The 99th Annual Meeting of the New York State Archaeological Association
Organized and Hosted by The Thousand Islands Chapter and The Finger Lakes Chapter
May 1 to 3, 2015 Watertown, NY New York State Archaeological Association Officers Sherene Baugher President Lisa Marie Anselmi Vice President Lori Blair Secretary Ann Morton Treasurer
Thousand Islands Chapter Officers Kurt Thomas Hunt President Larry Corbett Vice President Sally Brown Secretary Diane Coates Treasurer
Finger Lakes Chapter Officers Laura Johnson-Kelly President Michael “Bodhi” Rogers Vice President Wendy Bacon Secretary Paula Turkon Treasurer
99th Annual Meeting Committee Timothy Abel Sherene Baugher Wendy Bacon Diane Coates Laura Johnson-Kelly Michael “Bodhi” Rogers
The cover photograph shows the Eight Square Schoolhouse in Tompkins County near Ithaca: the last standing octagonal brick schoolhouse in New York State. Carole West of The History Center in Tompkins County, which manages the building, has coordinated its archaeological investigation and preservation. The Finger Lakes Chapter of NYSAA, under the guidance of Professor Michael “Bodhi” Rogers of Ithaca College, conducted ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry surveys to gain insight into potential features of interest around the schoolhouse. Brant Venables, a doctoral candidate in archaeology at Binghamton University, led public outreach excavations to explore features identified by the archaeogeophysics surveys. Professor Rogers and his team also conducted a 3D laser scan of the inside and outside of the schoolhouse by taking readings every 5 mm. The composite image shows the 3D laser scan and ground-penetrating radar results superimposed on an image of the GPR, 3D laser scan, and excavations at the site. SCHEDULE
Friday, May 1
10 am - 12 pm NYAC Board Meeting (Board Room)
1 - 2:45 pm NYAC General Meeting (Renaissance Room)
3 - 5 pm NYAC Public Program (Renaissance Room) Introduction to the American Battlefield Protection Program: Path to Preservation by Kristen L. McMasters (Archeologist and Grants Manager, National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program)
The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) was initially created by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991. In 1996, Congress signed into law the American Battlefield Protection Act, which officially authorized the ABPP. ABPP promotes the preservation of significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil. The goals of the program are: 1) to protect battlefields and sites associated with armed conflicts that influenced the course of our history; 2) to encourage and assist all Americans in planning for the preservation, management, and interpretation of these sites; and 3) to raise awareness of the importance of preserving battlefields and related sites for future generations. Recently, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives enacted landmark legislation that expands the highly successful preservation program for Civil War battlefield to include federal matching grants for the acquisition of land at Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields. Kristen McMasters will give an overview of the ABPP and recent preservation initiatives.
4 - 6 pm Skewed Brewing tour and tasting in Salmon Run Mall for $15; to carpool, meet at 3:50 in the Ramada Inn lobby
5 pm NYSAA Executive Officers’ meeting
5:30 pm NYSAA Fellows’ Dinner (Renaissance A)
7:30 pm NYSAA General Business Meeting (Renaissance B) Saturday, May 2
7:00 - 8:45 am Chapter Presidents’ and Secretaries’ Breakfast Meeting (Executive Room)
8:50 am – 12:00 pm morning presentations (Renaissance A and B)
12:00 - 1:20 pm lunch break
1:20 - 5:20 pm afternoon presentations (Renaissance A)
6 pm reception with cash bar (Renaissance Room)
7 pm annual banquet (Renaissance Room)
9 pm banquet program with guest speaker Darrin L. Lowery The Delmarva Adena-Hopewell Continuum and the Woodland Period
Dr. Darrin Lowery is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. He has degrees in anthropology and archaeology as well as a doctorate in geology. He has documented more than 1,800 archaeological sites and published more than 60 reports, articles or monographs related to the archaeology and geology of the Chesapeake Bay region. He and his colleagues at the Smithsonian currently are working on several research projects within the Bay area dealing with Paleoindian and Delmarva Middle Woodland cultures.
Sunday, May 3
8:30 am - 12:30 pm presentations (Renaissance A)
Books and posters are in the Director’s Room. Coffee breaks are in the Garden Room. PRESENTATIONS
Saturday, May 2
Precontact Archaeology Historical Archaeology
8:50 to Myth, Fraud and Evidence: West-Central New York State 9:10 am Pre-Columbian Celtic Refugees Dendrochronology: Dating the in the North Atlantic Tolsma House Denis Foley (SUNY Polytechnic Cynthia Kocik & Carol Griggs Institute) (Cornell University)
9:10 to A Preliminary Analysis of The Social Lives of 9:30 am Spurred End Scrapers from the Gravestones: Mortuary Practice Corditaipe Site in Central New as an Expression of Middle- York Class Habitus in the St. Cory Atkinson (Binghamton George’s / St. Mark’s University) Cemetery, Mount Kisco, NY Madeline Bourque Kearin (Brown University)
9:30 to Lithic Technology, Site The French History of the 9:50 am Formation and the Dutch Voorlezer House: The Compartmentalized Landscape Forgotten Past of the Archaic-Woodland Sherene Baugher (Cornell Transition: A View from the University) Andrew Kowalik Site, Cheektowaga, New York Hans Harmsen & Douglas Perrelli (SUNY at Buffalo)
9:50 to Problem Orientation and A Tale of Two Middens: A 10:10 am Approach to Lithic Analysis: Story about House Clearances Examples from Eastern New at the Wilder Farm, South York State Bristol, Ontario County and the Edward V. Curtin, Meadow Blaker Farm, Macedon Center, Coldon, & Kerry Nelson (Curtin Wayne County, New York Archaeological Consulting) Ann Morton (Morton Archaeological Research Services) Saturday, May 2 continued
10:10 to discussion 10:20 am
10:20 to coffee break 10:40 am
10:40 to From the Mundane to the Extraordinary: Skilled Crafting and 11:00 am Evidence of Early Woodland Ritual Lithics Brian R. Grills & Nina M. Versaggi (Binghamton University)
11:00 to An Online Finding Aid for the Historical Archaeology Collections at 11:20 am the New York State Museum: A Summary, Future Goals, and some Highlights from the Collection Michael Lucas, Kristin O’Connell, & Susan Winchell-Sweeney (New York State Museum)
11:20 to Is the Future Here Yet?: Comparisons and Inspirations from 11:50 am Indigenous Archaeology in New York State and Hawaii Jack Rossen (Ithaca College) & Kathleen Kawelu (University of Hawaii at Hilo)
11:50 am to discussion 12:00 pm
12:00 to lunch break 1:20 pm
Military Sites Archaeology
1:20 to History and Archeology of the Saratoga Borderlands from 1680 to 1:40 pm 1748 Matthew Kirk (Hartgen Archeological Associates)
1:40 to Fort William Henry Museum’s Mystery Shipwreck Cannons 2:00 pm Joseph W. Zarzynski (French and Indian War Society), Peter Pepe (Pepe Productions), & Claudia Young (Independent Researcher)
2:00 to Archaeology and Preservation at the Lake George Battlefield 2:20 pm David R. Starbuck (Plymouth State University)
Saturday, May 2 continued
Military Sites Archaeology, continued
2:20 to Unearthing 18th-century Food Remains at Fort Stanwix National 2:40 pm Monument Amy Roache-Fedchenko (Fort Stanwix National Monument)
2:40 to Buttons, Buckles and Broken Pots: Archaeology of the War of 1812 3:00 pm at Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown, NY Susan Maguire (SUNY Buffalo State)
3:00 to discussion 3:10 pm
3:10 to coffee break 3:30 pm
3:30 to Digitally Preserving the Past: 3D Laser Scanning Architecture to 3:50 pm Artifacts Michael “Bodhi” Rogers (Ithaca College) & Scott Stull (SUNY Cortland)
3:50 to Interpreting Broken Arrow Points 4:10 pm William Engelbrecht (SUNY Buffalo State)
4:10 to Establishing a Context for Understanding Late Prehistoric 4:30 pm Agriculture in the Mid-Hudson Valley John P. Hart (New York State Museum)
4:30 to Archaeological Investigations at the New Hampton Site, Orange 5:10 pm County, New York Lucy Lewis Johnson, Sarah T. Mincer, & Penelope H. Duus (Vassar College) 5:10 to 5:20 pm discussion
Sunday, May 3
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Archaeology, continued
8:30 to Understanding Site Activities through an Analysis of Ground Stone 8:50 am Tools: A Case Study from Two Sixteenth-century Cayuga Sites Kayla Wasik & Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh)
8:50 to Interpreting Economic Variability from Surface Collections: A Study 9:10 am of the Parker Farm and Carman Sites Megan Willison (University of Connecticut) & Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh)
9:10 to The Zooarchaeology of the Klinko Site (UB 878), Interlaken, New 9:30 am York Kyle Somerville (Lewis Henry Morgan Chapter)
9:30 to Seneca Endurance, Ecology, and Economy: Preliminary 9:50 am Investigation of Faunal Remains from the 17th-century Seneca Iroquois White Springs Site Adam Watson (American Museum of Natural History), Caitlin Miller (Columbia University), & Siu Ying Ng (Columbia University)
9:50 to Seneca and Cayuga Expansion, circa 1650-1700: A Small-Site 10:10 am Perspective Kurt A. Jordan (Cornell University)
10:10 to discussion 10:20 am
10:20 to coffee break 10:40 am
10:40 to Pottery at Genoa Fort, an Early Historic Cayuga Site 11:00 am Shannon R. Kulig & Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh)
11:00 to Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Preliminary Analysis of Wood 11:20 am Charcoal from Three Seneca Iroquois Settlements (1670-1750 CE) Peregrine Gerard-Little (Cornell University)
11:20 to Analysis of Pottery at Two Iroquoian Sites: Differences in Density, 11:40 am Distribution, and Type Sara-Ladd Clark, Hannah F. Devlin, & Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh) Sunday, May 3 continued
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Archaeology, continued
11:40 am to The Symbolism of Coarse-crystalline Temper in Early Pottery: A 12:00 pm Fabric Typology for New York State Ammie M. Mitchell (SUNY at Buffalo)
12:00 to Parker Farm and Carman Sites: A Quantitative and Qualitative 12:20 pm Analysis of Chipped Stone Tools Anna E. Gallagher & Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh)
12:20 pm discussion
ABSTRACTS
Atkinson, Cory (Binghamton University)
A Preliminary Analysis of Spurred End Scrapers from the Corditaipe Site in Central New York
The spurred end scraper is a recognized functional type on Northeastern Paleoindian sites. Yet, this artifact type has not been carefully defined or rigorously analyzed. An uncritical use of functional typologies can constrain interpretation through a sometimes artificial association of form and function. Thus, the true function of a tool may be misidentified based on the morphology of the final stage of its use life. The spurred end scraper is a good example. The presence of a slight protuberance on the corner of an end scraper’s working edge is often enough to classify that tool as a spurred end scraper. This designation assumes that the spur was purposefully created and used for a specific functional task. This paper critiques the category of spurred end scraper through an analysis of 28 artifacts from the Corditaipe Site in the Mohawk Valley of central New York. The Corditaipe Site is a small Paleoindian encampment with one of the largest assemblages of scrapers in the Northeast. The results of this research suggest that the spurs were the byproduct of the process of scraping rather than an intentionally created appendage. Baugher, Sherene (Cornell University / Finger Lakes Chapter)
The French History of the Dutch Voorlezer House: The Forgotten Past
In 1705, the French Huguenot Rezeau family purchased property and lived in a two- story frame house on Staten Island. Archaeological work revealed Rezeau family lifestyle. The rich building history with a 167-year continuous connection to one of Staten Island’s early 18th-century French families would certainly have made the building worth saving. Unfortunately, this history is part of the forgotten past. The building (now owned by an historical society) is being interpreted to the public as a Dutch Schoolhouse (there is no archaeological evidence for this claim). A 1980s renovation changed the building’s 18th-century residential appearance to that of a 1695 Dutch schoolhouse. This paper discusses the archaeology associated with the Rezeau family and also explores what happens when there are two different versions of the past. A challenge for archaeologists is when a questionable authenticity is more real to a community’s identity than what the archaeological record reveals.
Clark, Sara-Ladd, Hannah F. Devlin, and Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Analysis of Pottery at Two Iroquoian Sites: Differences in Density, Distribution, and Types
Analyses of undecorated pottery sherds from two sites, Parker Farm and Carman, in the Cayuga area of central New York State, identified variability between the sites. These analyses relied on two data sets: first, calculations of soil volumes, and second, counts and categorization of the pottery. The soil volume data was used to systematically compare the pottery through examining both qualitative and quantitative variables within and between Parker Farm and Carman. Pottery density and spatial distribution were quite different at these sites, as was the distribution of reduced (blackened) and oxidized (light) sherd interiors. Interior sherd color served as a proxy for differences in vessel use. In experimental work, a reduced interior has been associated with decreased permeability and suggests a concern with holding liquids and, likely, cooking. Differences in pottery density, as well as the distribution and proportion of pottery sherds with variable interior colors, have relevance for understanding the intensity of site occupation. Future studies into how domestic activities are manifested in the intensity and types of pottery used, along with comparisons of the densities of faunal and lithic material, will further clarify the occupations at these sites.
Curtin, Edward V., Meadow Coldon, and Kerry Nelson (Curtin Archaeological Consulting / Van Epps-Hartley Chapter)
Problem Orientation and Approach to Lithic Analysis: Examples from Eastern New York State
Problem orientation has been defined as the “question or issue that a particular archaeological research effort is designed to address.” This paper examines lithic assemblages from four sites in eastern New York State using problem orientations designed to address the special circumstances of each assemblage. Problem orientation varied from (1) the A. Shafer site in Cobleskill, studied to determine whether early reduction stage lithics were employed in an expedient flake and core tool industry, and how this use varied in terms of the locally acquired Esopus and Onondaga cherts prevalent at this site; to (2) the Fernlea 1 and 2 sites in Coxsackie, examined for the roles of bifaces in the technology, and whether these varied between the sites or according to the predominantly used Helderberg or Normanskill chert; to (3) the Esmond 2 site near Saratoga Springs to determine the extent to which Meadowood phase bifaces were manufactured on site, and whether local or exotic raw materials were used. The results are interpreted in the broader contexts of (1) the potential social dimensions of expedient tool manufacture and use; (2) the diverse potential of bifaces; and (3) the relationship between a local community and the recently described Meadowood Interaction Sphere.
Engelbrecht, William (State University of New York Buffalo State / Frederick M. Houghton Chapter)
Interpreting Broken Arrow Points
Triangular arrow point fragments outnumber whole points on the Eaton site, an Iroquoian village ca. AD 1550 located in western New York. This study compares whole Madison points with Madison point refits from the site and finds that the length, width, thickness, and weight of point mends tend to differ from those of whole points. Not surprisingly, the point refits tend to be more breakable. The advantages and disadvantages of point durability are discussed as well as the implications of this for the development of arrow point design.
Foley, Denis (State University of New York Polytechnic Institute / Van Epps-Hartley Chapter)
Myth, Fraud and Evidence: Pre-Columbian Celtic Refugees in the North Atlantic
This paper examines the Norse documents and Celtic accounts as well as claimed Celtic sites in North America. Botanical, genetic, historical and archeological evidence is re- examined and evaluated.
Gallagher, Anna E. and Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Parker Farm and Carman Sites: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Chipped Stone Tools
An analysis comprising quantitative, qualitative, and spatial data on the excavated lithic tool assemblages of Parker Farm and Carman sites presents a detailed representation of their Iroquoian inhabitants. Excavation of these two sites, on the uplands west of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York, has uncovered a vast amount of cultural material. Much is known about Parker Farm and Carman sites in relation to patterns exhibited in pottery, longhouse orientation, and faunal remains. A detailed analysis of the chipped stone tool assemblage allows us to explore and compare the day-to-day activities and village life at Parker Farm and Carman, through comparison of tool types and spatial patterning. This study identified the excavated stone tools present at the site in terms of functionality in order to highlight areas of activity at the site, such as meat processing, tool production, and cooking. A stylistic analysis of projectile points defined the various styles and tool traditions present. The relative proportions of tool types found at each site were very similar, potentially indicating the sites were occupied year- round, rather than seasonally. The differences seen between sites in their spatial distribution may provide new evidence for the inhabitants being independent populations, though additional work on other cultural material at the site would be necessary to draw conclusions. This comparative stone tool analysis utilizes a straightforward approach to analyzing this Iroquoian neighborhood, furthering our understanding of the populations’ relationships across sites and with the landscape.
Gerard-Little, Peregrine (Cornell University / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Preliminary Analysis of Wood Charcoal from Three Seneca Iroquois Settlements (1670-1750 CE)
This paper presents a preliminary comparison of archaeologically recovered wood charcoal data from comparable archaeological contexts at three successively occupied Eastern Seneca sites: Ganondagan (1670-1687 CE), White Springs (1688-1715 CE), and Townley-Read (1715-1750 CE). Although still in the preliminary stages, initial analysis suggests differences in wood species not only between these collections but also across features at the same site. I consider these differences within a framework that interprets Seneca practices in the context of ongoing modification of local environments and political and economic variability across the occupation of these three sites.
Griggs, Carol and Cynthia Kocik (Cornell University / Finger Lakes Chapter)
A Dendrochronological History of Settlement, Disasters, and the Lumber Trade in the Late 18th through 19th Centuries in Upstate New York and Southeastern Ontario [poster]
Over 600 wood samples from modern forests and sixty-six structures, mainly houses and barns plus a few corduroy roads, piers, canal locks, and dugouts, have been collected and dendrochronologically dated to determine the cutting years of the timbers and structural building dates. Their locations range from Albany to Buffalo and from north of Lake Ontario to Corning, with felling / building dates from 1706 to 1902. 500- year regional chronologies have been established for eastern hemlock, eastern white pine, and oak species with the earliest pith date of 1496. Shorter historic chronologies include pitch pine from around Albany, tentative historic elm, ash, and beech chronologies from west and central NY, and northern white cedar from the St Lawrence River Valley. Other endemic species are represented occasionally in the buildings with locally non-native species used increasingly within the study period. The species, biological age of the felled trees, and construction dates indicate certain aspects of the history of settlement, environment, land use, and economic development over time such as the availability and preference of different species, the sources of the logs, the impact of a growing lumber industry and the construction of canals and railroads over time. The construction dates also point to disasters, both natural and anthropogenic, and their outcome. Here we look at several structures across the region, their building dates, the represented tree species and tree-ring patterns, and what they suggest about local and regional history.
Grills, Brian R. and Nina M. Versaggi (Binghamton University)
From the Mundane to the Extraordinary: Skilled Crafting and Evidence of Early Woodland Ritual Lithics
Bronislaw Malinowski, in his examination of chipped stone implements from New Guinea, described the production of prestige items from ordinary items as “technological hypertrophy.” Many anthropologists have discussed “skilled crafting,” where select craftspeople transform mundane raw materials into aesthetically pleasing objects as an expression of “supernaturally” endowed abilities. The production of socially valued goods, such as cache blades for mortuary offerings or hypertrophic bifaces, are transformed from the ordinary to the “enchanted” due to an unusual size, shape, and/or color of the object. Recent research by the Public Archaeology Facility on a NYSDOT project in Otsego County identified a site with such an extraordinary assemblage. The excavations at the Canadarago Lake 1 Site have produced a significant lithic assemblage of artifacts and debitage that appears to be part of a larger ritual economy of the Transitional/ Early Woodland and Late Woodland periods. Preliminary observations of the lithic assemblage indicate an intense, spatially discrete production of bifaces from locally available raw material. The debitage exhibits characteristics that suggest knapping by a single highly skilled individual. We argue that through such skilled crafting, objects were transformed and “charged” with social value for use within the regional mortuary economy of the Early Woodland people. In addition, the recovery of a possibly “killed” hypertrophic biface at the site also adds to the significance of the Canadarago Lake 1 Site within the ritual landscape of the Eastern Finger Lakes Region.
Harmsen, Hans and Douglas Perrelli (State University of New York at Buffalo / Frederick M. Houghton Chapter)
Lithic Technology, Site Formation and the Compartmentalized Landscape of the Archaic- Woodland Transition: A View from the Andrew Kowalik Site, Cheektowaga, New York
The Andrew Kowalik site enhances our knowledge of pre-contact land use in the Cayuga Creek drainage of the Erie-Ontario lowland physiographic province of western New York. The site provides an example of how people used this chert-rich landscape ca. 1300-1000 BC and how sites may have been formed differently before and after this time despite the ease of lithic raw material acquisition. This study attempts to understand when changes occur in the context of an Archaic-Woodland Transition in terms of lithic technology, raw material selection, and the compartmentalization of activities on the landscape in the Northeast and as a reflection of the shifting social composition of site occupants. The site represents one of a cluster of sites that show direct evidence of the use a primary diagnostic source of Seneca chert—a widely used tool material in the region. It also represents a segment of a continuum of sites that display shifting land use patterns by different social groups, culminating in the use of individual sites by larger, more diverse extended family groups for longer durations of time. Understanding the social composition of Andrew Kowalik site occupants within a larger regional perspective is a critical step in understanding how and why land use patterns apparently shift from a reliance on small temporary camps and seasonal mobility patterning during the earlier Archaic period, to a less compartmentalized land use pattern and lithic technology, particularly during the Middle Woodland period.
Hart, John P. (New York State Museum / Van Epps-Hartley Chapter)
Establishing a Context for Understanding Late Prehistoric Agriculture in the Mid-Hudson Valley
Contrasting late prehistoric Iroquoian and Algonquian agriculture is a tradition in New York archaeology. Iroquoian people are characterized as intensive agriculturists, reliant on maize, bean, and squash for a large part of their diets. Algonquian people, such as those living in the mid-Hudson Valley, on the other hand, are characterized as being less dependent on agriculture and more dependent on wild resources, such as anadromous fish. How real is this contrast? To what degree is this contrast influenced by other aspects of the archaeological record, such as settlement patterns? I begin to explore these questions with evidence from the late 16th-century Hurley (Simmons) site located in the Esopus Creek valley. I conclude that the traditional contrast between Iroquoian and Algonquian agriculture may reflect more about archaeology than it does about how people lived in the past.
Johnson, Lucy Lewis, Sarah T. Mincer, and Penelope H. Duus (Vassar College / Mid-Hudson Chapter)
Archaeological Investigations at the New Hampton Site, Orange County, New York
Excavations at the New Hampton Site were carried out by the Orange County Chapter of NYSAA in the 1960s and by Vassar College Field Courses in 1973 and 1974. The site has both historic and prehistoric components. The prehistoric collections contain considerable lithic debitage, projectile points, and other lithic artifacts. The projectile point types suggest that the site was used from the Archaic Period into the Woodland Period. We discuss the projectile point types and the distribution of lithic materials across the site. The historic remains date to the second half of the 19th century. They were concentrated in one area and consist of potsherds, pipes, buttons and other household items plus domesticated mammal and shellfish remains. Here we discuss the overall distribution of historic remains and then focus on the analysis of the smoking pipes. Jordan, Kurt A. (Cornell University / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Seneca and Cayuga Expansion, circa 1650-1700: A Small-Site Perspective
During the second half of the seventeenth century, Haudenosaunee communities conducted significant settlement expansion, including increased use of local satellite communities and establishment of non-local satellites (which can reasonably be termed "colonies") in what is now Ontario, Quebec, and Pennsylvania. While these broader- scale processes are reasonably well known, a more local intensification of settlement also appears to have taken place. Several sites in the Seneca and Cayuga homelands whose principal archaeological components date to other eras also yielded small collections of diagnostic artifacts dating to the late 1600s. This suggests that Senecas and Cayugas intensified occupations of their territory during this period with small-scale settlements and agricultural endeavors in a way that archaeologists have not previously recognized. This intensification appears to have been related to a peak period in Haudenosaunee political-economic power and prosperity. Both distant and local satellites and these small-scale settlements appear to have been abandoned when a series of French invasions swept through Haudenosaunee territory in 1684- 1696. Subsequent Haudenosaunee territorial expansion in the eighteenth century had a very different sort of footprint.
Kearin, Madeline Bourque (Brown University / Louis A. Brennan Chapter)
The Social Lives of Gravestones: Mortuary Practice as an Expression of Middle-Class Habitus in the St. George’s / St. Mark’s Cemetery, Mount Kisco, NY
The gravestone presents a paradox in material culture. Though erected to commemorate the individual, it functions largely as a monument to family and communal identities, expressing commonly held beliefs and ideals rather than individual idiosyncrasies. Through a diachronic analysis of gravestone iconography and morphology in the St. George’s / St. Mark’s Episcopal Cemetery in Mount Kisco, New York, I explore the mechanisms through which social identities were embedded in the gravestone at different points in the two-hundred year use of the site. How did the gravestone function in concert with other material signs in the performance of social identities? What role did the gravestone play in signaling differences in identity between members of the community, as well as differences between the community and the larger world? And finally, how did the agency of individuals interface with cultural conventions and tastes in producing the gravestone? My study draws upon historical documentation of the cemetery and its community, stylistic analysis of gravestones, as well as archaeological evidence uncovered in the fall 2013 and 2014 excavations of the site by the Louis A. Brennan Lower Hudson Chapter NYSAA.
Kirk, Matthew (Hartgen Archeological Associates / Van Epps-Hartley Chapter)
History and Archeology of the Saratoga Borderlands from 1680 to 1748
The Saratoga region has been strategically important as a trading outpost for Native Americans since precontact times. The importance of this area grew with colonial settlement in the late 17th century and early 18th centuries, both for trade and as a defensive outpost. Nearly one hundred years before General Burgoyne’s surrender, this contested landscape figured prominently in colonial warfare. By 1689, the citizens of Albany built the first outpost along the river flats of the Hudson River just below Fish Creek. Its construction followed a devastating attack by French and Native allies on the fledging settlements of Saratoga during King William’s War (1688–1697).
Settlement in the area after this engagement stalled, while several large British colonial expeditions established encampments and outposts in the early part of the 18th century in and around Saratoga in an attempt to blunt French incursions. Internal political struggles over the extensive trade between the French in Montreal and merchants of Albany led to the construction Mount Burnet on the east side of the river.
By 1730, the New York colonial government built Fort Clinton on the west side of the river to protect the pioneer farmsteads that emerged after several decades of peace. The fort served as an important bulwark against the French and their Native allies during King George’s War (1743-1748). Acknowledging the fort’s strategic position, the French colonial army repeatedly attacked Fort Clinton between the fall of 1745 and the summer of 1747. Finally, the British abandoned the post and burned the fortifications.
The presentation is the culmination of historical research funded by the National Park Service’s (NPS) American Battlefield Protection Program as granted to the Natural Heritage Trust of New York. The paper discusses the archeological collections from Fort Clinton now housed at the Saratoga National Historical Park, the potential to discover additional related archeological resources in the vicinity, and the on-going efforts to best manage and promote these important historical resources.
Kocik, Cynthia and Carol Griggs (Cornell University / Finger Lakes Chapter)
West-Central New York State Dendrochronology: Dating the Tolsma House
A number of calendar-dated chronologies from various species of trees throughout west-central New York have been developed by the Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. The hemlock, oak, and white pine series are the most robust. They come from eight houses, three barns, Cornell’s McGraw Hall, and a historic dock. The mid-nineteenth-century Tolsma House in Marilla, New York, serves as a case study for the use of the hemlock calendar-dated chronology to determine dates of construction and building modification. The house includes timbers from multiple species that are common to the region, and their dendrochronological record complements previous documentation that revealed a number of owners and mentioned, but did not give dates for, two additions to the original structure. Further, the presence of more than one locally non-native species in the additions and renovations indicated significant lumber transport into the region via the Erie Canal, railway, and sea transport in the latter half of the 19th into the 20th centuries. This hemlock chronology adds to the regional hemlock chronology for west-central NY.
Kulig, Shannon R. and Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Pottery at Genoa Fort, an Early Historic Cayuga Site
This paper will provide a descriptive analysis of pottery collected at Genoa Fort, a Cayuga site in central New York State. Occupied from 1600 to 1620, this fortified village is an early historic Cayuga settlement east of Cayuga Lake. However, the position of Genoa Fort in the eastern village sequences and more generally, Cayuga development, remains uncertain. Traditionally, the analysis of Iroquois pottery decoration helps archaeologists define village chronologies and regional interaction. Pottery provides an effective medium from which to understand the associations between stylistic variability and group affiliation. Those who discuss Genoa Fort and the Cayuga transition from the protohistoric to historic phase (Niemczycki 1984, DeOrio 1980) suggest that more finite conclusions will develop as research data becomes available. Although more recent studies have moved away from defining Iroquois ethnic trajectories (Hart and Engelbrecht 2011), they continue to use pottery decoration to infer social interactions and relationships between people. In an effort to increase the data available for comparative analysis with other Iroquois villages, we examined a large collection of potsherds from Genoa Fort. This analysis builds on existing knowledge and methods to describe both generalized pottery types based on diagnostic features and specific attributes identified in Genoa Fort pots vessel thickness, decorative techniques, and various rim characteristics.
Lowery, Darrin L. (Smithsonian Institution)
The Delmarva Adena-Hopewell Continuum and the Woodland Period
On the Delmarva Peninsula and at sites around the Chesapeake Bay, a mixture of Adena and Hopewell items have been found associated with archaeological features containing diagnostic Fox Creek artifacts. Absolute ages in the region suggest that Fox Creek assemblages can date between 450 calBC and 100 calAD. It would seem that Fox Creek within the Delmarva / Chesapeake Bay area actually pre-dates the “traditional time frame” noted in the Northeast by several centuries. There is also a major dichotomy between burial assemblages and assemblages noted at living / domestic sites. Analyses of the assemblages and the sites have provided new insights into local burial treatments, the regional distribution of moundbuilder artifacts, as well as differential variation in artifact “killing” techniques within the Delmarva Adena- Hopewell continuum. In a regional context, the patterns suggest that a Delmarva Adena-Hopewell trade-corridor extended from the Middle Atlantic sea coast west towards the Ohio Valley, with a trade emphasis on marine shell and fossil shark teeth. The epicenter of the Delmarva Adena-Hopewell complex seems to be the Murderkill macro-watershed in Delaware. In sum, the data imply that the entrenched Woodland period cultural chronology may need some “overhauling”.
Lucas, Michael, Kristin O’Connell, and Susan Winchell-Sweeney (New York State Museum / Van Epps-Hartley Chapter)
An Online Finding Aid for the Historical Archaeology Collections at the New York State Museum: A Summary, Future Goals, and some Highlights from the Collection
The historical archaeology collection at the New York State Museum has grown tremendously since 2000. With this expansion, the position of Curator of Historical Archaeology was created in 2005 to develop the tremendous research potential of the collections from Albany and elsewhere in the state. Under the direction of Dr. Charles Fisher, the Museum acquired over 2 million artifacts from the South Street Seaport Museum in 2006, more than doubling the size of the collection. Currently there are over 600 historical archaeology collections at the museum presenting both challenges and opportunities for future research and public outreach. In 2014, the Research and Collections Division began a long-term project to make the collection more accessible through an online finding aid. This paper will summarize the finding aid goals and what we have accomplished thus far. We will also present some details about the collection and our future plans.
Maguire, Susan (State University of New York Buffalo State / Frederick M. Houghton Chapter)
Buttons, Buckles and Broken Pots: Archaeology of the War of 1812 at Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown, NY
Excavations of a War of 1812 soldiers’ barracks at Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown, NY have revealed important features and artifacts from the War of 1812. The Niagara Frontier experienced a number of battles of the War of 1812 and Old Fort Niagara served as the American headquarters for the Army of the Center early in the war. After December 19, 1813, the fort served as the regional headquarters for the British military. Material culture from these excavations includes material culture of military life such as buttons, cap plates, and cartridge box belt buckles along with items of everyday life including ceramics, building materials, and faunal remains. This research examines the material culture from these excavations and seeks to better understand both the American and British occupations of the fort.
Mitchell, Ammie M. (State University of New York at Buffalo / Frederick M. Houghton Chapter)
The Symbolism of Coarse-crystalline Temper in Early Pottery: A Fabric Typology for New York State
This paper illustrates how important social information can be gained from studies of technological style. The author outlines a method of analysis based on Native American color symbolism, standardized fabric attributes, and basic geologic terms. This process of analysis replaces the existing and problematic descriptive system currently in use in New York State. The theoretical and methodological approach proposed by this study will allow archaeologists to gather more technological information from previously and newly excavated ceramic material then traditional methods. This study also looks at the physical and symbolic properties of coarse-crystalline temper and why it may have been valued by ancient potters. This paper concludes that traditional aspects of vessels: surface treatment, vessel morphology, and decoration, are not reliable attributes for study. Early pottery in western New York is more internally similar then culture-historic types have shown. The results of this study show that early pottery was a learned technology, actively shared between generations, and centered on white, black, and red coarse-crystalline rock temper.
Morton, Ann (Morton Archaeological Research Services / Lewis Henry Morgan Chapter)
A Tale of Two Middens: A Story about House Clearances at the Wilder Farm, South Bristol, Ontario County and the Blaker Farm, Macedon Center, Wayne County, New York
Sometimes small archaeological discoveries can open an unexpected window to broad historical events. This is a tale of two middle class farm families in the rural counties of Upstate New York and how they put names and faces to the rise of the consumer culture, the developing mortgage and credit industry, the shift from self-sufficient farmers to agribusiness and the economic crises of 1893 and 1896.
Roache-Fedchenko, Amy (Fort Stanwix National Monument / Member at Large)
Unearthing 18th-century Food Remains at Fort Stanwix National Monument
Archeologists with the National Park Service recently excavated the first eighteenth- century feature to be uncovered at the park since 1975. The trash pit produced a large number of animal bones along with other small pieces of refuse dating to the eighteenth century. Analyzing the animal bones provided insight to the diet and discard practices of those who lived at Fort Stanwix during its American occupation. These excavations also provided clues to the integrity of the site following the massive undertaking to reconstruct the fort on its original location.
Rogers, Michael “Bodhi” (Ithaca College / Finger Lakes Chapter) and Scott Stull (State University of New York at Cortland / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Digitally Preserving the Past: 3D Laser Scanning Architecture to Artifacts
Recent advances in 3D laser scanning technology allow for the digital recording of objects of archaeological interest. Ground-based LiDAR can take readings every 1 mm inside and outside of architectural structures, and tabletop laser scanners can take readings every 0.1 mm to digitally record artifacts. During this presentation, both types of laser scanners will be demonstrated with a discussion of recent scanning of the Old Fort Johnson National Landmark site in Fort Johnston NY, the Eight Square School House in Ithaca, NY, and examples of selected artifacts.
Rossen, Jack (Ithaca College / Finger Lakes Chapter) and Kathleen Kawelu (University of Hawaii at Hilo)
Is the Future Here Yet?: Comparisons and Inspirations from Indigenous Archaeology in New York State and Hawaii
Our experiences teaching, developing archaeological investigations, and attending conferences in New York and Hawaii have brought to the forefront a valuable comparative perspective. The mode of project development, interactions with communities, and visibility of reconstructions in Hawaii provide contrasts with New York. Some are based on fundamentally different realities, while some represent culture change and hard-earned progress. The Hawaiian situation contains novel collaborations between Native organizations and educational institutions, with archaeology poised to take a direct role in cultural revitalization. Even the protocols of public presentation are changing. The participation of both Native people and non- Native allies is central to a progressive archaeology in both regions. The differences and similarities discussed in this talk may help shape goals for the future of an attentive and flexible New York State archaeology.
Somerville, Kyle (Lewis Henry Morgan Chapter)
The Zooarchaeology of the Klinko Site (UB 878), Interlaken, New York
This paper examines faunal exploitation at the Klinko Site, a prehistoric Cayuga village located near Interlaken, Seneca County, on the southwestern side of Cayuga Lake. The range of species, relative abundances, and taphonomic data were examined to determine patterns of faunal use at the site, seasonality, and disposal of faunal remains. While many characteristics of the faunal assemblage were typical for Cayuga and other Iroquoian sites of the time, other aspects, such as a large number of frog and toad remains and evidence for canid ceremonialism, were seen. The significance of these finds is discussed, and the Klinko assemblage is compared with other contemporary Cayuga sites on the eastern side of the lake. This work will form the basis for much large faunal study of the Cayuga, with the goal of creating a faunal sequence for each of the Six Nations in New York State, and from which additional comparisons and observations can be made to fully understand faunal exploitation from the prehistoric to the Contact periods.
Starbuck, David R. (Plymouth State University / Adirondack Chapter)
Archaeology and Preservation at the Lake George Battlefield
The Lake George Battlefield Park is located at the southern end of Lake George, New York, where it was the setting for the Battle of Lake George between the British and the French in 1755; for an entrenched camp of British reinforcements for Fort William Henry at the time of the massacre in 1757; for Gen. James Abercrombie’s army in 1758 and Gen. Jeffery Amherst’s army in 1759; and then for additional British and American occupations during the American Revolution, including the largest concentration of smallpox hospitals in the country. The Park thus contains the remains of some 25 years of continuous military action and encampments. Archaeological field work that was begun in 2000 and 2001 under the auspices of SUNY Adirondack was resumed in the summer of 2014, with the ultimate goal of providing a reasonably comprehensive overview of all archaeological resources within the Park. The continuous reoccupations of the site have made this survey unusually challenging.
Wasik, Kayla and Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Understanding Site Activities through an Analysis of Ground Stone Tools: A Case Study from Two Sixteenth-century Cayuga Sites
Ground stone tools exhibit evidence of manufacture and use, such as pecking, pitting, and smoothing, and provide insight into a variety of manufacture, production, and processing activities. In this study, ground stone tools recovered from two 16th- century Iroquoian sites (Parker Farm and Carman) are examined. These sites have yielded a diverse set of ground stone artifacts from surface and excavated contexts over several field seasons. Evidence of production and use-wear on these tools suggests the activities that occurred, including wood working (evidenced by celts and adzes), fishing (notched netsinkers), food preparation (pitted nutting stones and grinding slabs), and a variety of tool production seen through many pecked and battered hammerstones. Previous studies at these sites have identified differences in the intensity and focus of daily activities. This study aims to supplement those findings through the analysis of the ground stone assemblage. Comparisons with ground stone tools recovered from other Iroquoian sites will provide a broader framework for our interpretations.
Watson, Adam (American Museum of Natural History), Caitlin Miller (Columbia University), and Siu Ying Ng (Columbia University)
Seneca Endurance, Ecology, and Economy: Preliminary Investigation of Faunal Remains from the 17th-century Seneca Iroquois White Springs Site
In the summer of 1687, the Marquis de Denonville led a punitive expeditionary force nearly 3000-strong from New France against the Seneca in what is now western New York State. In advance of Denonville’s arrival and following a brief skirmish, the Senecas fled eastward to winter under the protective umbrella of the Cayugas. Upon returning the region the following year, with their settlements abandoned or destroyed, the Senecas resettled, forming two new nucleated villages, one of which was located at White Springs, near present-day Geneva, New York, where they remained until 1715. Since 2007, Cornell University excavations at White Springs have recovered large quantities of artifacts, plant remains, and animal bone and have identified widespread evidence of daily life at the site, including hearths, post molds, and trash deposits. The extent to which Seneca daily life, economy, and subsistence reflect the political uncertainty and threat of hostilities dominating the region during this period remains unclear. Through an analysis of animal remains recovered from a large extramural pit feature, this study addresses this central question, examining evidence for shifting hunting strategies, regional trade, and daily household practices.
Willison, Megan (University of Connecticut / Member at Large) and Kathleen M. Allen (University of Pittsburgh / Finger Lakes Chapter)
Interpreting Economic Variability from Surface Collections: A Study of the Parker Farm and Carman Sites
Parker Farm and Carman are two late prehistoric/early contact period Cayuga Iroquois sites located west of Cayuga Lake. Past research on the systematic surface collections of lithics, pottery, and bone at both sites highlighted locations of high-density surface remains. Mathematical and statistical analyses on a random sample of these previously identified, high-density artifact areas are performed to discern inter- and intra-site variability in the types of activities occurring and their spatial distribution across the site landscape. By discerning where and what types of activities are occurring on the surface as referenced to known subsurface feature locations, this paper presents a preliminary model of Haudenosaunee use of space at domestic sites. This research has implications for understanding the spatial dynamics of economic tasks at Iroquois sites and the nature of site occupation.
Zarzynski, Joseph W. (French and Indian War Society / Auringer Seelye Chapter), Peter Pepe (Pepe Productions), and Claudia Young (Independent Researcher)
Fort William Henry Museum’s Mystery Shipwreck Cannons
In 1954, a replica of Lake George’s Fort William Henry (1755-1757) opened for tourism. Before opening, owners of the replica fortification acquired several iron cannons reportedly recently recovered from an “ancient man-of-war sunk off the Florida Keys in the early 1700s.” The cannons were to add an “air of authenticity” to the attraction. Recent archaeology at Fort William Henry Museum by the French & Indian War Society indicates the cannons came from a sunken frigate from the War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739- 1748). Furthermore, the study revealed the shipwreck arguably has the distinction of having the first underwater archaeology excavation in the USA, conducted in the early 1950s by Mendel L. Peterson (Smithsonian Institution) and Edwin A. Link, marine archaeologist and undersea submersible pioneer.
Enter to Win a luxury suite at the Woodcliff for the 2016 NYSAA Centennial Meeting!
Raffle winner will receive two nights in a luxury, two-story suite at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, for the duration of the 2016 annual meeting! Tickets will be sold during the 2015 meeting, and the drawing will be held at the 2015 banquet. Tickets are $5 each, or 6 for $20. If you are not attending the meeting, send in your tickets before May 1st with a check payable to the Lewis Henry Morgan Chapter to Sissie Pipes, 323 County Road #9, Victor NY 14564. For additional information, contact the Morgan Chapter at: [email protected].
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New York State Archaeological Association The Centennial Conference 15–17 April 2016 ~ The Woodcliff Hotel & Spa Perinton, New York
The 2016 annual meeting will be the centennial conference of the New York State Archaeological Association. A proposed session for the conference will highlight the history of our organization. Chapters are encouraged to participate by For additional information on preparing a talk on the their chapter’s logistics, contact the Lewis Henry Morgan Chapter at: contributions. Look for more information [email protected]. in the call for papers. Members of the Frederick M. Be sure to participate in the raffle to WIN Houghton Chapter will chair the conference program: http:// two nights in a luxury, two-story suite at anthropology.buffalostate.edu/ the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa, for the new-york-state-archaeological- association duration of the annual meeting!