The summer Nature Connection Series continues this week at the WVU Core Arboretum’s woodland amphitheater.
The talk begins at 6 p.m. today. The series runs each Tuesday evening through the summer.
This week’s speaker is David Scofield, director of Meadowcroft Rockshelter. His talk will be “Living off the land: 19,000 years at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter.”
In 1955, a local farmer found Indian artifacts excavated by a groundhog high above the banks of Cross Creek near Avella in Washington County, Pa. Professional excavation of the site by the University of Pittsburgh began in 1973. Subsequent radiocarbon dating, conducted by the Smithsonian Institution, placed the earliest human occupation of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter at 19,000 years ago.
In this illustrated talk, Scofield will share the story of the discovery of this national historic landmark, discuss the significance of the evidence uncovered during the archaeological excavations and explain how the museum, in partnership with the federally recognized Indian tribes historically present in western Pennsylvania, brings to life the big story of 19,000 years of people living off the land in our region.
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village is part of the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center museum system.
Scofield began his museum career in 1988 as a demonstrating craftsman at Old Salem in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he practiced the 18th century trades of blacksmithing, carpentry, joinery and white oak basket-making. After working for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources to develop a turn-of-the-century living history farm as a state historic site, he moved to western Pennsylvania to be part of the Heinz History Center’s effort to develop Meadowcroft. He is a graduate of Delaware Valley College and the Williamsburg Seminar for Historical Administration.
Nature Connection Series is a series of public talks by local and regional experts on a variety of nature-related subjects at WVU Core Arboretum. This summer, talks will cover topics such as birds, trees, geology, elk in West Virginia, butterflies and many other things.
The talks are free and open to the public, and no registration is required. All the talks are outdoors, so dress for the weather. Talks will be rescheduled if the weather is inclement. Free parking is available at the arboretum parking lot and the adjacent WVU Coliseum parking lot.
The full calendar is available on the arboretum website at https://arboretum.wvu.edu/nature-connection-series.
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