News & Announcements

We are pleased to share that 2025 marks our 36th year of awarding a scholarship to an outstanding New York State student who plans to pursue a career in archaeology.

We take pride in the fact that to date we have awarded over $30,000 in scholarships to worthy candidates. The 2025 award has been increased to $1,500.00!

Contributing members of the New York State Archaeological Association as well as the members of the William M. Beauchamp Chapter in Syracuse, NY have been most generous in funding this scholarship program and enabling us to continue this tradition.

We ask you to promote this scholarship to your worthy and qualified undergraduate students. Please encourage them to make a copy of the announcement poster and to apply for this generous scholarship without delay. The deadline for filing is April 4th, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 315-345-5094. 

Thanks so much for your enthusiastic endorsement of this important program.

2025 Daniel H. Weiskotten, NYSAA Scholarship (161.8 KiB)

Michael Beardsley

Chairperson, Daniel H. Weiskotten Scholarship Program

William Beauchamp Chapter, NYSAA

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) is a 10-week internship from June to mid-August. Students will assist with ongoing research at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY, a 5,265-acre facility. We are looking for highly motivated students who can work independently to complete a variety of research activities related to BNL’s cultural resources, which include 19th century domestic archaeological sites, early 20th century military training trenches, and mid-20th century science buildings and artifacts. Students must be willing to work 40 hours/week or more. A weekly stipend is provided, and free dormitory style housing is available for students who live more than 50 miles from the Laboratory.

Applicant should be an undergraduate student pursuing or who recently (within two years) obtained a degree in archaeology, anthropology, history, historic preservation, or museum studies. Familiarity with historic artifact identification, handling, and cataloging will be helpful. Must be able to lift 50 pounds. Possible research activities include:

Applications must be filled out online with the Department of Energy – SULI program (https://apps.orau.gov/suli/Account/Login). No applications will be accepted through e-mail. Applicants must be a sophomore or higher with a minimum GPA of 3.00. Two references are required. The time period between receipt of an undergraduate degree and starting the SULI term must be two years or less. When filling out the application, select Brookhaven National Laboratory and History, Historic Preservation and Conservation or Social Sciences/Archaeology as the research area.

Once the application is completed online, please e-mail amcgovern@bnl.gov. For further information, full requirements, and a link to the application, see the following website: https://science.osti.gov/wdts/suli

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Allison McGovern at amcgovern@bnl.gov. Application deadline is January 8, 2025. Please see webpage for deadline information.

Summer Undergraduate Cultural Resources Internship at Brookhaven National Laboratory (82.7 KiB)

The Metropolitan Chapter is partnering with the AIA-NY Society to create a joint scholarship for student research on the archaeology of New York City. The specifics of the scholarship, including links to the application, are detailed below. The scholarship recipient will receive a one-year NYSAA membership to be paid by the MET Chapter and is expected to produce a short article that will appear in both the AIA-NY Society and NYSSA newsletters. At present, the scholarship is a one-time thing. However, the scholarship could become an annual event if there is sufficient interest and it proves a fruitful collaboration. Submitted by Jessica and Meredith Linn, Co-Presidents of the Metropolitan Chapter, New York State Archaeological Association.

The New York Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIANYS) and the Metropolitan Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association (NYSAA) are offering a $1,500 scholarship to a student in support of archival, collections or field-based research, scientific analysis or a public outreach project primarily focused on New York City-based archaeology. The scholarship program is administered and overseen by both organizations working in collaboration for the first time.

We are pleased to announce a new joint scholarship for research on the archaeology of New York City! (125.8 KiB)

New York State Archaeological Association

106th Annual Meeting

May 2-4, 2025

Niagara Riverside Resort

7001 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls, New York, 14304

The Frederick Houghton Chapter is proud to host the 106th annual meeting of the New York State Archaeological Association and the annual Spring meeting of the New York Archaeological Council, May 2 – 4, 2025. NYAC will meet on Friday May 2. The NYSAA annual business meeting will be Friday evening, with paper presentations during the day on Saturday and Sunday morning. The annual banquet, awards ceremony, and banquet speaker will be Saturday evening. Our banquet speaker is Kelly Berliner, Eastern Regional Director of the Archaeological Conservancy. All events will be at the Niagara Riverside Resort, 7001 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls, NY.

This is a call for anyone interested in presenting a paper or poster pertaining to the archaeology of New York. Given the location of the conference on the border with Canada, we also welcome contributions on the Niagara region of Ontario. Presenters must be members of the NYSAA. Student At-Large Membership is $10 and Individual At-Large membership is $20, see the NYSAA Member at Large Form. On co-authored papers/posters, the lead author must be a member. Presentations should be 20 minutes in length. Individuals are limited to one paper or poster, although individuals may co-author multiple papers. Submissions along with registration must be received by April 1. Registration information will be available online at nysarchaeology.org/conference Please send your title, abstract (under 200 words), affiliation (chapter and/or institution), and contact information to Bill Engelbrecht, engelbwe@gmail.com.

  2025 Call for Papers – New York State Archaeological Association (45.8 KiB)

Announcing the Funk Foundation’s 2024-25 Research Grant Cycle

The Robert E. Funk Memorial Archaeology Foundation, Inc., announces its 2024-2025 grant application and funding cycle for research grants of up to $2,500. The Funk Foundation supports archaeological research conducted in New York State or on archaeological collections from New York State. Grants can be used to support small stand-alone archaeological research projects or studies that are parts of larger investigations. Previous Funk Foundation grants have funded a range of research projects including artifact collections studies, faunal analysis, radiocarbon dating, artifact petrography, stone tool microwear, remote sensing, and isotopic and geochemical analyses.

Grant applications for the 2024-2025 funding cycle must be received by October 15, 2024. Applications will be reviewed in a competitive process by the Funk Foundation Board of Directors. Award decisions will be made by November 15, 2024. Guidelines and format for grant applications can be found at www.funkfoundation.org. For additional questions, please email Jon Lothrop, President, Funk Foundation Board of Directors, at Jonathan.Lothrop@NYSED.Gov or call (518) 486-2992.

Funk Foundation’s 2024-25 Research Grant (111.0 KiB)

Sherene Baugher, NYSAA President, has relayed a message that longtime member of NYSAA, Peter Pratt, died on Friday, July 12^th.  Greg Sohrweide from the Beauchamp Chapter will send a newspaper obituary as soon as it is published that can be shared to members.

The New York Archaeological Council is sad to announce the sudden passing of our member, Charles “Chuck” Vandrei. Chuck served as Historic Preservation Officer for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for many years. In the course of his life, he made many friends in our field and will be sorely missed. Arrangements will be announced at a later date.

Update:

Obituary for Charles E. Vandrei Jr. at Bond Funeral Home

The June issue of the African Diaspora Archaeology Network Newsletter is available for free at the following link http://www.diaspora.illinois.edu/news0624/news0624.html

2025 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
NEW YORK STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

May 2 – 4, 2025
Niagara Falls, New York

The 2025 annual meeting of the New York State Archaeological Association will occur May 2 – 4 at the Niagara Riverside Resort, Niagara Falls, U.S. The hotel will reserve a block of 75 rooms at $119 a night for the meeting until a month before the event. After that the room rate cannot be guaranteed. Kelly Berliner, Eastern Regional Director of the Archaeological Conservancy, will be the banquet speaker. For more information, contact Bill Engelbrecht, engelbwe@gmail.com.