In the thirty-five years since the publication of Barry Kent's seminal book, Susquehanna's Indians, new and novel technologies, interpretive perspectives, and archaeological data have led to a reassessment of many aspects of Susquehannock life. This book presents these developments, bringing the study of the Susquehannocks into modern anthropological context.

An Iroquoian group that inhabited the lower Susquehanna River valley and portions of the Potomac River drainage, the Susquehannocks were key agents in the fur trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They were consequently targets of sporadic warfare by the Iroquois Confederacy and attempted to seek refuge in a series of fortified villages near the Susquehanna River, but they were dispersed by the European colonizers, and in 1763 settlers massacred the remnants of the original nation. Drawing from evidence produced by new excavations, the eight essays in this volume provide original views on various aspects of the Susquehannocks' history, including their origins, geographical spread, and contact with nonnative cultures. An important update to the history of the indigenous people of Pennsylvania, this collection will be welcomed by professional and avocational archaeologists interested in contact and colonialism as well as enthusiasts of Pennsylvania Native American history.

In addition to the editor, the contributors include Marshall Joseph Becker, April M. Beisaw, Jasmine Gollup, James T. Herbstritt, Lisa Marie Lauria, Dean R. Snow, Robert D. Wall, and Andrew Wyatt.

About the Author

Paul A. Raber is Senior Archaeologist and Director of Archaeological Services at Heberling Associates, Inc., in Alexandria, Pennsylvania. He is the series editor of the Recent Research in Pennsylvania Archaeology series and coeditor of several volumes in that series, including The Nature and Pace of Change in American Indian Cultures: Pennsylvania, 4000 to 3000 BP, also published by Penn State University Press.

Reviews

"A worthy successor to Barry Kent's classic work on the Susquehannock, probably the least known of the northern Iroquoian people. Building on Kent's original synthesis, this volume adds important new information and offers a range of analytical perspectives. This volume brings us up to date not only on Susquehannock people and their culture, but also on how archaeology is being practiced in the twenty-first century."

-James Bradley,author of Before Albany: An Archaeology of Native-Dutch Relations in the Capital Region, 1600-1664

"This valuable and timely collection of essays integrates the contributions made by University, State, and CRM archeologists to reevaluate previous concepts regarding the origins, settlement patterns, and material culture of the Susquehannocks. The new data presented in this volume will further reinforce the importance of the Susquehannocks in Iroquoian archaeology and will provide a view of Susquehannock history within a broader context of colonial relations of power and inequality."

-Joseph E. Diamond,SUNY New Paltz

"This volume grew out of a symposium organized by the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council and presents eight chapters that are thoroughly modern in outlook along with an insightful and erudite introduction by the eminence grise of Iroquoian archaeology, emeritus professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, Dean Snow."

-Joy Porter Canadian Journal of History / Annales canadiennes d'histoire

Book Information
ISBN 9780271084763
Author Paul A. Raber
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Pennsylvania State University Press
Publisher Pennsylvania State University Press
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 279mm * 216mm * 15mm