Release
Media Advisory:
Prehistoric Sandbox Opened to the Public for One Day Only
Pethick Archaeological Site in Central Bridge, N.Y. welcomes the public Monday, July 3
Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 29, 2006)
What:
The
University
at
Albany
Department
of
Anthropology
and
the
Division
of
Research
and
Collections
at
the
New
York
State
Museum
are
opening
the
Pethick
Archaeological
Site
and
field
school
in
Central
Bridge,
N.Y.,
now
in
its
fifth
year
of
excavation,
to
the
public
for
one
day.
Interpretive
tours
will
be
provided,
and
many
of
the
site's
recovered
artifacts,
which
are
housed
at
the
State
Museum,
will
be
on
site
for
viewing.
Visitors
of
all
ages
and
experience
are
welcome—and
encouraged
to
bring
their
own
collections,
for
on-site
aid
in
identification
by
professional
archaeologists.
When:
Monday,
July 3,
2006, 10
a.m. - 2
p.m.
Who:
The
Pethick
Archaeological
Site is
run as a
field
school
through
a
cooperative
effort
by the
University
at
Albany
Department
of
Anthropology,
under
professor
Sean M.
Rafferty,
and the
Division
of
Research
and
Collections
at the
New York
State
Museum,
by State
Archaeologist
for
research
and
education
Christina
B. Rieth.
This
summer's
excavation
is being
led by
UAlbany
lecturer
Steve Moragne
and
teaching
assistant,
Jaime
Moore.
Where:
Pethick
Archaeological
Site in
Central
Bridge,
N.Y.
Directions from Albany: I-90 west to exit 25 A (I 88 west); I 88 west to exit 23, Central Bridge; turn right off the exit; travel approx 0.5 miles; take the first left (at flashing light) onto Route 30A; cross the Schoharie Creek and travel approx 0.5 miles; turn left onto Smith Road. The site will be on the left before the road ends (1-2 miles) and individuals will be on-hand for guided tours.
How:
For
more
information
visit:
Archaeology
Summer
Field
School
To
register,
please
email
Jaime
Moore at
[email protected]
or call
Linda
Goodwin
at the
Department
of
Anthropology
at (518)
442-
4700.
Background:
The
prehistoric
occupation
of the
Schoharie
Valley,
New York
spans
several
thousand
years
and is
documented
through
a rich
archaeological
record
containing
evidence
of the
settlement
and
subsistence
patterns
of these
groups.
The
Pethic
Archaeological
Site
field
school
program
trains
undergraduate
and
postgraduate
students
in the
techniques
of
professional
archaeology
and has
produced
artifacts
and
carbon
dates
suggesting
that the
site has
been
continuously
occupied
since at
least
3,000
B.C. The
most
recent
occupations
date to
the time
of first
contact
between
Native
Americans
and
Europeans.
There is
evidence
of
several
prehistoric
structures
at the
site,
and over
80,000
prehistoric
artifacts
have
been
recovered
to date.
This
site is
located
on a
small
terrace,
just
north of
the
Strontium
Mine
site.
UAlbany
students
have
opened
up a
number
of
four-meter
test
squares
and
found
clear
evidence
of both
Late
Woodland
and
Early
Woodland
occupations,
separated
by
sterile
layers
of soils
deposited
by
periodic
Schoharie
Creek
flooding.
Many
features
consisting
of fire,
storage,
and
refuse
pits
were
encountered
as well
as
several
apparent
historic
stone
structures.
Editorial Note: Media may arrange to tour the site, either on July 3rd or any other day up to the close of the project on July 21st. Advance notice is requested to assure that key artifacts are on hand..
