Two small creeks meet at one end of the site. The flat ground, or terrace, between the creeks made a quiet, sheltered spot for a campsite. Archaeologists excavating here found evidence that Native Americans had camped in this location several times over a period of at least 3,000 years.

There was clear water in the nearby streams, and food was plentiful. Acorns, hickory nuts and walnuts were gathered in the surrounding forest, berries and starchy tubers (potato-like plants) grew along the creeks and the edges of the forest, and there was plenty of game in the woods.

In the photograph, the archaeologists are carefully removing earth one layer at a time. As they do, they discover artifacts, such as knives, spear points and other stone tools, fragments of pottery, and cobbles that had been collected from the creeks and used to make campfires and cooking hearths.

To learn more about the site -- how we know how old the artifacts and occupation layers are, and how the information is recorded -- click on the buttons to the right.