NYAC News

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…)

Hi Folks: this month’s update will come to you in two parts. This Note notifies you of schedule updates and asks the Standing and Special Committee Chairs for updates. The second part will come out after Labor Day.

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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)

STATUS UPDATE ON NEW YORK UNMARKED BURIAL SITE PROTECTION ACT (NYS S5701) AND MONTAUKETT INDIAN NATION RECOGNITION ACT (NYS S6889)

June 11, 2022
From the President, Carol S. Weed

Many of our members, and others, have been tracking the status of two New York State legislative actions. These are the Unmarked Burial Site Protection bill and the Montaukett Indian Nation Recognition bill.

NYAC’s Spring Newsletter went to press the week of May 30th just as the status of both bills changed. Because of their importance, I asked that this special note be sent to membership. The note has been reviewed by the NYAC Board. (more…)

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…)

NYAC members,  it’s Dues time. To renew your membership download the form at:  Join NYAC
If you want to join NYAC scroll down to the membership categories and apply.

New York Archaeological Council 2022 dues are now due. Please remember that any NYAC member who falls more than two years behind in dues payments will be removed from the member list. In order to return to membership, the current and previous year’s dues must be paid.

The Archaeology Month, Educational Outreach, and Robert E. Funk Memorial Foundation and the Legal Defense funds need support. Please feel free to use this opportunity to make an additional tax-deductible contribution to one or more of these funds. We are also seeking funds to celebrate NYAC’s 50th anniversary year (2022-2023).

Please note that NYAC now uses electronic communication for meeting notices, the annual newsletter, and other announcements. If you have not already done so, please be sure to sign up for communications by submitting your email address in the lower right corner of the website. Thank you in advance for your prompt response to this notice.

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.

SUBJECT: National Historic Preservation Action Section 106 Programmatic Agreement for Transportation Undertakings Subject to Section 106 in New York (FWHA PA Review)

In late January, NYAC received an invitation from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to participate in a virtual kick-off meeting for a Programmatic Agreement (PA). The PA would involve the FHWA, New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP) as full signatories. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) will be an invited signatory and will be delegated certain lead federal agency functions. (more…)

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.