Those Who Came Before

Those Who Came Before – The Archaeology of Centre County’s Native Americans, explored the rich history of the people who lived in Central Pennsylvania for thousands of years before Euro Americans arrived.  This exhibit was presented in 2011 by the Centre County Historical Society, the Bald Eagle Archaeological Society, and the Matson Museum of Anthropology at Penn State.

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 included 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.

The exhibit panels are below. Click on the download link to download to your device for easier viewing.