Events

Exploring African American Contexts in New York Archaeology

Contrary to popular belief, the percentage of slave holding households was higher in New York than many places in the south. Unlike the plantation economies to the south, enslaved people in the north rarely lived in clusters of separate quarters. Most often enslave people of African and Indigenous lived in the main house, an outer kitchen, or other multi-functional outbuilding. Such complex households as well as free and Maroon communities have been investigated on archaeological projects in urban and rural settings. Surprisingly, there are few publications which address these households and communities that existed in New York. Only in cases where a household or a community was known to have been occupied by African Americans are deposits considered reflections of their lives. Archaeologists have struggled to interpret the lives of enslaved people through the material culture of plural households. Recent investigations however suggest that there are ways of ‘seeing’ African Americans in diverse households. This program brings together archaeologists to share what they have learned from their experiences working with plural households and communities in New York, suggestions for better material culture analyses, and the importance of working with descendant populations and vested communities. Format is short presentations followed by discussion with the audience.

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The September 8th, 2022, Monthly Meeting will be in person at 7:30 PM, but they are also experimenting with making the talk available remotely via ZOOM. If you are not a member and want to attend via ZOOM send a request to James Keron (jrkeron@yahoo.com) for a link to the ZOOM meeting. Their website is http://oaslondonchapter.ca/

The speaker will be Dr. Andrea Waters-Rist of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario talking on: Milk Matters: Unusual Breastfeeding and Weaning Practices in a Nineteenth Century Dutch Village. Details can be found below. (more…)

NYAC will host the fall meeting on October 1, 2022 at the New York State Museum in the Huxley Theater. The general business meeting will be from 12:45-1:45 and the program from 2-4:30. Details are provided available for download below.

2022 NYAC Fall Meeting Notice (100.3 KiB)

June 18-19 and June 25-26

Public Archaeology Excavation Event at the Knickerbocker Mansion, Schaghticoke, New York.

See flyer for more information or contact vsjames17@gmail.com.

The Knickerbocker Historical Society has graciously approved a public archaeology excavation to locate a home built on the property possibly as early as 1707, prior to the Knickerbocker Mansion built by Johannes Knickerbocker III ca. 1770. This call is for archaeology volunteers to excavate and staff the project, which has a goal of promoting archaeology and historic preservation in New York State by engaging the public in an archaeological excavation. Students, avocationals, and professional archaeologists are all welcome to apply! (more…)

You are invited to a Zoom presentation by the New York State Archaeological Association:

New Perspectives on Dutch Trade in New Netherland
 
A Virtual Symposium
 
Sponsored by the New York State Archaeological Association
  
Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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April 30^th, 2022, NYAC Spring Meeting Notice

The New York Archaeological Council will hold its Spring Meeting on April 30, 2022 in person and/or via Zoom at the University of Buffalo.

The New York Archaeological Council will hold its Spring Meeting on April 30, 2022 in person and via Zoom at the University of Buffalo. The board, which is not open to the public or general membership, will meet from 10:30 – 1. The General Membership/Business Meeting which is open to members and non-members will be from 1-2:30. A brief tour of the Archaeological Survey Lab and the Marian E. White Museum will follow and serves as the meeting program for those who attend in-person. 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of NYAC. There will be discussion about the planning of the fall meeting. Please join us in person or via Zoom. You must register for the zoom.

See attached file for details.

Event Date: Saturday, April 30, 2022
Time: 1:00-6:00 pm ET
Location: Eichenbaum Colloquial Room, Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Zoom

Program Information and Registration: https://potsandpans.eventbrite.com

We are pleased to announce this symposium in honor of our late colleague Dr. Mary Beaudry (CAS Archaeology and Anthropology; MET Gastronomy). Dr. Beaudry (1950-2020) was an influential scholar, professor, and beloved fixture of Boston archaeology. Speakers and panelists will discuss Dr. Beaudry’s scholarly legacy across a range of disciplines, including gastronomy and culinary arts, the archaeology and history of food, anthropology, material culture studies, museum studies, women’s studies, preservation studies, and American studies.

Please go to https://potsandpans.eventbrite.com for further information on the program and to register to attend in person or remotely.

This event is made possible through a grant from Boston University’s Center for the Humanities, as well as through contributions from the College of Arts and Sciences, Metropolitan College, the Department of Anthropology, the Archaeology Program, the Gastronomy Program, and Programs in Food and Wine.

March 10^th, 2022, 7:30 PM, Meeting of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, via zoom

 Invited speaker: Dr. John Creese, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, North Dakota State University on: Architecture Against the State: Materializing Counter Power in a Wendat Town. Tune in to hear Dr. Creese’s talk on is innovative research to try and understand the layout and spatial organization of Wendat/Huron Late Woodland villages through his analysis of several sites.

London Chapter members will be automatically sent a ZOOM link but anyone else wishing to attend can send an email request to Jim Keron at jrkeron@yahoo.com and he will send a link to the ZOOM meeting session. The ZOOM session normally opens about 7:00 PM.

Please join us for a talk on March 2 at 7pm on Zoom for a talk by Sissie Pipes entitled “Markers of Cultural Identity: Worked Bone from 17th and 18th century Albany, NY”

See the flyer attached for additional information.  Please share with your friends and colleagues.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Mar 2, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 
Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMld-qtpjojE9EOgvFzLNH-RIWRlHI-YU_r

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Abstract: The archaeological presence of Africans and African Americans York State is ephemeral at best, especially in upstate New York during the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Based on the analyses of faunal assemblages from Albany projects, there is growing evidence to suggest that certain modified artifacts, identified in the faunal deposits, were made and used by Africans and African Americans. Bone tools from Fort Orange, and the Winne and Bogart Houses from The DEC Headquarters site, will be discussed. This talk also explores why worked bone objects found in certain contexts may be considered as markers of cultural identity and how they may inform about the lives of Enslaved people.