The vast majority of participants in the military events of the long 18th century left no written traces of themselves. Fortunately for scholars, and the public, evidence of their presence survives in material form. [Read more…] about Military Material Culture Conference Call for Papers
Archaeology
There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days
My first brush with the artifacts of history came when I was a youngster on a family vacation to Cooperstown, Otsego County, NY. I found the famous Baseball Hall of Fame, with its baggy uniforms, battered bats and flattened fielders’ mitts, decidedly ho-hum. I couldn’t wait to get to the nearby Farmers’ Museum and see something that I had heard of with wonder: the Cardiff Giant. [Read more…] about There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days
Recent Archaeology at the Joseph Yates House in Schenectady County
Daniel Mazeau and Aaron Gore, archaeologists with Beverwyck Archaeology, recently completed field investigations and research for the Yates house and property in Glenville, Schenectady County, NY, once home to the family of Joseph Yates (1707-1748). Yates was the grandfather of Joseph Christopher Yates (1768-1837), a lawyer, politician, statesman, founding trustee of Union College and longtime Schenectady Mayor who also served as the 7th Governor of New York in 1823-1824. [Read more…] about Recent Archaeology at the Joseph Yates House in Schenectady County
Manhattan DA Returns Stolen Antiquities to Turkey
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., recently announced the return of 12 antiquities to the Republic of Türkiye valued at over $33 million. Nine of the objects were recovered pursuant to the recently concluded criminal investigation into antiquities possessed by Shelby White, which resulted in the seizure of 89 stolen antiquities, valued at $69 million and originating from 10 different countries. [Read more…] about Manhattan DA Returns Stolen Antiquities to Turkey
1873 Schooner Barge Ironton Wreck Discovered in Lake Huron
Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the state of Michigan, and Ocean Exploration Trust have discovered an intact wreck of the Ironton resting hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Huron. [Read more…] about 1873 Schooner Barge Ironton Wreck Discovered in Lake Huron
‘Bad Luck Barquentine’ Wreck Found in Lake Superior
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) has discovered the wreck of the 144-foot Barquentine Nucleus. The Nucleus was found under 600 feet of water around 40 miles northwest of Vermilion Point on Lake Superior. [Read more…] about ‘Bad Luck Barquentine’ Wreck Found in Lake Superior
Science & Suckers: The Cohoes Mastodon & The Cardiff Giant
In 1866, NY State Geologist James Hall received a message from T.G. Younglove, an official at Harmony Mills in Cohoes, New York, informing Hall that while conducting some excavations to expand the mill they uncovered a “great pothole” at the foot of Cohoes Falls where the Mohawk River begins to empty into the Hudson.
The “great pothole” contained a large jawbone “of some unknown beast,” much larger than that of an elephant. [Read more…] about Science & Suckers: The Cohoes Mastodon & The Cardiff Giant
Advocates: Pass The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act
The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act is back on the New York State legislative agenda in 2023.
Advocates for the measure are urging readers to contact their state legislators to act swiftly to pass the New York State Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act (2023-S630) and send it to the Governor before the legislative session ends in June. [Read more…] about Advocates: Pass The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act
A New Archaeological History of New York City
The new book Buried Beneath the City: An Archaeological History of New York (Columbia University Press, 2022) by Nan A. Rothschild, Amanda Sutphin, H. Arthur Bankoff, and Jessica Striebel MacLean uses urban archaeology to retell the history of New York, from the deeper layers of the past to the topsoil of recent events. [Read more…] about A New Archaeological History of New York City
1,500 Artifacts Returned To Oneida Indian Nation By Museum
More than 1,520 funerary objects and cultural artifacts were returned to the Oneida Indian Nation from the collections of Colgate University’s Longyear Museum of Anthropology on November 9th.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requires federally funded institutions to return remains and cultural items. [Read more…] about 1,500 Artifacts Returned To Oneida Indian Nation By Museum