Sites on the Margins are not Marginal Archaeology: Small, Upland Sites in the Vicinity of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania

Abstract

When faced with a wide range of site types within an area under study, the attention of the archaeologist is often drawn toward larger settlements, such as base camps or villages, where one can reasonably expect a large quantity and diversity of cultural remains. While the role of smaller, limited resource procurement sites in subsistence-settlement systems is usually acknowledged, the sites themselves are seen as uninteresting or insignificant. This article focuses on the use of small, upland sites to create a more fully integrated view of the prehistoric cultural landscape in the vicinity of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. A number of small and large sites in upland and lowland settings were excavated here as part of archaeological investigations for a highway bypass around Meyersdale.