DrumBeats Through Time Scheduled for October 6th

(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) located at 358 Broad Street Waverly, NY is announcing the 15th Annual “DrumBeats Through Time” to be held on Saturday October 6th, 2018. The SRAC Annual Luncheon will be held from 11-12:30, and the doors open to the public from 1-5pm. The event is free to attend.

SRAC members are encouraged to attend the membership luncheon this year to get a tour of the ongoing construction of the Laboratory and Research Center on the second floor and to get updates on other SRAC endeavors underway. Exclusive give-aways are also a part of this luncheon. The luncheon will be catered by the Railhouse restaurant and your RSVP is requested in order to plan seating for this popular event. Please call the Center at 607-565-7960 or email info@sracenter.org to RSVP before October 3. Postcards will also be sent to current and recent members as a reminder.

If you have not re-upped your membership or are not sure if your membership is up-to-date, simply
stop in, call the museum or plan to come early and re-up the day of the event.

Doors open to the public at 1pm.

SRAC’s Dr. DeeAnne Wymer and Dan Caister will present "The 2018 Field Season Findings at The Desisti Site: A Tale of Two Occupations.”  The presentation will illustrate the unique items being excavated at the site this year and what findings have been revealed using scientific carbon dating methods. 

At 2pm past NYSAA President Dr. Bill Engelbrecht will present ” Early Late Woodland Pottery from Northwest Pennsylvania” Current terminology used to describe ceramics in the Northeast presents a challenge for both avocational and professional. In some cases two or more ceramic type descriptions overlap while in other cases type names in different areas describe similar material. Some types describe ceramics used for a long period of time, rendering them poor temporal indicators. Using an attribute approach provides a clearer picture of individual specimens but renders comparison with ceramics from other sites problematic unless they are described using the same system. This presentation describes ceramics from a pre-Iroquoian multi-component site in northwest Pennsylvania using a revised ceramic typology coupled with an attribute approach.

At 3pm, SRAC's David Moyer will present, "Prehistoric and Early Historic Native Landscapes in the Upper Susquehanna Valley." The late prehistory and early history of the Upper Susquehanna Valley has created a unique landscape that has presented many challenges to archaeologists. In the 1300s and 1400s the region boasted a large population of prehistoric farmers. It appears that the valleys were then abandoned until the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when the Susquehanna and Chemung valleys were occupied by Native refugees from other regions displaced  by war and European encroachment. These village communities continued to expand throughout the 18th century until the outbreak of the American Revolution when these settlements were abandoned.

At 4pm, Seneca Native American historian Dick Kane will give a presentation on the cultural history of the Seneca. Mr. Kane will display authentic cultural items and discuss their significance.

At 4:30pm, the Seneca Dancers will perform, sharing their culture, music, and dance.The Seneca dancers have been a very popular part of SRAC’s Annual event for over a decade.

We invite the public to experience SRAC and what we celebrate every day, our Native American archaeology, prehistory, history and culture - all in one amazing day.

15th Annual DrumBeats Through Time, October 6th

(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) located at 358 Broad Street Waverly, NY is announcing the 15th Annual “DrumBeats Through Time” to be held on Saturday October 6th, 2018. The SRAC Annual Luncheon will be held from 11-12:30, and the doors open to the public from 1-5pm. The event is free to attend.

SRAC members are encouraged to attend the membership luncheon this year to get a tour of the ongoing construction of the Laboratory and Research Center on the second floor and to get updates on other SRAC endeavors underway. Exclusive give-aways are also a part of this luncheon. The luncheon will be catered by the Railhouse restaurant and your RSVP is requested in order to plan seating for this popular event. Please call the Center at 607-565-7960 or email info@sracenter.org to RSVP before October 3. Postcards will also be sent to current and recent members as a reminder.

If you have not re-upped your membership or are not sure if your membership is up-to-date, simply
stop in, call the museum or plan to come early and re-up the day of the event.

Doors open to the public at 1pm.

SRAC’s Dr. DeeAnne Wymer and Dan Caister will present "The 2018 Field Season Findings at The Desisti Site: A Tale of Two Occupations.”  The presentation will illustrate the unique items being excavated at the site this year and what findings have been revealed using scientific carbon dating methods. 

At 2pm past NYSAA President Dr. Bill Engelbrecht will present ” Early Late Woodland Pottery from Northwest Pennsylvania” Current terminology used to describe ceramics in the Northeast presents a challenge for both avocational and professional. In some cases two or more ceramic type descriptions overlap while in other cases type names in different areas describe similar material. Some types describe ceramics used for a long period of time, rendering them poor temporal indicators. Using an attribute approach provides a clearer picture of individual specimens but renders comparison with ceramics from other sites problematic unless they are described using the same system. This presentation describes ceramics from a pre-Iroquoian multi-component site in northwest Pennsylvania using a revised ceramic typology coupled with an attribute approach.

At 3pm, SRAC's David Moyer will present, "Prehistoric and Early Historic Native Landscapes in the Upper Susquehanna Valley." The late prehistory and early history of the Upper Susquehanna Valley has created a unique landscape that has presented many challenges to archaeologists. In the 1300s and 1400s the region boasted a large population of prehistoric farmers. It appears that the valleys were then abandoned until the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when the Susquehanna and Chemung valleys were occupied by Native refugees from other regions displaced  by war and European encroachment. These village communities continued to expand throughout the 18th century until the outbreak of the American Revolution when these settlements were abandoned.

At 4pm, Seneca Native American historian Dick Kane will give a presentation on the cultural history of the Seneca. Mr. Kane will display authentic cultural items and discuss their significance.

At 4pm, the Seneca Dancers will perform, sharing their culture, music, and dance.The Seneca dancers have been a very popular part of SRAC’s Annual event for over a decade.

We invite the public to experience SRAC and what we celebrate every day, our Native American archaeology, prehistory, history and culture - all in one amazing day.

SRAC NEWS: New SRAC Video!

I wanted to share this video with you and ask that you share the video with your family and friends. We have some pretty exciting things going on at SRAC for the coming year and I hope you will continue to be a part of what we do in our community! Thank you Roger Katchuk at First Tioga Reality.

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/-0M1yMeICGI

Link to our donation page: https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving/donate

SRAC Welcomes David Moyer to Their Board

David Moyer

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) in Waverly, NY is honored to announce thelatest addition to their board, David Moyer. David is currently the president of the Chenango Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association and also serves as director of the Roland B. Hill Memorial Museum of Archaeology in Otego, NY, which is operated by the Upper Susquehanna Chapter, NYSAA. He is a Registered Professional Archaeologist and is owner and principal investigator of Birchwood Archaeological Services, a cultural resources consulting company located in Gilbertsville, NY. David completed his Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Binghamton University and received an MA in Anthropology from the University of Montana. He also has written several archaeological reports, journal articles and conference papers.

SRAC’s Cofounder and Director Deb Twigg commented, “The addition of David to our board is a very strong signal of our future plans for our organization. Of the 11 board members, 9 members are either historians and/or archaeologists who are highly respected in New York and Pennsylvania. This along with the future addition of our laboratory/research area on our second floor makes me very excited about the ongoing professional fieldwork and research we are planning that literally has not been done in our region before. It all steers us closer and closer to unlocking this area’s prehistoric past that has been confusing researchers for over a century.” Moyer added, “I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with such a wonderful organization. SRAC is truly a unique and special place, and I hope to bring my experience and enthusiasm for our region’s rich archaeological heritage to the board. I look forward to helping support the SRAC’s mission as we move forward in expanding and improving the organization and the ongoing research.”

SRAC is located at 345 Broad Street Waverly, NY and their museum and gift shop are open 1-5pm Tuesdays through Fridays and Saturdays 11-4pm. To learn more about the organization, visit www.SRACenter.org.

SRAC Reaches Mark for Sowinski Research Center Matching Grant Challenge!

(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center of Native Indian Studies, (SRAC) has announced that it has recently met the goal set for the “SRAC Barbara Sowinski Matching Grant Initiative.”  The Grant Initiative was put in place by Sowinski in order to try to help the Center raise funds by reaching out to the community and raising $10,000 at which point she would match their funds to make the total fundraiser $20,000.

SRAC Co-founder and director, Deb Twigg stated, "I want to personally thank Barbara Sowinski for the opportunity to take part in the $20,000 matching grant challenge. We made our match thanks to so many of you in the community who gave what you could to get us to our $10,000 mark. It's the community minded folks that volunteer and donate to our communities that have made all of the difference in the survival and success of our small non-profits. Thank You."

The grant was an opportunity for the organization to raise $20,000 for their Center’s second floor renovations that will house a Research Center (laboratory, storage and education area) for the Center. Local philanthropist and SRAC member, Barbara Sowinski decided to offer this fundraising opportunity after visiting the SRAC annual event “DrumBeats Through Time” last month and realizing the importance of the work that SRAC is doing – and especially their need to be able to process and study the results of their ongoing archaeological excavation work in the area.

Twigg continued, "Because of the funds raised, we will be moving forward with our SRAC Research Center on our second floor. If you would like to volunteer to help us move furniture, and do some of the light construction, please contact me. This is a huge step in our evolution and will allow us to do the important research that needs to be done in our area and finally answer the many unanswered questions about the pre-Iroquoian / Proto-Susquehannock cultures of our region." Twigg can be reached for more information by email at dtwigg@SRACenter.org.