Pethick Site Open House July 1 & 2 in Central Bridge NY
Buffer Join New York State Archaeologist Dr. Christina Rieth and others for an open house at the Pethick Site! The Annual Pethick Archaeological Site Open House will be held Monday, July 1st, and Tuesday, July 2nd from 10am – 2pm on Smith Road in Central Bridge. The Pethick Site is in its ninth season of excavation as an […]
The Old Ones
Buffer Recently I remembered being an archaeology student, and how the words that archaeologists use for periods, cultures, or traditions often sounded familiar yet unfamiliar: names like the Archaic and the Woodland, Laurentian and Point Peninsula. These are words which sound strange in some ways to everyone who doesn’t deal with them routinely: words sometimes […]
William A. Ritchie, Robert E. Funk, and the Archaic Period in New York State Archaeology
Buffer The Archaic period, 3,000-10,000 years before present (BP) saw human adaptation to temperate, eastern woodlands environments after the Ice Age, and no doubt also witnessed population growth, human migration, and interactions between different societies as the environment changed and innovations were made in technology and subsistence. Archaic societies were hunters-gatherers, although the ways they […]
Walking in October Light: A Memory of Learning about the Archaic Period
Buffer(This is the third in a series of posts on the Archaic period in New York State) This month as I drive down narrow country roads on my way to work, the sunlight shines at low angles through the tree canopies ahead, reminding me of an earlier time when I walked through October light in […]
State Professional Workers Union Approves Contract: Threat of Archaeologist Layoffs is Averted
Earlier this afternoon, the Public Employees Federation (PEF) announced that its proposed contract with the State of New York has been ratified by its membership by a more than 2 to 1 margin. Congratulations to the PEF members who considered the new proposal and expressed their position by voting on it. The State Museum scientist […]
New York State Contract Negotiations Affecting Archaeologists Continue
The Associated Press reports this afternoon that Governor Andrew Cuomo has indicated that he would consider a shorter, 3-year contract with the Public Employees Federation (PEF), allowing PEF to renegotiate the contract earlier, and potentially at a time when the state’s economy will have improved. The contract that PEF membership has rejected was for five […]
Archaeology and History Events Around the Capital Region and Beyond, Sept. 16-18
Archaeology and history buffs in and around Eastern New York will have some tough choices to make this weekend. Here’s a run down of events. Hat tip to New York History Blog for several of these. Our own Ed Curtin will be giving a talk entitled “The Missing 2000 Years: The Continuing Mystery of the […]
NYSM Archaeology Layoffs Have Been Rescinded…For Now
In a follow-up to earlier posts concerning the impending layoffs of the State Archaeologist and the Archaeology Curators at the New York State Museum, it was announced over the week-end that an agreement has been reached between the Public Employees Federation (PEF) and New York State, allowing the layoffs to be rescinded. In order for […]
A Trip to the New York State Museum, December 2, 2010
Upon occasion, my work takes me to the New York State Museum to consult with scientists or to use the archaeological collections. I made one such trip on December 2, 2010 in order to study the artifacts from the Vosburg site, an Archaic period (3,000-10,000 years old) site located in Guilderland, New York. I did […]
“If I have seen farther…” Why State Archaeologists, Archaeology Curators, and State Museums Are Important
Kindle “If I have seen farther” Isaac Newton said, “it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” And so he acknowledged his debt to those on whose work his great achievements were based. The prominent American sociologist, Robert K. Merton, delving deeper into Newton’s aphorism, found that the Romans, too, knew about standing on […]
Fieldnotes » Fieldnotes- A Hudson Valley Writer on the Ancient Custom of Christmas
- An Inside View of an Archaeological Project: The Adam Shafer Site in Cobleskill, Schoharie County, New York
- When It’s Not about Turkey and Football: Review of The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving by Larry Spotted Crow Mann
- Understanding Chert in the Mid-Hudson Valley: A Note on a Recent Workshop and Field Trip
- Archaeological Memoir: Sharing Our Histories on Social Media
- The Vampire Skeleton: A Scary Seneca Iroquois Story
- Review of Lives in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson
- Reconstructing Frontenac Island’s History
- Frontenac, Island of History
- Glimpses of Archaic Societies
