News Articles

Spoil heap (also known as a backdirt pile) as it was seen in May 2019 at the Lake George Courtland Street Burial Ground

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 however placed the cemetery at the time of the...

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 and 2018. These excavations concentrated on...

Examples of Paleoindian artifacts from the OPS site. A: fluted point with impact fracture; B: Endscraper, hafted tool likely used for hide working for skin clothing manufacture; C: Hafted perforator for working bone or wood; D: Graver, delicate hand-held

Owlville Pine South (OPS) Archaeological Site Owners Donate Paleoindian Artifacts to NYSM

Published December 19, 2019 | Native American Archaeology

In June 2015, avocational archaeologists Mike Beardsley and Mark Clymer were surveying for Native American archaeological sites on farm property owned by Tom and Joyce Bush in central New York. Walking across their fields, Mike spied a large scraping tool of chert. Days later, he discovered a...

Dr. Michael Lucas, Curator of Historical Archaeology (left) and Marty Pickands, retired museum archaeologist (right) overlooking excavation by SUNY Albany field school students -- photo by Derek J. Healey

Curator's research at Albany, NY archaeological sites featured in latest issue of national magazine

Published December 21, 2018 | Historical Archaeology

The museum's curator of historical archaeology, Michael Lucas, and project manager of The Archaeology of Slavery in the Hudson Valley, is featured in the Winter 2018-19 issue of...

Lafayette Plate

Political engagement, social class and patriotic symbols in early 19th-century New York

Published December 20, 2018 | Historical Archaeology

Historical archaeology is a multidisciplinary field combining written historical records with archaeological data to study places, objects and issues of the past. In North America, historical archaeology begins with European colonization. One of the issues -- highly relevant to present day North...

OPS excavation crew, September 20, 2018

NYSM Archaeologists Return for Fourth Field Season at OPS Paleoindian Site

Published October 25, 2018 | Native American Archaeology

In September, NYSM archaeologists completed the 2018 excavations at the OPS Paleoindian site in Madison County, New York. The OPS site has yielded fluted points of the Crowfield "style," indicating an early Native American encampment dating to the late Ice Age, circa 12,000-11,600 years ago....

Detail of Suffern Rockshelter pot

NYSM Receives Donation of James Vieth Artifact Collection

Published October 25, 2018 | Native American Archaeology

From the 1930s through the early 1960s, avid avocational archaeologist Dr. James Vieth collected and conducted test excavations on Native American archaeological sites, most often in Rockland County, southeastern New York. His son, James Vieth Jr., accompanied his father on many of these field...

Archaeology Open House 2016

Archaeology Exposed: NYSM Open House at Schuyler Flatts a Success

Published July 6, 2016 | Archaeology

Archaeologists with the New York State Museum are working at Schuyler Flatts in Albany County to learn more about life along the Hudson River hundreds of years ago and how Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans left their marks in the form of artifacts and building foundations. On Saturday,...

University at Albany Presidential Award

Archaeology Staff Receive University at Albany's President's Award

Published May 11, 2016 | Archaeology

New York State Museum Archaeology staff recently received the University at Albany’s President’s Award for Exemplary Public Engagement in recognition of the joint Museum-University archaeological field school at the Pethick Site in Schohaire County, New York. New York State Archaeologist,...

Man in collection area

Student Profile: Museum Fellow Jordon Loucks

Published January 14, 2016 | Historical Archaeology

Jordon Loucks is a Ph.D student at SUNY Albany and works at the Museum to conduct research for his doctoral program.

Jordon's research is focused on early 19th century immigrants in the Northeast United States, with a particular emphasis on Irish immigrants. "A typical day for me at the...

Million Dollar Beach Site

The Stratigraphy of the Million Dollar Beach Site

Published December 9, 2015 | CRSP

One of the first things archaeologists seek to understand when they are investigating a site is the stratigraphy. This entails both documentary research and ground-truthing through test excavations like shovel test pits (STPs) or small excavation units. At its most basic, stratigraphy is...

Million Dollar Beach Site

Introduction to Work at the Million Dollar Beach Site

Published December 9, 2015 | CRSP

The Million Dollar Beach Site was identified in August of 2013 during a survey of the area around the DEC parking lot and campground prior to road improvements (see Photo 1). This survey proceeded directly into limited test excavations after the discovery of almost 2,000 prehistoric artifacts...

gold coin 1859

Archaeology Work in Utica

Published June 26, 2015 | CRSP

Since 2012, archaeologists from the State Museum have been working alongside a highway construction project in Utica, uncovering artifacts from the early 19th century.

Why? The archaeologists are members of the Cultural Resources Survey Program (CRSP)at the State Museum. CRSP helps...

Hicks-Seaman Ceramics

Recent Acquisition: Long Island Archaeology Collection

Published June 26, 2015 | Historical Archaeology

The State Museum recently acquired an archaeological collection from the former Institute for Long Island Archaeology at Stony Brook University. This collection consists of artifacts from 47 significant archaeological sites, including both prehistoric Native American and historic Euro-American...

Men talking about their memory

Memory Keepers

Published December 9, 2013 | Archaeology

When former Research and Collections Assistant Director and Curator of Ichthyology Dr. Robert Daniels retired in late 2012, he took with him over 30 years of specialist knowledge of the Museum’s fish collection, as well as key information about the Museum’s history and administrative activities...

Lake George

Archaeological Discovery at Lake George

Published December 3, 2013 | Native American Archaeology

New York State Museum archaeologists have identified archaeological remains associated with a small Early Archaic camp dating to approximately 8,000 B.C. along the shore of Lake George in Warren County, New York. The site produced bifurcate and Genesee projectile points that would have been used...