Thanks for the Visit - Pack 4018!

Ted Keir shares hos knowledge and artifacts with Pack 4018!

We want to thank Amaryah Denlinger with Pack 4018 and the other pack leaders and parents who brought their kids to SRAC for a tour recently!  Ted Keir spent the afternoon sharing his knowledge and his artifacts with everyone  - and each child even received a real net sinker donated by Ted during their visit!

It really is special knowing that we can make these special childhood memories for our kids. In the end we figured there to be around 40 kids and 20 adults who attended the tour! Thanks again to all that made it happen!

Next week we have the whole Waverly Fourth Grade coming in for their annual tour!

Archaeologists identify spear tips used in hunting a half-million years ago

TORONTO, ON – A University of Toronto-led team of anthropologists has found evidence that human ancestors used stone-tipped weapons for hunting 500,000 years ago – 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.
"This changes the way we think about early human adaptations and capacities before the origin of our own species," says Jayne Wilkins, a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto and lead author of a new study in Science. "Although both Neandertals and humans used stone-tipped spears, this is the first evidence that the technology originated prior to or near the divergence of these two species," says Wilkins.
Attaching stone points to spears – known as 'hafting' – was an important advance in hunting weaponry for early humans. Hafted tools require more effort and foreplanning to manufacture, but a sharp stone point on the end of a spear can increase its killing power.

Hafted spear tips are common in Stone Age archaeological sites after 300,000 years ago. This new study shows that they were also used in the early Middle Pleistocene, a period associated with Homo heidelbergensis and the last common ancestor of Neandertals and modern humans.

"It now looks like some of the traits that we associate with modern humans and our nearest relatives can be traced further back in our lineage", Wilkins says.

		IMAGE: These are examples of experimental hafted points from a University of Toronto-led study. Points were hafted to wooden dowels using Acacia resin and sinew and then thrust into a springbok... Click here for more information.

Wilkins and colleagues from Arizona State University and the University of Cape Town examined 500,000-year-old stone points from the South African archaeological site of Kathu Pan 1 and determined that they had functioned as spear tips.

Point function was determined by comparing wear on the ancient points to damage inflicted on modern experimental points used to spear a springbok carcass target with a calibrated crossbow. This method has been used effectively to study weaponry from more recent contexts in the Middle East and southern Africa. The stone points exhibit certain types of breaks that occur more commonly when they are used to tip spears compared to other uses.

"The archaeological points have damage that is very similar to replica spear points used in our spearing experiment," says Wilkins. "This type of damage is not easily created through other processes."

		IMAGE: This is a mounted crossbow used for spearing experiments in a University of Toronto-led study that showed that ~500,000-year-old points from Kathu Pan 1 were used as hafted spear tips.... Click here for more information.

The findings are reported in the paper "Evidence for Early Hafted Hunting Technology" published in the November 16, 2012 issue of Science. Other authors contributing to the study are Benjamin Schoville from Arizona State University, Kyle Brown of the University of Cape Town, and University of Toronto archaeologist Michael Chazan. Funding for the research was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Science Foundation, and the Hyde Family Foundation. Logistical support came from the South African Heritage Resources Agency and the McGregor Museum, Kimberley, South Africa.
 
The points were recovered during 1979-1982 excavations by Peter Beaumont of the McGregor Museum. In 2010, a team directed by Chazan reported that the point-bearing deposits at Kathu Pan 1 dated to ~500,000 years ago using optically stimulated luminescence and U-series/electron spin resonance methods. The dating analyses were carried out by Naomi Porat, Geological Survey of Israel, and Rainer Grün, Australian National University.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Jayne Wilkins
Department of Anthropology
University of Toronto
jayne.wilkins@utoronto.ca
Sean Bettam
Communications, Faculty of Arts & Science
University of Toronto
s.bettam@utoronto.ca
416-946-7950

SRAC and Waverly’s Boy Scout Pack 4011 Team Up

From left to right pictured are SRAC's Janet Andrus, Scout Leader Peg Tracy, scouts Eric Sharpsteen , Scout Leader Bill Snyder, and SRAC's Barb Richards.

(WAVERLY, NY)The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) and Waverly’s Boy Scout Pack 4011 teamed up recently to collect dog and cat food for Stray Haven. Several bags of food were collected and two trips were made with food for the animals.

SRAC’s Deb Twigg said, “Thank you to Peg Tracy and Pack 4011 for joining up with SRAC to get food for Stray Haven. What a great example we set for the kids today about what COMMUNITY means.”

SRAC Receives $1,000 from GVCC

Dave Rosenbloom, GVCC, Val Jacowski, Tioga Point Museum, Ken Bracken, Sayre Historical Museum, Deb Twigg, SRAC, Greg Joseph, GVCC

Special thanks to the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce(GVCC)! Recently they held an auction fundraiser for all of the local museums, with each of our organizations receiving $1,000 as a result! The GVCC is a great supporter of all of the communities of the Valley, and we appreciate their recent efforts!

"Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain" Exhibit Opens to the Public Tuesday!

Did you hear about this amazing exhibit in MAIZE (corn) which covers from the ancient uses through current technologies and research of this amazing grain that is used more than any other grain in the world? No- its not in Syracuse, NYC, or Ithaca....

It's right here in the Valley- at SRAC! Opens to the public Tuesday November 6th!

Enter the exhibit and begin the journey!

Maize is the largest production crop in the world and plays a central role in all of United States agriculture and food production. Explore the science of maize, one of the most significant crops to humankind for thousands of years, and why it continues to surprise us today.

This ancient grain was among the many organisms that evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin examined. In his travels to South America, Darwin recognized the tremendous variation in maize and its long history of intentional breeding. In regards to domestication, Darwin stated, “Although man does not cause variability and cannot even prevent it, he can select, preserve, and accumulate the variations given to him by the hand of nature almost in any way which he chooses; and thus he can certainly produce a great result” (from The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Charles Darwin, 1868).

There is alot of interactivity around each corner waiting for you!

The exhibition explores how scientists utilize the process of evolution to encourage the selection of “functional” and useful mutations for increased disease resistance, healthier and larger plants, and maintained diversity. The natural diversity within a species can provide a plant with a buffer against changes in its environment, providing the plant with the flexibility to adapt. Scientists are using conventional and molecular plant breeding to combat world health issues, such as Vitamin A Deficiency, a major health problem for millions of people in the developing world. In extreme situations, for example drought or disease epidemics, diversity can be essential for the survival of the population.

Put on your safety glasses and grind corn like the ancients!

Learn about fascinating advances in the science of plant genetics, the history, the process, and the controversies. Don't miss this opportunity to explore evolution in action through history and science in Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain. Funding for this exhibition is from the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program DBI-0820619.

This exhibition is developed and managed by the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth located in Ithaca, New York and has traveled the country, landing in Waverly, NY only until January 26th - Come and see for yourself why everyone continues to say - "There's Always Something Going on at SRAC!"

Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain Exhibition Opens November 6th for the Public

Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain Exhibition Opens November 6th for the Public; SRAC Members are invited to our private unveiling on Monday, November 5th at 7pm!

What is maize? Why is it important? How has it changed? 

If you are an SRAC member, you are cordially invited to the unveiling of  Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain exhibit! If you attended the African Exhibit unveiling party last year - you know that this event is a really special time for us to celebrate our friendships and our new exhibit with great food lots of fun! Please call SRAC at (607)565-7960 or email info@SRACenter.org to RSVP!

WAVERLY, NY (10/27/2012) – The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) announces the opening of Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain. Maize is the largest production crop in the world and plays a central role in all of United States agriculture and food production. Explore the science of maize, one of the most significant crops to humankind for thousands of years, and why it continues to surprise us today.

This ancient grain was among the many organisms that evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin examined. In his travels to South America, Darwin recognized the tremendous variation in maize and its long history of intentional breeding. In regards to domestication, Darwin stated, “Although man does not cause variability and cannot even prevent it, he can select, preserve, and accumulate the variations given to him by the hand of nature almost in any way which he chooses; and thus he can certainly produce a great result” (from The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Charles Darwin, 1868).

The exhibition explores how scientists utilize the process of evolution to encourage the selection of “functional” and useful mutations for increased disease resistance, healthier and larger plants, and maintained diversity. The natural diversity within a species can provide a plant with a buffer against changes in its environment, providing the plant with the flexibility to adapt. Scientists are using conventional and molecular plant breeding to combat world health issues, such as Vitamin A Deficiency, a major health problem for millions of people in the developing world. In extreme situations, for example drought or disease epidemics, diversity can be essential for the survival of the population.

Learn about fascinating advances in the science of plant genetics, the history, the process, and the controversies. Don't miss this opportunity to explore evolution in action through history and science in Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain. Funding for this exhibition is from the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program DBI-0820619.

This exhibition is developed and managed by the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth located in Ithaca, New York. At the Museum of Earth, you can explore the Earth’s past and understand your role in its present and future through a unique mix of natural history displays, interactive science features, and art exhibitions. Touch and feel history through hands-on exploration of fossils and dinosaurs at Discovery Labs. View more than 650 specimens from PRI’s world-class collections, including the skeletons of the Hyde Park Mastodon and Right Whale No. 2030.  Enjoy the 500-foot art mural, Rock of Ages, Sands of Time. PRI is affiliated with Cornell University.

SRAC's Deb Twigg commented, "This specific exhibit was also at the "Corn Palace" in Iowa recently an is a huge accomplishment to be able to get it here in Waverly, NY for a few months, so don't miss your chance to experience it. In addition to the exhibit that will fill our huge lecture hall area, SRAC will also provide a station for visitors of all ages to use actual mortars and pestles to experience grinding corn in the way that the ancient people of our region did."

The exhibition opens at SRAC at 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY on Tuesday, November 6th, with a private unveiling event for members the night before, and runs until January 26th.  The SRAC exhibit hall filled with thousands of local Native American artifacts is also open along with the Maize exhibit and tours will be available for both areas. General admission donations are accepted for the general public of $3 per adult and $2 per senior.  All school tours, kids under 18 and SRAC members get free admission to SRAC every day. (School tours should be scheduled with the Center beforehand.) For more information visit http://www.SRACenter.org or call the Center at (607)565-7960.

Archaeological Conservancy Purchases 2 Iroquois Sites

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that The Archaeological Conservancy has purchased the property of two two different archaeological sites relative the Cayuga people, both dated around the middle of the 16th century.

 The Journal reports that "The larger property, a 34-acre parcel known as the Indian Fort Road site, had been known to scholars since the late 19th century. Cornell University researchers who excavated the site in the mid-1990s found evidence of a palisade under the property's distinctive earthworks, indicating the village may have been fortified during a period of intertribal warfare between members of the Iroquois Confederacy and other Eastern Woodland tribes." and the second, "known as the Carman site, is believed to date back to the late 1500s. Archaeologists from the University of Pittsburgh have conducted several excavations at the site since the 1990s, uncovering evidence of the longhouses the Cayugas lived in. The work has uncovered the remnants of a culture that today's Cayugas still relate to, said Kathleen Allen, the University of Pittsburgh anthropologist who has led the digs at the Carman site."

To read the full article click here:  http://online.wsj.com/article/APd56060e3a7ff46c0885b9d070979d58d.html