Sugar Grove Petroglyphs
Encyclopedia
The Sugar Grove Petroglyphs are a group of petroglyph
s in the southwestern part of the U.S. state
of Pennsylvania
. Located on an outcrop
of sandstone
in Monongahela Township near the eastern edge of Greene County
, the petroglyphs have been known since at least the 1930s. Due to their value as an archaeological site
, the petroglyphs have been named a historic site
.
people, although the cultural affiliation
of their creators is unknown. Among the cultures that archaeologists have seen as possible creators are the Monongahela or Fort Ancient
, both of which are known to have inhabited the upper portions of the Ohio River valley
. In his 1974 monograph
Rock Art of the Upper Ohio Valley, petroglyph specialist James L. Swauger
argued for a Monongahela-related and proto-Shawnee
identity of the creators; this conclusion he drew from the presence of carvings that he interpreted as representations of Ojibwe religious subjects. Although the Ojibwe never inhabited southwestern Pennsylvania, Swauger believed that the ancestors of the Shawnee shared these subjects as part of a common cultural heritage.
-series sandstone
; it rises somewhat more than 4 feet (1.2 m) above the ground on its western side, but its other edges are level with the floor of the surrounding woodland. The petroglyphs are confined to a roughly square area of the stone that measures approximately 23 feet (7 m) on each side, although most appear on the eastern side and center of this area.
Identification of the various designs has been complicated by erosion
; some designs, especially those that are clustered closely together, have deteriorated and are thus difficult to classify conclusively. Among the most difficult are the carvings that were identified as bird tracks; they may have originally been abstract designs or arrowheads. Likewise, many abstract designs may have been created as identifiable designs, with their present conditions being the result of vandalism, later Native American carvings, or erosion. The most distinctive image on the rock is a large, almost circular animal that appears to be swallowing its tail; due to its unique shape and great size[ its diameter is approximately 5 feet (1.5 m)] , it has been seen as the most important single petroglyph at the site. It has been claimed that the site was damaged by quarry
ing circa 1950, but the only damage visible in a 1960 survey was small bits of stone that had been chipped away, possibly by vandals attempting to remove individual carvings. A 1982 survey discovered that the site had not changed since the 1960 survey.
. More detailed surveys in 1934 and 1950 led respectively to the publication of detailed drawings of the designs and to formal recognition as an archaeological site.
Finding preservation of the designs to be a priority, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
arranged for the production of plaster cast
s of the designs during the twentieth century. Sugar Grove has been seen as one of western Pennsylvania's most important petroglyph sites: although it is smaller than many others, its location has spared it from the fate of many waterside petroglyphs that have been submerged by the construction of major dams, and it has suffered less vandalism than many other sites that occupy dry ground.
In recognition of their archaeological value, the Sugar Grove Petroglyphs were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1986. They are one of four petroglyph sites in Pennsylvania to have received this designation, along with the Indian God Rock
in Venango County
, the Francis Farm Petroglyphs
in Fayette County
, and the Big and Little Indian Rock Petroglyphs in Lancaster County
.
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s in the southwestern part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Located on an outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
in Monongahela Township near the eastern edge of Greene County
Greene County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,672 people, 15,060 households, and 10,587 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 16,678 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
, the petroglyphs have been known since at least the 1930s. Due to their value as an archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
, the petroglyphs have been named a historic site
Historic site
A historic site is an official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have recognized with the official national historic site status...
.
Creation
It is certain that the Sugar Grove Petroglyphs are the work of a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people, although the cultural affiliation
Archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...
of their creators is unknown. Among the cultures that archaeologists have seen as possible creators are the Monongahela or Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...
, both of which are known to have inhabited the upper portions of the Ohio River valley
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. In his 1974 monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
Rock Art of the Upper Ohio Valley, petroglyph specialist James L. Swauger
James L. Swauger
James L. Swauger was an archaeologist known for his work on the petroglyphs of the Ohio River valley of the United States...
argued for a Monongahela-related and proto-Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
identity of the creators; this conclusion he drew from the presence of carvings that he interpreted as representations of Ojibwe religious subjects. Although the Ojibwe never inhabited southwestern Pennsylvania, Swauger believed that the ancestors of the Shawnee shared these subjects as part of a common cultural heritage.
Geology
The petroglyphs were carved into the flat portion of a large outcrop of DunkardDunkard Group
The Permian Dunkard Group is an area of rock, Early Permian in age, in the south of Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the hilltops of the Georges Creek Basin of Maryland. It is found primarily in Washington County. It is notable for being one of the few areas of Permian sediment...
-series sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
; it rises somewhat more than 4 feet (1.2 m) above the ground on its western side, but its other edges are level with the floor of the surrounding woodland. The petroglyphs are confined to a roughly square area of the stone that measures approximately 23 feet (7 m) on each side, although most appear on the eastern side and center of this area.
Carvings
Forty-eight different carvings are present on the sandstone; although most are Native American artwork, a few have been added by vandals since white settlement of southwestern Pennsylvania. Swauger grouped the designs into six categories, as follows:| Category | Number of carvings |
|---|---|
| Abstract designs | 23 |
| Birds and footprints | 10 |
| Complete and partial human figures | 8 |
| Animals and footprints | 4 |
| Arrows | 2 |
| Nut-cracking holes | 1 |
Identification of the various designs has been complicated by erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
; some designs, especially those that are clustered closely together, have deteriorated and are thus difficult to classify conclusively. Among the most difficult are the carvings that were identified as bird tracks; they may have originally been abstract designs or arrowheads. Likewise, many abstract designs may have been created as identifiable designs, with their present conditions being the result of vandalism, later Native American carvings, or erosion. The most distinctive image on the rock is a large, almost circular animal that appears to be swallowing its tail; due to its unique shape and great size
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing circa 1950, but the only damage visible in a 1960 survey was small bits of stone that had been chipped away, possibly by vandals attempting to remove individual carvings. A 1982 survey discovered that the site had not changed since the 1960 survey.
Recognition
Locals have long known the petroglyphs as the "Picture Rocks;" its original scholarly recognition was under this name, producing confusion in archaeological records after the site was separately recorded under the name of "Sugar Grove Petroglyphs." The first appearance of the Sugar Grove Petroglyphs in scholarly literature was no later than 1931, when they were given a short appearance in an archaeological survey of adjacent Fayette CountyFayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. More detailed surveys in 1934 and 1950 led respectively to the publication of detailed drawings of the designs and to formal recognition as an archaeological site.
Finding preservation of the designs to be a priority, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...
arranged for the production of plaster cast
Plaster cast
A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – particularly in palaeontology .Sometimes a...
s of the designs during the twentieth century. Sugar Grove has been seen as one of western Pennsylvania's most important petroglyph sites: although it is smaller than many others, its location has spared it from the fate of many waterside petroglyphs that have been submerged by the construction of major dams, and it has suffered less vandalism than many other sites that occupy dry ground.
In recognition of their archaeological value, the Sugar Grove Petroglyphs were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1986. They are one of four petroglyph sites in Pennsylvania to have received this designation, along with the Indian God Rock
Indian God Rock
Indian God Rock is a large boulder in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the unincorporated community of Brandon, it lies along the Allegheny River in Venango County's Rockland Township. It is significant for the large petroglyph on one of its sides...
in Venango County
Venango County, Pennsylvania
Venango County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,984. Its county seat is Franklin.-History:Venango County was created on March 12, 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties...
, the Francis Farm Petroglyphs
Francis Farm Petroglyphs
The Francis Farm Petroglyphs are a group of petroglyphs in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located on a boulder in Jefferson Township in the northwestern portion of Fayette County, it has been known to archaeologists since at least the middle of the nineteenth century...
in Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, and the Big and Little Indian Rock Petroglyphs in Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
.
Further reading
- Mayer-Oakes, William J. Prehistory of the Upper Ohio Valley: An Introductory Archaeological Survey. "Anthropological Series" 2, vol. 34. Pittsburgh: Carnegie MuseumCarnegie Museum of Natural HistoryCarnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...
, 1961. - Swauger, James L. "Figures in the Rock". Pennsylvania Archaeologist 31 (1961): 106-112.