Friday, August 30, 2013

"Nature and America's Perceptions" to be presented at SRAC

Nature: From Howling Wilderness to Vacation Destination, a lecture by Charles Mitchell, professor at Elmira College, will be presented at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC)  at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY on Tuesday 3rd, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

Drawing on landscape painting, photography, traveler's accounts, and other sources, this presentation explores the evolution of American attitudes towards nature. Beginning with perceptions of the American landscape as a howling wilderness, a wasteland to be tamed and transformed, the lecture traces the social, cultural and economic forces that led to the perception of wild nature as something of value to be experienced and preserved. Key topics and figures along the way include the sublime, romanticism, Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School, John Muir, Ansel Adams, and the Lorax.

Admission donations of $6 for adults and $4 for SRAC Members are requested with students always attending SRAC for free! Free admission to the SRAC museum is included in the admission donation for the event.

New Series of Beadworking Classes Begin at SRAC

New Series of Beadworking Classes Begin at SRAC:
Saturday, September 14th begins the new series of of beadworking classes  at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center at 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY from 11:30 am - 1:30pm.

Have you ever wished that you could find that one necklace or bracelet that would go with that special sweater or outfit that you like to wear? Have you ever wanted a special necklace that could show off a family heirloom or pendant? Have you ever just wanted to find a necklace made of that special gemstone or color scheme that you like so much? Many jewelers are adding custom jewelry making to their services to fill this need, but SRAC is offering the opportunity for people to create their own beaded jewelry at a fraction of the cost and with high quality gemstones!

On the Second Saturday of each month, Ellen Sisco holds classes at SRAC in basic and intermediate beading. Supplies include beads and all accessories to complete a necklace or bracelet. Hundreds of precious stones, clips, glass beads and polished glass chips are among the variety of items that the attendees will be able to choose from.

You can also call SRAC and request specific colors and/or gemstones that you want to make your jewelry with! Ellen will facilitate your needs and help you make the perfect piece of jewelry for yourself or for a gift for someone else. Fees for this two hour beading class is $25. RSVP's are greatly appreciated by calling the Center at (607)565-7960 or by emailing info@SRAcenter.org.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Nature: From Howling Wilderness to Vacation Destination

Nature: From Howling Wilderness to Vacation Destination, a lecture by Charles Mitchell, professor at Elmira College, will be presented at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC)  at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY on Tuesday 3rd, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

Drawing on landscape painting, photography, traveler's accounts, and other sources, this presentation explores the evolution of American attitudes towards nature. Beginning with perceptions of the American landscape as a howling wilderness, a wasteland to be tamed and transformed, the lecture traces the social, cultural and economic forces that led to the perception of wild nature as something of value to be experienced and preserved. Key topics and figures along the way include the sublime, romanticism, Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School, John Muir, Ansel Adams, and the Lorax.

Admission donations of $6 for adults and $4 for SRAC Members are requested with students always attending SRAC for free! Free admission to the SRAC museum is included in the admission donation for the event. Nature: From Howling Wilderness to Vacation Destination

SRAC antiques, household goods and collectables on sale 9/29!

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) is announcing a follow-up to their Waverly’s Attic event that is meant to not only sell the remaining items from the auction, but additional antiques, household goods and other great items too.

The first week we tried this we made $300 and decided that we might as well do it again!

If you have items you want to donate for the sale that will most likely continue through September- we will also be happy topick them up if you want or you can drop them off ay SRAC during normal business hours.

The sale will take place out of the former village hall at 358 Broad Street, Waverly, NY on Thursday, August 29th from 9am to 4pm and proceeds will benefit SRAC. 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Follow-up Antique Sale Planned for Aug 22nd

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center(SRAC) is announcing a follow-up to their Waverly’s Attic event held on August 11th that is meant to not only sell the remaining items from the auction, but additional antiques, household goods and other great items too. The sale will take place out of the former village hall at 358 Broad Street, Waverly, NY on Thursday, August 22nd from 9am to 4pm and proceeds will benefit SRAC. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Ancient Pennsylvania dwelling still divides archeologists

AVELLA, Pa. (AP) — A fluke rainstorm at an ancient rock shelter in western Pennsylvania has brought a renowned archeologist back to the site of where a furious debate was launched in 1973 over when the first humans came to the Americas.

As a young archeologist, Jim Adovasio found radiocarbon evidence that humans had visited the Meadowcroft site 16,000 years ago. To archeologists it was a stunning discovery that contradicted the so-called Clovis first theory, which dated the first settlement in the Americas to New Mexico about 13,000 years ago.

The question is important because it ties into bigger questions on how and why so many different cultures developed in the Americas, and whether they all descended from one group that came across from Asia or arrived in multiple waves.

On that question, Adovasio's theory of multiple visits has mostly won out since other pre-Clovis sites have been discovered in North and South America.

The picture of early humans in the Americas "is so much more complicated than we ever thought it was 40 years ago," said Adovasio, a Mercyhurst University professor who returned to Meadowcroft after a decayed tree root let heavy rain flow into a part of the enclosed dig area in late July. The damage was unfortunate but presented an opportunity to re-examine the site, he said.

Meadowcroft is located on the banks of a small stream, about 7 miles upstream from the Ohio River. The overhanging sandstone ledges provided a perfect place for roving band of early humans to shelter from the elements.

"It has all the attractions of a prehistoric Holiday Inn, and that's why they used it," Adovasio said, noting that some early groups stayed for only a few days, but the spot was passed down through oral histories and people returned, eventually for longer periods.

The site was discovered when local historian Albert Miller found artifacts in a groundhog hole on family land in 1955, and he sought out professional archeologists to investigate.

Dennis Jenkins, a leading archeologist from the University of Oregon, agrees with Adovasio's broader points about the Clovis debate, but said some still have questions about Meadowcroft's exact age.

Jenkins said the main concerns are whether the earliest plant remains that helped date the Meadowcroft site are accurate, but he added that it looks like Adovasio "has done very meticulous work at Meadowcroft."

A recent poll of archeologists found that opinions on Meadowcroft are still divided, with about 38 percent agreeing with Adovasio's dates, the same number unsure, and about 20 percent saying it isn't that old, according to a study published last year in the Society for American Archaeology.

Regardless, it is clear Meadowcroft has helped to change the way some younger archeologists think. Instead of holding onto Clovis, they're open to multiple possibilities.

"I like archeology because it keeps changing," said Anne Marjenin, the 28-year-old director of the Mercyhurst Archeological Center lab, as she recorded details of the new Meadowcroft dig last week. "I don't think we should just dismiss any kind of evidence because there may not be a lot of it."

At Meadowcroft, archaeologists scrape away at layers of sand and dirt with razor blades, bagging each layer for separate laboratory analysis.

The current dig is examining the flood-damaged section in hopes of uncovering more details about the layers of the site that date from roughly 3,000 to 7,000 years ago, Adovasio said.

But the bigger message is that even as archeologists learn more about Meadowcroft, other possibilities beckon.
Adovasio said there are other prehistoric sites near Meadowcroft, and he believes some of them have evidence of very early visits, too.

The Meadowcroft site is a National Historic landmark and is open to the public from Wednesday through Sunday during the summer. Visitors can watch the dig from a special observation platform built around the site.
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Online: http://bit.ly/3JxsU6
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

This Tuesday, August 6th : Spanish Hill and Carantouan

"Carantouan" shown on 1632 map

Who were the first Europeans to have entered the Valley? Who was Stephen Brule - the namesake of "Camp Brule"? What does "Carantouan" mean? What was Spanish Hill used for by the Native Americans who lived here? All of these questions and more will be answered on Tuesday, August 6th from 6:30 - 7:30pm at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY by author and local historian, Deb Twigg as she presents, "Spanish Hill and Carantouan."

Nearly 400 years ago, the Native Americans living in the Valley were visited by strangers from a far away land and their lives were about to be changed forever. Go back to that time and see how different our Valley was and who the people were that lived here. Twigg's presentation will unfold the story and show the data that she used to prove our area was in fact "Carantouan" in an article published in the "Pennsylvania Archaeologist" journal in 2005, overturning prior archaeological stances on the topic and still standing unchallenged by archaeologists today.

Visitors are invited to come early as there is limited seating for this event, and to take time to visit the SRAC Exhibit Hall before the presentation. A general admission donation is requested of $6, with SRAC members $4, and students free, and admission to the Exhibit Hall is free during the event.


http://www.waverlysattic.com
The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) Fundraiser event dubbed, "Waverly's Attic" is gearing up to be an amazing day for the downtown Waverly area. With a huge auction jam packed with incredible local antiques, collectibles, and household items that will run from noon til 6pm and over twenty vendors in the street let alone the sidewalk sales, and other activities planned in it's first year- this may just become an annual event for the Valley!

A really rare book that was recently added to the auction is this Bradford County History (1770 - 1878) in GREAT condition and jam packed with lithographs.

Craft, The Reverend David; 1770-1878 History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominient Men and Pioneers, originally published 1878 by L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia,
Below you can see a small sampling of the incredible items that will be in our auction - AND WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING ITEMS ! (VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR THE EVENT HERE!)

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