Be An Archaeologist for a Day!

SRAC began excavating a local Native American site 2016 that is on the verge of being erased by the plow and impacted by modern land use. Lead by archaeologist Dan Caister and anthropologist Dr. Wymer, (both board members of SRAC) our excavations have revealed that the site is over 1000 years old and may be the remains of an ancient village - most importantly our research is yielding important information concerning the ancient people who once lived in our area. It is our hope to collect whatever data is still available before it is gone forever.  

Would you like to join our excavation? SRAC will be holding a public archaeology day on October 26th or 27th.

SIGN UP NOW!

Here's how it works:
1.) Download our SRAC Public Archaeology form by clicking here and fill it out, you will need to bring this along with your $25 entrance fee to SRAC on the day of the event.

2.) You can use this link https://teaoga.wufoo.com/forms/p1vusiq1ux5npf/ to signup here !

Please note that the shifts (2 per day) will be 9 am and 1 pm each day. You will need to state which day you will be able to attend on the sign up form.

There are a limited amount of openings, so you will be notified of your status once we have received the information we need.

Lastly please wear comfortable clothing with comfortable closed toe footwear. You will get an SRAC bag with water, etc so there is no need to bring your own water.

16th Annual Drumbeats Through Time Event, Saturday, October 19th

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) located at 358 Broad Street Waverly, NY is announcing the 16th Annual “DrumBeats Through Time” to be held on Saturday October 19th, 2019. The SRAC Annual Membership Luncheon will be held from 11-12:30, and the doors open to the public from 1-5pm. The event is free to attend.

Doors open to the public at 1pm.

1:30 pm SRAC’s Dr. DeeAnne Wymer and Dan Caister will present the 2019 and overall findings from the 3 years of excavation at the Desisti site in Sayre, PA including an important discovery of ancient elk remains.

2:00 pm Vivian James, PhD candidate at the University of Albany and  faunal remains specialist will present her findings and incites concerning the elk remains found at the Desisti site.

SRAC's Tom Vallilee works on one of the sets of ancient elk antler excavated at the Desisti Site

2:30 pm SRAC’s David Moyer will present some carbon dating that SRAC with the cooperation of the Tioga Point Museum in Athens, PA has performed on a few well known sites in the area (that before this time actually had no scientific dates applied to them) and what effects SRAC’s efforts with carbon dating can have on our understanding of our region’s past and the people who lived here.

3:15 pm Dick Kane will present cultural history of the Seneca people.

4:00 pm Dick Kane and Family will provide authentic Seneca Native American dance and drumming which will also include an invitation for the public to take part.

SRACs Cofounder and Director Deb Twigg added, “The Seneca dancers have been a very popular part of SRAC’s Annual event for over a decade. They have been sharing their culture with our community and are animportant part of the day's events. We invite the public to experience SRAC and what we celebrate, our archaeology, heritage and the Native American culture - all in one amazing day.”

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. 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 re-up the day of the event.