Macungie, Place of the Bear —
What’s in a name?
by Sarajane Williams
Researchers Frederick Werkheiser and Jim Wilson gave a compelling presentation at the Macungie Institute in March 2013 about significant Native American petroforms that are present in our back yard. A Bethlehem native, Werkheiser has dedicated most of his private life investigating Native American rock formations and carvings. His friend, conservationist Jim Wilson, shares the same interests.
During the lecture, they traced the earliest documentation and descriptions of Indian cairns and forts in the northeastern United States. Some migrations of the Algonquian Indians are evidenced by similar stone wall features of the Yurok tribe of Northwestern California. A slide show portrayed numerous Native American stone walls, cairns, petroglyphs, effigies, underground chambers, and astronomical alignments from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. Werkheiser told us that the position and patina of stones revealed much about the date and significance of each formation. Some formations are estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old, reflecting a time when hunter-gatherers switched to an agrarian society.
The elders of “the original people” of this land are the historians who can recall tribal history to the time when glaciers were present. Their 10,000-year-old culture, which lives in harmony with the Earth, is celebrated through symbols and rituals. For instance, the North American continent is referred to as “Turtle Island” because of the creation myth of Earth being recreated on the back of a turtle after a great flood. Stone effigies of turtles can be found throughout the northeast. Formations of other animals like birds, snakes, bears, and cats of the wild are present, as well.
Werkheiser drew attention to formations in Scotrun, Pennsylvania, but unfortunately about 30 percent of the rock features were destroyed when the Great Wolf Resort was built. Despite that, he has been able to trace direct alignments of stone walls and sacred Native American sites to celestial events. The sunlight of summer and winter solstices, as well as vernal and autumnal equinoxes, was carried along the stone alignments, through stone-framed openings into underground ceremonial chambers, shining a beam of light onto a rock carving. The astronomical event marked a time of ritual celebration, a time to pray, to offer gratitude and to honor one’s ancestors.
Werkheiser and Wilson were especially interested in presenting their information to the Lower Macungie Historical Society because the most impressive artifacts that Werkheiser has ever found are located in the southeastern mountains of Pennsylvania near Longswamp. Years ago, Fred, Lenni Lenapi elders, and other researchers examined extensive stone walls, massive effigies and artifacts that are located on five different private properties on the highlands of Longswamp. Unfortunately, the current property owners are prohibiting any further investigation.
As most of us know, Macungie means “place of the bear.” However, Werkheiser’s findings provide us with a new interpretation. A huge stone effigy of a bear is located on top of the mountain. The bear figured prominently in Lenni Lenapi culture and annual bear sacrifices were held. Was this a ritual gathering place for Native Americans? Could this represent the real meaning of Macungie?
What’s in a name?
by Sarajane Williams
Researchers Frederick Werkheiser and Jim Wilson gave a compelling presentation at the Macungie Institute in March 2013 about significant Native American petroforms that are present in our back yard. A Bethlehem native, Werkheiser has dedicated most of his private life investigating Native American rock formations and carvings. His friend, conservationist Jim Wilson, shares the same interests.
During the lecture, they traced the earliest documentation and descriptions of Indian cairns and forts in the northeastern United States. Some migrations of the Algonquian Indians are evidenced by similar stone wall features of the Yurok tribe of Northwestern California. A slide show portrayed numerous Native American stone walls, cairns, petroglyphs, effigies, underground chambers, and astronomical alignments from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. Werkheiser told us that the position and patina of stones revealed much about the date and significance of each formation. Some formations are estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old, reflecting a time when hunter-gatherers switched to an agrarian society.
The elders of “the original people” of this land are the historians who can recall tribal history to the time when glaciers were present. Their 10,000-year-old culture, which lives in harmony with the Earth, is celebrated through symbols and rituals. For instance, the North American continent is referred to as “Turtle Island” because of the creation myth of Earth being recreated on the back of a turtle after a great flood. Stone effigies of turtles can be found throughout the northeast. Formations of other animals like birds, snakes, bears, and cats of the wild are present, as well.
Werkheiser drew attention to formations in Scotrun, Pennsylvania, but unfortunately about 30 percent of the rock features were destroyed when the Great Wolf Resort was built. Despite that, he has been able to trace direct alignments of stone walls and sacred Native American sites to celestial events. The sunlight of summer and winter solstices, as well as vernal and autumnal equinoxes, was carried along the stone alignments, through stone-framed openings into underground ceremonial chambers, shining a beam of light onto a rock carving. The astronomical event marked a time of ritual celebration, a time to pray, to offer gratitude and to honor one’s ancestors.
Werkheiser and Wilson were especially interested in presenting their information to the Lower Macungie Historical Society because the most impressive artifacts that Werkheiser has ever found are located in the southeastern mountains of Pennsylvania near Longswamp. Years ago, Fred, Lenni Lenapi elders, and other researchers examined extensive stone walls, massive effigies and artifacts that are located on five different private properties on the highlands of Longswamp. Unfortunately, the current property owners are prohibiting any further investigation.
As most of us know, Macungie means “place of the bear.” However, Werkheiser’s findings provide us with a new interpretation. A huge stone effigy of a bear is located on top of the mountain. The bear figured prominently in Lenni Lenapi culture and annual bear sacrifices were held. Was this a ritual gathering place for Native Americans? Could this represent the real meaning of Macungie?
