Even 4000 years ago, this was an ancient landscape. Over 3 million years, the Ohio River had cut a channel 300 feet
into the bedrock of the Appalachian Plateau in northern West Virginia. On the east side of the valley, erosion by Mahan Run,
a stream tributary of the Ohio, carved a high, narrow ridgespur out of uplands that was used as the campsite for the East Steubenville Native Americans.
Below the ridgespur, the Ohio River flowed past level terraces, formed by floodwaters after the Ice Age ended 18,000 years ago.
To reach the East Steubenville site, Panhandle Archaic Native Americans probably followed a trail leading out of the valley, up the south slope of
the ridgespur. For reasons unknown, they chose to camp on top of this ridge, more than 300 feet above the valley bottom. Because fierce winter
winds sweep across this unprotected setting between January and March, they probably only camped here in the warmer months of the year.
What brought Native Americans here? Food was probably part of the answer. Move your cursor across the landscape in the birdseye view below to discover natural
resources that attracted the Native Americans.
