Barton Village Site facts for kids

The Barton Village Site, also known as the Herman Barton Indian Village Archeological Site, is a very important place near Cumberland, Maryland in Allegany County, Maryland. It's a large archaeological site, which means it's a place where scientists study old human history by digging up artifacts. This site helps us learn about people who lived in this area a long, long time ago.

Learning About the Past at Barton Village

Scientists have been studying the Barton Village Site for many years. In 1960, a researcher named Henry Wright explored the area. His work helped uncover six different layers of soil. Each layer showed signs of people living there at different times.

These layers represent three main periods of human life. They date from about 1000 to 1500 AD. This site gives us important clues about the very end of the Woodland period. It also shows us the start of the Prehistoric period. This is for the Upper Potomac River Valley. There is strong evidence that a group called the Monongahela culture once had a village here.

The Barton Village Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. This means it is a special place that is protected for its historical importance. In 2002, a group called the Archaeological Conservancy bought the site. They help protect important archaeological places.

Ancient Times at Barton Village

This large site also shows signs of even older human activity. Some parts of the site date back to the Archaic period. This was at the very beginning of the Holocene epoch. The Holocene is the current geological time period, which started about 11,700 years ago. It seems that people have lived here almost continuously for at least 12,000 years.

Scientists found many old stone tools and pieces of stone at the site. These include cores, which are larger pieces of stone used to make tools. They also found bifaces, which are tools shaped on both sides. Scrapers and flake tools were also discovered. These tools were likely used for many tasks. The people who lived here used a local stone called Shriver chert to make their tools.

The North Branch of the Potomac River area has many other old settlements. These are similar to the Barton Village Site. For example, the Black Oak area is about 9 kilometers south of Barton. Not much work has been done there yet. But it looks like it might have similar ancient remains. Another similar place is the Flint Run Archeological District. This includes the Lockhart site. It was a place where people processed a type of stone called jasper.