette County ..................................... 9 13. Mastodon tusk found at Sharpsburg in 1909 ..................................................... 9 14. Comparisons of the fossil jaws of some now-extinct animals from Blair County ... 10 15. Some of the larger now-extinct animals that roamed the tundra of western ........ 10 Pennsylvania during the late Pleistocene and very early Holocene 16. Paleogeographic map of the Early Pennsylvanian during peak icehouse conditions in southern Gondwana ..................................................................... 12 17. Pennsylvanian stratigraphy of the central Appalachian Basin .............................. 13 18. Stratigraphic diagram of the Monongahela Formation in western Pennsylvania .... 14 19. Comparison of Monongahela strata with interpreted climatic cycles .................... 15 20. The Pittsburgh coal bed along Sygan Road in South Fayette Township, near Bridgeville ................................................................................................ 15 21. The Monongahela Formation outcrop along I-79 near the Carnegie interchange .. 16 22. Lacustrine climate cycles in the Monongahela Formation .................................... 17 23. Some of the trees characteristic of Pennsylvanian peat swamps ......................... 17 24. The skull of Fedexia, a Pennsylvanian ............................................................... 18 25. Characteristic tetrapods of the Monongahela Formation ..................................... 18 26. Vertebrate bones described and illustrated by Case from the Pittsburgh red beds at Pitcairn .......................................................................................... 19 27. Map of the field trip route and stop localities ..................................................... 20 28. An enthusiastic crowd gathers for a concert at KeyBank Pavilion ........................ 21 ii Page 29. Photograph of Burgettstown, around 1910 ........................................................ 21 30. Location of Stops 1 and 2 ................................................................................ 23 31. The visitor center at Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village ..................... 24 32. Map of Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village ......................................... 24 33. Some of the buildings in the Historic Village ...................................................... 24 34. Meadowcroft’s Indian village ............................................................................ 25 35. Dr. James M. Adovasio with David Scofield, Director of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village ........................................................................ 25 36. Regional structure map on the base of the Pittsburgh coal ................................. 26 37. Evolution of Cross Creek valley and the formation of Meadowcroft Rockshelter ... 27 38. Sedimentary structure and grain size of the Morgantown sandstone ................... 28 39. Honeycomb weathering of the Morgantown sandstone ...................................... 29 40. Early photographs of Meadowcroft Rockshelter .................................................. 30 41. Inside Meadowcroft Rockshelter ....................................................................... 30 42. The Miller Lanceolate ....................................................................................... 31 43. Assorted Miller Complex artifacts from Stratum IIa ............................................ 32 44. Meadowcroft basketry ..................................................................................... 32 45. Assortment of bone objects at Meadowcroft ...................................................... 32 46. Evidence of ancient campfires built at the site ................................................... 33 47. Plot of radiocarbon dates from Meadowcroft Rockshelter showing one standard Deviation ......................................................................................................... 33 48. Eastern half of the United States showing the locations of pre-Clovis sites .......... 34 49. Location of Stop 3 ........................................................................................... 36 50. Pavilion #3 at Cross Creek County Park ............................................................ 37 51. Cross Creek Lake and some of its ..................................................................... 37 52. Some of the fish available in Cross Creek County Park ....................................... 37 53. Local farm modified by the effects of a Marcellus shale gas lease ....................... 38 54. Location of Stop 4 ........................................................................................... 38 55. The MarkWest Houston Complex in Houston, PA ............................................... 39 56. Overviews of MPLX gathering, processing, natural gas supply, and northeast operations ....................................................................................................... 42 57. Location of Stop 5 ........................................................................................... 45 58. Former strip mining operation and Pleistocene terraces ..................................... 45 59. The geologic section exposed at the Hussey Strip Operation near ...................... 46 60. The cleaned face of the peat deposit showing test tubes in place for sampling .... 46 61. Diagram of the Wisconsinan Stage ................................................................... 47 62. Some of the mastodon bones found in the Bridgeville peat bog .......................... 48 63. Diagram showing the transition from a pond or lake to a peat bog ..................... 48 64. Location of Stop 6 ........................................................................................... 49 65. The Benwood Limestone along PA 50 west of Bridgeville ................................... 50 66. Stratigraphic diagram of the Monongahela and Waynesburg formations ............. 50 67. Callipteris conferta, once thought to be a Permian index fossil ............................ 51 68. The upper Monongahela Formation and lower Waynesburg Formation ............... 52 69. Some of the sedimentary features that can be seen at Stop 6 ..........................
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