Pack 17 Cub Scouts Visit SRAC

We'd like to thank Rebecca Smith for bringing her Cub Scout Pack 17 to share the afternoon with Ted Keir today! You guys are awesome kids and we' hope to see you again soon!

When I asked Matthew what his favorite part of his trip to SRAC was, he said. "I loved EVERYTHING!"

From left to right: Aaron Smith, Matthew Rilloraza, Brice Mashas, and SRAC's Ted Keir.

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Lincoln Street Returns with "Canoe of Thanks"

As many of you might recall, last week we hosted the 4th grade of Waverly's Lincoln Street School for a field trip which took the kids on a journey through our prehistoric past that we hope that they will share with their own kids someday. During the field trip the group was broken into three subgroups in order to rotate through three stations to include Ted Keir - "Hunting the Woolly Mammoth in Our Region," Dick Cowles "Early American Trade in Our Region," which included a birch bark canoe, trade axes and beads, and animal furs, and Jack Andrus, "Native American Children's Stories" to include one about a bear hiding a star in an apple which is always a favorite!

The picture shown here is of Ted Keir with the remote control woolly mammoth, atlatl and stone tools on the table and with the big woolly mammoth seemingly listening in there in the background!

In the coming weeks the kids will make projects that will be brought in to SRAC and the public will be invited to come in and vote (with pennies) on their favorites, with all proceeds benefiting their class for supplies and whatever they need - so stay tuned!

This afternoon, Cathy Hand, one of the 4th grade teachers (shown above) came in with a gift from the kids that I just had to share with all of you! It was a huge paper canoe with all of the kids thank you's and drawings from the field trip on it. Here are just a few of their notes on the huge canoe! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and will stop in sometime and read them all!

(Click on any of the pictures below to enlarge.)



SRAC is a nonprofit organization and is staffed 100% by volunteers. I am very proud of all of the things we are doing for our community and I hope that you share this posting with others who might want to know more about us! You can do so by simply clicking the following link:

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Jewelry Class this Saturday!

When: Sat, November 6, 11:30am – 1:30pm

Where : SRAC - 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY (map)

Local lapidary Ellen Sisco is an artist or artisan who is very knowledgeable about working stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials into decorative items. On Saturday, November 9th from 11:30 - 1:30 pm, Ellen will conduct her first class at SRAC in basic beading. Supplies include beads and all accessories to complete a necklace. Precious stones, clips, glass beads and polished glass chips are among the variety of beads that the attendees will be able to choose from. Fees for this two hour beading class is $25.

Examples of the jewelry that can be made can be seen by using the following links:

http://www.sracenter.org/store/sisco1.jpg

http://www.sracenter.org/store/sisco2.jpg

http://www.sracenter.org/store/sisco3.jpg

http://www.sracenter.org/store/sisco4.jpg

RSVP's are greatly appreciated by calling the Center at (607)565-7960 or by emailing infi@SRAcenter.org.

Hands-on history at SRAC - News - Daily Review

Yesterday was another one of those days at SRAC where you walk away inspired.

It was the second year in a row that we have held our 4th grade field trip for Waverly's Lincoln Street 4th grade, and I have to tell you that it was a memory maker for all 47 kids and all of us too...

We had three groups made of the students in order to rotate through our three stations every 25 - 30 minutes and then we ended with a question and answer period back out in the lecture hall.

SRAC's Ted Keir, Dick Cowles and Jack Andrus as usual do tremendous jobs getting the kids involved in their topics and have tons of hands on learning tools to assist them.

Special thanks to Lincoln St. teachers Robin Baluvelt and Cathy Hand - - we have a few more things we will be doing with this class in the next few weeks as can be seen in the article by the Daily Review below:

I want to thank D.R. reporter Brian Bishop for making it to SRAC during a hectic election day!

WAVERLY, N.Y. - Fourth-grade students from Waverly's Lincoln Street Elementary School had a chance Tuesday to get up close and personal with their history lessons.

The students took a field trip to the Susquehanna River Archaeology Center (SRAC) Museum in Waverly, the second time the school's fourth graders have visited the museum in as many years. The students heard from Dick Cowles on early European contact with Native Americans in the region; from Ted Keir on hunting the Woolly Mammoth 12-15 thousand years ago; and Jack Andrus told the students some Native American children's stories.

Robin Blauvelt, a fourth grade teacher at Lincoln Street, said the SRAC's exhibits go really well with the New York State fourth grade curriculum. It helps the students to grasp the material when they can have hands-on experience with Native American artifacts, she said, instead of just reading from a textbook. The SRAC has on exhibit many artifacts which were found locally, she said, which helps the students connect what they learn in school to their own area.

Deb Twigg, executive director of SRAC, said that after the students leave the museum, they will complete a special project on Native Americans, such as building a model longhouse. The projects the students complete will then be put on display at SRAC, with SRAC visitors voting on their favorites. The top five selected from that voting will be put on exhibit in the museum for a year, she said.

Brian Bishop can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or e-mail: bbishop@thedailyreview.com.

To read the article on the Daily Review site click here:
Hands-on history at SRAC - News - Daily Review

Origin of skillful stone-tool-sharpening method pushed back more than 50,000 years

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2010) — A highly skillful and delicate method of sharpening and retouching stone artifacts by prehistoric people appears to have been developed at least 75,000 years ago, more than 50,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The new findings show that the technique, known as pressure flaking, took place at Blombos Cave in South Africa during the Middle Stone Age by anatomically modern humans and involved the heating of silcrete -- quartz grains cemented by silica -- used to make tools. Pressure flaking takes place when implements previously shaped by hard stone hammer strikes followed by softer strikes with wood or bone hammers are carefully trimmed on the edges by directly pressing the point of a tool made of bone on the stone artifact.

A paper on the subject was published in the Oct. 29 issue of Science. Other study co-authors included Vincent Mourre of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research in France and Christopher Henshilwood of the University of Bergen in Norway and director of the Blombos Cave excavation. The research was funded by the Wenner Gren Foundation of New York.

"Using the pressure flaking technique required strong hands and allowed toolmakers to exert a high degree of control on the final shape and thinness that cannot be achieved by percussion," Villa said. "This control helped to produce narrower and sharper tool tips." The bifacial points, known as Still Bay points, likely were spearheads, she said.

The authors speculated that the pressure flaking technique may have been invented in Africa and used sporadically before its later, widespread adoption in Europe, Australia and North America. North American archaeologists have shown that Paleoindians used the pressure flaking technique to fashion stone points likely used to hunt a menagerie of now-extinct mammals like mammoths, mastodons and ancient horses.

To read the full article at ScienceDaily.com use the following link:

Origin of skillful stone-tool-sharpening method pushed back more than 50,000 years

It's Not Too Late !

If you have already supported us during the 2010 Giving Campaign - Thank You!

If you have not, it's not too late!

You can donate online at http://www.SRACenter.org/Donations or you can download our 2010 Giving Campaign form here.

Thank you for helping us make 2010 the huge success that it has been and for helping us to look forward to what we can accomplish in 2011!

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Huge Attendance at SRAC Halloween Party

Valley kids had a real Halloween treat at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) in Waverly on Saturday. The Center hosted a costume party and hayride that was free for all to attend. Families who attended were first greeted by costumed SRAC board members who led them to the very popular hayride provided by Jim Kier (Red Tail Mulch.) Kier's daughter, Jody drove the tractor starting at SRAC and traveling around Muldoon Park throughout the event.

Once attendees unloaded from the hayride and entered SRAC, they were were offered refreshments that included pizza, donuts, cupcakes and cookies, and apple cider that were all donated for the occasion. Games throughout the night included a pumpkin coloring contest, "pin the tusk on the mammoth," a concentration game, and a "find the cats" game. The night concluded with a costume contest for both adults and children. Every child won at least one prize as well as received a trick or treat bag filled with candy and great prizes.

SRAC's Deb Twigg said, "This event was one of those that are a running theme at SRAC, where we host a free community event and are assisted by other Valley businesses and organizations who help us make it a success. Parrish Deli, Stroehman's Just Desserts, and Tops really stepped up and we really appreciate it. I also want to thank the VFW for making a hundred dollar donation towards the event as well. Last but not least I want to thank all of the SRAC volunteers that worked so hard all week setting up and at the event. By working together, we all gave a lot of families who attended a night to remember!"