A 40-acre spot in northern Dauphin County is well known to archaeologists. They call it the Shoop site, named after the farmer who owned the land on which it was discovered.

Paleoindians, some of the first native Americans, wandered and probably hunted on this land some 11,000 years ago - at the end of the last Ice Age. Now archaeologists from the Pennsylvania State Museum, along with volunteers and college students, are systematically digging through layers of earth and mapping it inch by inch.

The archaeologists are looking for burn pits that would help them to put a date to the site. They also hope to find clues that could tell them more about the Paleoindian lifestyle.

"It's kind of a puzzle as to why they were here," said Elizabeth Wagner. "Of course, you can speculate that you would be able to follow herds of deer or maybe get away from the bugs. That's one of the things we're trying to figure out."

Spear points found at the site suggest the group of early Americans who once lived at the Shoop site traveled long distances.

"All the artifacts are made out of a stone called an Oneidan chert," Dr. Kurt Carr said. "Oneidan chert of this quality and this color is only found in Western New York, near Batavia or Buffalo."

Other Paleoindian sites suggest the early native Americans were small hunting families who did not travel far.

Since its discovery in the 1930's, the Shoop site has been considered one of the largest and oldest in the eastern United States.

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