Today's Cranberry residents are far from the first to be attracted to the area for its highways, shopping and food.
Newly uncovered archaeological evidence shows that American Indians were drawn there 3,000 years ago by a huge cranberry bog and turned the area into a fall-time center for foraging, hunting and trading.
The story of the bog and the American Indians who frequented it -- a story unearthed during excavations of the planned Graham Park -- will be the subject of a presentation by urban archaeologist Christine Davis at the monthly meeting of the Allegheny Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. The meeting, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Carlow College's Grace Library in Oakland, is free and open to the public.
Tantalizing clues in ancient mounds
Ancient mounds here may be among the nation's oldest and prove that the original owners were pretty inventive for their day.
Recent excavations at the Higashimyo archeological site indicate the shell mounds date back 7,000 years-to the early Jomon Period (8000 B.C.-300 B.C.).
Higashimyo has western Japan's largest such mounds. They are believed to have been created by the dumping of shells and other refuse.
Remains of more than 40 baskets, hand-woven from thin strips of wood, have been found there. Experts say they may be the oldest so far discovered.
Over 3,000-year-old bronze sword discovered in Henan
Chinese archaeologists have recently unearthed a short bronze sword in one of the seven newly-discovered pits of chariots and horses in the famous ruins of Yin, in Anyang city of central China's Henan Province, said a local cultural relic official.
The official with the Henan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration said the double-edged sword is about 30 to 35 centimeters long, and its handle, body and ridge are all clear andeasy to be identified.
The official said the seven pits of chariots and horses as wellas three medium-sized tombs were discovered in a recent excavation at the western edge of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, which was the capital of the late Shang Dynasty (c. 1300-1050 BC), some 500 km south of the national capital Beijing.
And more from China Archaeologists uncover ancient Chinese fort
Chinese archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of a 1,700-year-old fort in eastern China's Anhui province.
The ancient fort, the first ever discovered in Anhui, was constructed between 230 and 233 AD in the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD).
Li Dewen, the archaeologist leading the excavation, says up to 6,000 soldiers were believed to have garrisoned at the 80,000 square metre site for almost 50 years.
Archaeologists also found the ruins of a smelting furnace, a stonemill, some 2,000 arrows and food vessels such as basins, jars and kettles at the site.
The castle played an important role in the military defence of the Kingdom of Wei, which resisted at least 11 attacks from its rival Kingdom of Wu.
That's the whole thing.
Unearthing of skeletons sheds light on legend of saint
ABOUT 200 skeletons dating as far back as 1200 years have been unearthed.
The foundations of a medieval church and graveyard have also been found by Historic Scotland near Tantallon Castle, by North Berwick.
Archaeologists were called in earlier this year when human remains were found during ploughing at Auldhame farm.
Some of the graves are believed to be medieval, but others could date from the time of St Baldred, who lived in the eighth century.
This is no laughing matter Neandertal femur suggests competition with hyenas and a shift in landscape use
Analysis of approximately 41,000-year-old human remains found in France suggests that Neandertals may have become regionally mobile earlier than scientists once thought.
Cédric Beauval and colleagues from Université Bordeaux 1 in France, Max Planck Institute in Germany, and Washington University in St. Louis, conclude that the human femur fragment found in 2002 in the cave of the Rochers-de-Villeneuve comes from a Neandertal, based on its shape and mitochondrial DNA. Its age places it at the end of the Middle Paleolithic archeological period, just before modern humans arrived in Europe.
Update: More here.