News Articles
Clan Mothers, Spinners, Attorneys and Stateswomen: Mohican Women in New Stockbridge - online talk on February 10, 2021
Published January 26, 2021 | Ethnography
Please join the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation for a Facebook Live 1-hour presentation entitled, “Clan Mothers, Spinners, Attorneys and Stateswomen: Mohican Women in New Stockbridge,” on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 3 pm Eastern Standard Tim...
The Power of a Closer Look
Published January 26, 2021 | Historical Archaeology
Many of the historical archaeology collections at the New York State Museum were recovered during compliance work prior to the construction of roads, buildings, and other structures. Larger compliance projects can result in the recovery of 100,000...
New Publication: Onondaga and Empire; An Iroquoian People in an Imperial Era
Published January 8, 2021 | Archaeology
Just released! The NYSM has published the latest volume in the Bulletin Series entitled, Onondaga and Empire; An Iroquoian People in an Imperial Era. As author James W. Bradley notes, the publication “continues the story of the Onondaga, central n...
New Acquisition: West Family Farm Shaker Archaeological Collection
Published January 6, 2021 | Historical Archaeology
Ann Lee founded the first communal settlement of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, in Watervliet New York in 1776. Lee died in 1784, but the community she established continued until 1915....
Science Tuesday: New York's First Ice Age Predator
Published January 5, 2021 | Vertebrate Paleontology
Predators are important parts of ecosystems, and while we know species like dire wolves and saber-toothed cats lived elsewhere, there are currently no published records of Ice Age predator fossils having been found in New York. One reason for this...
New Acquisition: Harriet Alonso Needlework
Published December 7, 2020 | Social History
Harriet Alonso began working with embroidery in 1974. Influenced by the imagery of political posters, she soon used the medium to express her ideas about the causes she was passionate about, including women’s rights, educational equality, and peac...
Newly identified - and edible! Re-analyzed privy soil yields increases knowledge of New Netherland diet
Published November 17, 2020 | Historical Archaeology
Archaeologists can glean a tremendous amount of information from soil sediments collected at archaeological sites. Pollen grains, phytoliths, seeds, and other remnant plant material can survive for thousands of years below ground under the right c...
New Acquisition: Silk Beaded Bag by Kenneth Williams Jr. (Cattaraugus Seneca and Arapaho)
Published November 4, 2020 | Ethnography
Inspired by the path-breaking beadwork artistry of Gahano (Caroline Parker Mt. Pleasant, Tonawanda Seneca), Ken Williams Jr.’s hand stitched silk and beaded bag pays tribute to the artistry of Seneca and Haudenosaunee beadwork in every detail. Fro...
The McVaugh Donation: Insights on Hudson Valley Indigenous History
Published November 2, 2020 | Native American Archaeology
Over the years, the NYSM has received donations of some very large archaeological collections numbering hundreds of thousands of specimens, but small collections can also be important accessions. Born in 1909, Roger McVaugh grew up on his parents’...
The McVaugh Donation: Insights on Hudson Valley Indigenous History
Published November 2, 2020 | Native American Archaeology
Over the years, the NYSM has received donations of some very large archaeological collections numbering hundreds of thousands of specimens, but small collections can also be important accessions. Born in 1909, Roger McVaugh grew up on his parents’...
Office of Cultural Education Highlights New Netherland Research and Collections
Published November 2, 2020 | Research & Collections
The State Archives, State Museum, and State Library are among the largest repositories of documents, artifacts, furniture, and decorative arts from the 17th century colonial Dutch settlements in what became New York. Join Dr. Charles Geh...
Malacology & Partnerships in Science
Published July 31, 2020 | Malacology
Challenges in science often require solutions from across various disciplines and involve collaborations between diverse agencies. A recent agreement between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Arconic to prote...
Rare collection of 19th-century Shaker "not-so-pure" household objects acquired by NYSM Historical Archaeology collection
Published July 14, 2020 | Historical Archaeology
Ann Lee founded the first communal settlement of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, in Watervliet New York in 1776. Lee died in 1784 but the community she established continued until 1915. ...
New acquisition: archaeological collection resulting from 3 field seasons at Lake George Battlefield Park
Published June 24, 2020 | Historical Archaeology
The NYSM Historical Archaeology Collections now includes artifacts from the 2014, 2015 and 2016 excavations at the Lake George Battlefield Park in Lake George, New York. David Starbuck, who conducted the first professional archaeology in the park&...
Karen Ann Hoffman, NYSM Ethnology Collections featured artist, receives 2020 National Heritage Fellowship!
Published June 24, 2020 | Ethnography
NYSM Ethnology Collections featured artist, Karen Ann Hoffman, is a recipient of a 2020 NEA National Heritage Fellowship! (National Endowment for the Arts press release) Karen Ann Hoffman, enrolled member of the Oneida Nation (Wisconsin) is an ...
Today's artwork from NYSM Ethnology collections recognizes Indigenous medicinal knowledge
Published May 13, 2020 | Ethnography
One sub-discipline within cultural anthropology is the medical anthropology, or the focus on how humans think of medicine, illness and practice health and well-being. Today's artwork from NYSM Ethnology collections recognizes Indigenous medicinal ...
Controlled surface artifact collection combined with magnetic susceptibility yields tantalizing results
Published April 6, 2020 | Historical Archaeology
The New York State Museum, in collaboration with the Open Space Institute and Stockbridge Munsee Mohican Tribal Preservation Office, recently completed a controlled surface artifact collection and a magnetic susceptibility survey (MS) at the locat...
NYSM Archaeologists Return for Fifth Field Season at OPS Paleoindian Site
Published April 6, 2020 | Native American Archaeology
In July and September 2019, NYSM archaeologists and volunteers conducted their fifth season of excavations at the OPS Paleoindian site in Madison County. Discovered in 2015, the OPS site has yielded stone fluted points of the Crowfield "style," in...
Bioarchaeology at the Courtland Street Burying Ground
Published December 19, 2019 | Bioarchaeology
When a historic unmarked cemetery was found during construction in Lake George, New York last winter, it was presumed to date to the mid-18th century French and Indian War. The discovery of a regimental button from the First Pennsylvania Battalion...
Collaborative field schools completed at Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood
Published December 19, 2019 | Historical Archaeology
Archaeologists from the New York State Museum and the University of Albany completed two collaborative field schools in Historical Archaeology at the Ten Broeck Mansion, located in Albany, NY's Arbor Hill neighborhood during the summers of 2017 an...