News Articles

NYSM crew and volunteers sifting in late August 2019

NYSM Bioarchaeology Staff Study Remains of Revolutionary War Soldiers

Published May 11, 2023 | Bioarchaeology

In 2019, bones dating back to the late 18th century were uncovered at a Lake George Village construction site. For the past four years, NYSM bioarchaeology staff Lisa Anderson, Julie Weatherwax, and Alexandra DeCarlo have been working together with the DEC to learn more about the remains to help...

Poached Elephant (CC 3.0)

Every 15 Minutes an Elephant is Killed for the Illegal Ivory Trade

Published May 1, 2023 | Exhibitions

On view in New York Metropolis Hall

It is estimated that within the United States, the sale of black-market ivory is a $23 billion industry. New York City is the center of this disturbing business.

Between 2015 and 2018 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’...

National Endowment for the Humanities Logo

NEH Announces $35.63 Million for 258 Humanities Projects Nationwide

Published April 19, 2023 | History State History

This article originally appeared on the National Endowment for the Humanities website.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced $35.63 million in grants for ...

Cowrie Shells Moneta (left), Annulus (center), and a Reticulated Cowrie Helmet (right) from the NYSM Historical Archaeology Collection.

Reticulated Cowrie Helmet Shells: A Small Reminder of the Link between New York and the Caribbean

Published February 23, 2023 | Historical Archaeology

Billions of Moneta and Annulus cowries from the Indian Ocean were traded for enslaved people along the west coast of Africa from the 15th through 19th centuries. Much larger reticulated cowrie helmets, native to the warm waters of the Caribbean, were not traded for enslaved...

Madam C.J. Walker’s Glossine hair paste and an advertisement (NYSM Collection H-2010.45.30-31)

From the Collections: Madam C.J. Walker’s Glossine Hair Paste and Advertisement

Published February 22, 2023 | Social History

Madam C. J. Walker (1867–1919) was a successful entrepreneur, businesswoman, philanthropist, and social and political activist during a time when both African Americans and women were not common in the world of business. In 1906, she started her own hair product business specifically for African...

Women Who Lead

From the Collections: Women Who Lead

Published February 22, 2023 | Exhibitions

On view in New York Metropolis Hall 

The State Museum’s collections represent the diverse achievements of women across New York. This new exhibit feature brings together objects and artworks that highlight the contributions of women. Audiences will see State Paleontologist Winifred...

Silver spoon from the Powell Farmstead with Hannah Elizabeth Powell’s (nee Kilbourne) initials.

African American Farmers in the Upper Hudson Valley, 1820–1880

Published February 7, 2023 | Historical Archaeology

Agriculture has been central to the cultural history of the Hudson River Valley from the first indigenous farmers to 17th-century Dutch farms, and finally through the development of modern mechanized farming during the 19th century. Regrettably, the role of free African American farmers in the...

Bowfin species: A&B - Amia calva from South Carolina, C - A. ocellicauda from Ontario.

Science Tuesday: "Living Fossils!"

Published December 12, 2022 | Ichthyology

Bowfin fishes are recognized as evolutionary relicts or ‘living fossils’ that historically were distributed worldwide, going back almost 150 million years and living alongside dinosaurs. These fishes retain many of the morphological traits of their fossil ancestors and are found only in the...

DNA Research in Ornithology at the NYSM

Science Tuesday: DNA Research in Ornithology

Published December 12, 2022 | Ornithology

Museum specimens are important sources of DNA, used by researchers to discover the evolutionary relationships among species. NYSM zoology curators save small samples of muscle and other tissues from the specimens they prepare for our collections. The tissue samples from fish, bird, and mammal...

Projectile Points from the McVaugh Collection

The McVaugh Donation: Important Collections Come in Small Packages

Published November 28, 2022 | Native American Archaeology

Over the years, the NYSM has received donations of very large archaeological collections numbering hundreds of thousands of specimens—but small collections can also be important. One such donation, modest in size but rich in content, was made to the NYSM in 2019 by the McVaugh family.

...

Erie Canal, double locks in Rexford, NY

Transporting Grains on the Erie Canal

Published October 25, 2022 | Economic History

On October 26, 1825, the Erie Canal officially opened from Albany to Buffalo. The canal was an immediate success: shipping costs plummeted, and new services and goods became widely available. Cheap, reliable transportation opened new markets to farmers and businessmen, creating a commercial...

Singer industrial sewing machine, ca. 1972, collection of the NYSM.

New Acquisition: Singer Industrial Sewing Machine, ca. 1972

Published September 14, 2022 | Social History

One sewing machine, two stories:

Some artifacts in our collection hold the stories of multiple individuals. This ca. 1972 Singer industrial sewing machine, recently donated to the NYSM, belonged to Tsui Ping Chu, an immigrant from Hong Kong. Chu used it in her home to sew clothing for her...

Commeraw Stoneware

Science Tuesday: Uncovering Commeraw Stoneware

Published August 2, 2022 | Historical Archaeology

New York stoneware vessels bearing the name “Commeraw” have been included in collections for years, but more recently they have become recognized for their historical importance. Thomas Commeraw was an African American potter who worked in the Corlear’s Hook area of Manhattan from 1793 until the...

Late Stone Age Crowfield Flute Point

Science Tuesday: Late Ice Age Stone Point

Published July 25, 2022 | Native American Archaeology

Located in the middle reach of the Hudson River, Magdalene Island (Dutchess County, NY) has long been known to archaeologists as a location visited by ancient indigenous peoples. Until now, stone tools and other artifacts curated at the NYSM suggested the site was first occupied about 6,000...

Play Furniture, 1960

New Acquisition: Play Furniture

Published July 25, 2022 | Cultural History

This set of child-sized furniture was a birthday gift to the donor, Mary Alice Cole, from her parents, in the 1960s. She recalled many families in Watervliet, NY, having play houses in the back yard, where “playing house” was a popular activity for girls. 

Through much of the 20th century...

DeGraff Archaeological Site (credit: Andrea Becker, NYSDOT)

Uncovering Historical Places

Published July 5, 2022 | CRSP

Staff from the Museum’s Cultural Resource Survey Program (CRSP) recently hosted staff and six student interns from the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) at the historic period DeGraff archaeological site in the Mohawk Valley of Central New York. The CRSP performs surveys and site...

Martin Van Buren Bust

Digitizing the Collections

Published May 24, 2022 | Research & Collections

Dr. Bernard Means, professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and director of the Virtual Curation Lab, has returned to the NYSM to help digitize our collections. From fossils and skeletons to artwork, historic furniture, and even rare books, the 3-D scans will provide a digital archive that...

Stoneware detail

New Acquisition: Stoneware Water Cooler

Published May 18, 2022 | Cultural History

This impressive stoneware water cooler is incised and impressed with decorations that depict the celebration of the Great National Jubilee of the Order of the Sons of Temperance, an organization founded in New York City in 1842.

Temperance iconography is portrayed throughout the design....

New Exhibit Feature: Timbuctoo: Gerrit Smith’s Experiment

Published May 3, 2022 | Exhibitions

In 1846, New York State enacted a law requiring African American men to own $250 worth of property to vote. To circumvent this unjust law, radical abolitionist Gerrit Smith gave away 120,000 acres of land in Essex and Franklin Counties, New York, to 3,000 free Black men, thereby qualifying them...

Mohawk steelworkers, 1970 by David Grant Noble

On View in New York Metropolis Hall: Photographic Series of Mohawk Steelworkers 

Published March 17, 2022 | Exhibitions

David Grant Noble (1939–present) photographed Mohawk steelworkers at 450 Park Avenue and 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. They were from the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve on the St. Lawrence River. During the week most of the men lived in North Gowanus, Brooklyn, driving home to family on the...

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