archaeology

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

It is important for Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) to maintain relationships with the diverse Indigenous communities whose stories we hope to share with the Greater Pittsburgh Area. This ensures that we are centering Indigenous knowledge in how we collect, display, care for, and interpret cultural material. A very important part of this work is to continuously consult with tribal representatives and Indigenous advisors. This is most evident in the process of repatriation, which is governed in the United States by a federal law called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which was signed in 1991. 

In November 2022, as the concluding action of nearly ten years of consultation, I travelled 962 miles West to complete a NAGPRA transfer with a representative of the Quapaw Nation. I met Carrie Wilson, Quapaw NAGPRA Director, at the Arkansas Archaeological Survey at the University of Arkansas, where we rejoined human remains from Poinsette County with other Quapaw people to await a proper and private reinternment in the future. Afterward, by volunteering at the O-Gah-Pah “Quapaw” Fall Gathering in Northeastern Oklahoma at the Downstream Resort and Casino, I had the pleasure of a brief immersion in some aspects of Quapaw Culture. 

Carrie and I had our work cut out for us preparing for the Fall Gathering. We got to know one another better over lunch and then drove to Quapaw, Oklahoma to get ready. On the day of the event, I rolled up my sleeves and helped sell 50/50 raffle tickets, organize games for kids, keep track of auction items, and set up for the Stomp Dance. I learned how to play Quapaw Dice and cheered everyone on in the foot races. I met so many wonderful people and was humbled by the welcome I received. I ate my share of fry bread and chili and paused to be thankful for the opportunity to forge such meaningful relationships.

While volunteering I was able to meet Betty Gaedtke or Te-mi-zhi-ka (little buffalo woman). Betty is an accomplished Quapaw artist who specializes in authentic Quapaw and Mississippian Pottery. While Betty’s pieces are authentic, they are not archaeological and provide a window into Quapaw style and technique. Her work can be seen in fifteen different venues, including the Crystal Bridges Museum, the Museum of The Ghost Ranch, and the Gilcrease Museum. Thanks to a generous endowment, CMNH was able to purchase two pieces from Betty in 2023 to add to our collection and help us bring the story of the Quapaw to Pittsburgh. These pieces are a great reminder that the Quapaw Nation is alive and well.

So many things in Pittsburgh are inspired by the confluence of our three rivers. Things are named after them, transported on them, and festivals are held on and around them. Like the important role the three rivers play in our local culture, the Mississippi River is very significant to the Quapaw Nation and instrumental in how their name formed. According to the Quapaw Nation website: “The Quapaw were a division of a larger group known as the Dhegiha Sioux many years ago. The Dhegiha split into the tribes known today as the Quapaw, Osage, Ponca, Kansa, and Omaha when they left the Ohio Valley. The Quapaw moved down the Mississippi River into Arkansas, this is the origin of the word Ogaxpa, which can be translated as “downstream people.” You can learn more by visiting QuapawTribe.com.

Caring for culturally significant collections takes empathy and the willingness to accept Indigenous ways of knowing when making decisions on behalf of the material. We are working hard to bring authentic and diverse voices into the narratives that CMNH shares. So, join me in learning more about the O-Gah-Pah and remember to stop relegating Indigenous people and communities to the past when they are thriving across our country. 

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is Archaeological Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

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by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

It was my pleasure to organize a field trip for Anthropology and Anthropocene staff, students, and friends to the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, West Virginia. Our gracious host, Dr. Olivia Jones, who is the facility’s lead curator showed us around the complex while explaining the history of the facility and of the mound. She also provided us with plenty to explore on our own.

Maintaining a relationship between Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Grave Creek Mound Complex has been a highlight of my responsibilities as collection manager over the past five years. Dr. Jones and I work hard to keep each other informed of current research and initiatives in our institutions, while sharing resources that pertain to the history of the region. 

Adena is the name given by archaeologists to the mound building cultural group who developed around 2500 years ago in the Ohio River Valley and many of its major tributaries. The Grave Creek Mound, now located in the center of a town whose name references the structure, is one of the largest of the conical Adena burial mounds. Dr. Jones, curator Hank Lutton, and the staff of the Archaeological Complex work to maintain the integrity of this National Historic Landmark. According to their website, the mound was constructed between 250 and 150 B.C.E. and in 1838 it was measured as being 69 feet tall, and 295 feet in diameter. 

In addition to the mound, the complex consists of an archaeological research and collection facility, and the Delf Norona Museum, which interprets lifeways of the Adena people for the public. The museum, named for the author of the mound’s definitive history, opened its doors in 1978, and the research facility was constructed later in 2008. This facility is the repository for all of West Virginia’s State-owned collections and artifacts. 

Although our exhibits do not explain the arrangement, Carnegie Museum of Natural History once served as a repository for the State Museum of Pennsylvania for all cultural material excavated in Western Pennsylvania.  This material remains in our care at our collection facility and is used for research. As we try to reconcile our institutional past and bring equity and inclusion into our storytelling, these collections will help us interpret the pre-contact narratives of the region. 

I am very lucky to be able to offer these educational experiences to my students and volunteers and I encourage those of you who can, to take the 90-minute drive from Pittsburgh to Moundsville, West Virginia to check out the Archaeology Complex. And the next time you find yourself in the North Eastern section of the Alcoa Hall of American Indians at CMNH, take some time to think about the mound builders who were here before the Haudenosaunee, Lenape, and Shawnee in Western Pennsylvania. 

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is the Collection Manager for the Section of Anthropology and Archaeology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

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