SRAC "River, Rocks, and Time"

Be An Archaeologist for a Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 18:34:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 19:05:00 +0000

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.

Drumbeats Through Time: Saturday October 19th, 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 14:34:00 +0000

SRAC's Annual Drumbeats Through Time: Saturday October 19th, 2019

Hey everybody - it's that time of the year and we have a bunch of great things planned for this year's Drumbeats Through Time event! Hope to see you there!

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center’s 16^th Annual Drumbeats Through Time event has been scheduled for Saturday, October 19^th at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY.

SRAC’s Drumbeats event is meant to celebrate the Native American heritage of our region from the prehistoric past, present and future. The free public event runs from 1-5pm and includes speakers, presentations and authentic Seneca cultural education and dances. A membership luncheon precedes the event for all current SRAC members from 11 – 12:30pm. The day’s events schedule is as follows:

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 a faunal remains specialist will present her findings and incites concerning the elk remains found at the Desisti site.

2:30 pm SRAC’s David Moyer will present some carbon dating that SRAC 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.

If you are a current member, you are invited to attend the annual luncheon beginning at 11:00 am - 12:30pm where you can visit with other members, see a presentation about the current and future efforts of SRAC, and even win great prizes! If you need to update your annual membership - stop in SRAC before the event, update it at the event, or simply click here to update it online. If you aren't sure if you need to renew yet - just give us a call at (607)565-7960 and we can let you know. (You can also forward this to others to join before the event too!)

During the same month we host a Public Archaeology day and we invite the public to sign up to take part in the actual excavation and to learn from our professional staff about what we are finding and how it is found. Click here to learn more!

Deb Twigg
Executive Director, SRAC
607-727-3111

SRAC NEWS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 18:36:00 +0000

I wanted to thank all of you who support SRAC and our mission. Our Center has grown so much since 2005 when Ted Keir, Dick Cowles and I only dreamed of it and even having a building too that could house a museum, lecture hall and gift shop.

Inspired by the early excavations and reports of nearly 100 years ago, our ultimate goal has always been to get back out to these sites with modern knowledge and technology and update the information and understanding of our prehistoric and early historic past. I am honored to report that over the last few years we have actually been doing just that. Our team led by Dr. Deeanne Wymer and Dan Caister have made huge discoveries at our first site that will soon be published in both PA and NY Archaeological journals and used by researchers for years to come.

Dr. Wymer and Tom Vallilee overseeing work by Bloomsburg students at our excavation site

2018 was our second year to offer a Public Archaeology Day where you can actually come out and be a part of our excavation. If you missed it and have a Facebook login, you can watch a great video of the many discoveries that day to include 1,000 year old ELK ANTLERS! here:

The Barbara Sowinski Lab: For those of you who missed the unveiling at our last annual Drumbeats program, the need for a laboratory became evident as we began our excavation work and we were blessed to get a seed matching donation from Barabara Sowinski for our lab which is currently under construction on our second floor. Walls are up, windows are in, lights and electric are in, insulation and ceiling tiles (we are looking for more if you have any that you'd like to donate) being added right now. We need to finish up the floor, add the bathroom and wet lab area then start adding equipment and furniture next. FYI: If not for our Tom Vallilee, I can tell you that none of this could have been achieved as he does most of the labor as a volunteer.

In fact we continue to be staffed 100% by volunteers, which is an amazing statement for the Center and the people who are working so hard to achieve it's goals every year. Currently, we also have four gift shop volunteers that try their best to keep our doors open 5 days a week. Rose Carpenter, Donna Blanton, Tim Ellis, and newbie Gary Eltringham are hard working, dedicated Center and community members that we all are so lucky to have on our team every week. If you'd like to volunteer at the museum, please contact me to learn more!

It humbles me to report that to date SRAC now has three archaeologists on our staff with the most recent addition of Dave Moyer, who has been with us in the background for many years now. In 2018 Dave, who wears many hats within NYS Archaeology professional and avocational organizations also owns his own Archaeology company in Norwich, NY. We are blessed to have Dave and his knowledge and expertise. He is well respected throughout New York State and within SRAC.

Dave Moyer

It's also hard to believe that 2018 was our FIFTEENTH "Drumbeats Through Time" event filled with great presentations, our membership annual luncheon, and of course the Kane Family Seneca Traditional Dance exhibition. The Kanes come from the Cattaraugus Seneca Reservation in Erie County, NY and travel a long way to be a part of our annual celebration for over a decade and are part of our SRAC family. We are blessed to have them come every year to share authentic Seneca traditions with us. "Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the past and present but also the coming generations…- The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations"

Part of the Kane Family Traditional Seneca Dance Troupe

Some of you have asked about the SRAC Journal that was published several times a year in the past. Unfortunately, SRAC's cofounder and board member Susan Fogel has been diagnosed with a quite debilitating health issue and no longer can commit to the Journal. We do however hope to get it back to publication in the future. Thank you for your patience.

Susan Fogel looks down at the excavation underway

Goals in 2019 include finishing the laboratory and a more accessible library as well as beginning a new site for our excavations and publishing the article on the last site work.

Again I want to thank all of you for supporting SRAC over the years and allowing us to do this important work for our region and PA and NY Archaeology as a whole. I am blessed and honored to be a part of this amazing organization that Ted, Dick and I only dreamed could be just a few years ago.

But without your support, we simply will not be able to continue our work. We do not receive state or federal funding and literally ALL of funding comes from our community.

We do accept antiques, collectables, used furniture that we can sell at the Crooked River Co-op, and 100% of the sale goes back the SRAC as a fundraiser every month. Over the years we have raised quite a bit from generous people that either are cleaning out their garages, shops, homes or estates, and we have volunteers who will come and pick up as well. We also can give you a donation letter for these donations based on market value for your taxes next year. If you have items and or questions, please contact me to learn more.

I hope that you will consider supporting us in 2019. You can donate online via our GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving&rcid=r01-155163632376-e13fa6a08c7d426c&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w

or you can download a mail in form here: https://www.scribd.com/document/400962898/SRAC-Donation-Form

SRAC Donation Form by dtwigg123 on Scribd

JOIN US!
To become a member, click here: https://sracenter.wordpress.com/memberships/

Thank you for whatever you can do!
And, please share where you can.

Thanks again for all you do.

Deb Twigg
dtwigg@sracenter.org
607-727-3111
Visit SRAC's Website: http://www.sracenter.org/

DrumBeats Through Time Scheduled for October 6th

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 14:56:00 +0000

(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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 16:12:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 20:46:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 21:50:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 21:22:00 +0000

(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.

Update on the Barbara Sowinki Matching Grant Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 15:44:00 +0000

I wanted to give all of you an update on the Barbara Sowinski Matching Grant Challenge. As of today we are within reach of our goal and just need a little more help to put us over the top!

We were blessed by having Patty Merril Brunk show up by chance with a car load of laboratory equipment donated by her employer, Midwestern Pet Foods in Waverly, NY. It was a gift out of nowhere that really had a big effect on our grant status, as Barbara allowed us to take $5,000 of the $10,000 goal for us to reach in six months.

We also were blessed to have all of you who have donated and shared our info with others asking them to donate. Within the first month we have already raised $3,600.00 in cash donations!

So at this point we are at around $7,750 with just $2,250 to go to make our $10,000 and get ANOTHER $10,000 for making the challenge! So I am asking you to help us make the push to make a HUGE Christmas present for SRAC and help us get to that $10,000 mark.

Thanks Everybody! I'll keep you updated as we continue this challenge!

Hi everybody! I just wanted to share this important announcement with you that will be in the newspaper in the coming days. Simply put, we have been challenged to come up with $10,000 in order to get another $10,000 (for a total of $20,000) in order to build our second floor space into the research, lab and storage areas that we so desperately need. Up to $5,000 of that $10,000 we need to raise can be "in-kind" donations, that being building supplies, lab furniture and equipment, and other physical items we can use to build or use in our new area. Please spread the word, and try to help us reach this goal. I appreciate all you do!

Donate to the Barbara Sowinski Matching Grant Initiative here:

https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving

(Waverly, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center of Native Indian Studies, (SRAC) is announcing a funding opportunity for their nonprofit organization, the “SRAC Barbara Sowinski Matching Grant Initiative.” The grant is an opportunity for the organization to raise $20,000 for their Center’s second floor renovations that will house a 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.

For the past two years, SRAC has undertaken the excavation and documentation of a Native American site that dates to around 1050 A.D. in an area that is being impacted by modern land use and construction along the Susquehanna River. In the summer and fall of 2016, individuals came together, guided by professional archaeologists and scholars, to excavate portions of a prehistoric village. Pottery specimens, broken stone implements, traces of food debris, and other snapshots of the original people of this place and space were recovered. Work is now continuing with cataloging and analyzing these materials. However, without the laboratory facilities available at the Center, the work and depth of research available has been hindered.

With the need for laboratory space in mind, Sowinski met with SRAC’s executive director, Deb Twigg recently to discuss her funding offer of a matching grant. The stipulations of the grant is that Sowinski would personally donate $10,000 to raise a total of $20,000 for the second floor laboratory space for the Center if SRAC can match the offered $10,000 funding. However, if the Center cannot raise $10,000, she would not make a donation towards the project. Twigg explains, “Barbara’s offer of this generous amount is amazing and challenging at the same time. As many of you know we are a small organization with all volunteer staffing and work on a shoestring budget of less than $5,000. At the same time SRAC has undergone huge growth over our first decade and our next step is the laboratory facilities for our Center. We are truly amazed that we now have an opportunity to get funding for this. I can’t thank Barabara Sowinski enough for her continued support, but at the same time cannot stress enough that without the community’s help in raising the first $10,000, none of this will be possible.” Twigg also noted that ‘In-kind” donations such as lab equipment, building supplies, laboratory furniture, and storage equipment can also be used for up to $5,000 of the first $10,000 needed.

Lastly, the grant opportunity has a time limit in which it is available and is no longer available after June 1st, 2018 (6 months). As a result, the public is advised to make their donations as soon as possible to help SRAC reach their goal. To make a donation to the SRAC Barbara Sowinski Matching Grant Imitative, visit www.SRACenter.org and click the SRAC Giving Campaign or mail or hand deliver your donation to: SRAC, 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY 14892. All donations are tax deductible as SRAC is a 501C3. If community members have items to donate, please call Deb Twigg at (607)727-3111 or email deb@teaoga.com for more information

SRAC Adds Two Board Members

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 17:18:00 +0000

Sandy Chamberlain

Richard Price

(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) located at 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY announces the addition of two new members to its board , Sandy Chamberlain and Richard Price.

Sandy Chamberlain from Sayre, PA has been a volunteer in the Center’s gift shop for over a year and has taken on many extra duties as needed. Sandy spent 38 years in the nursing profession and co-founded a nonprofit, “Autism Hearts.” When asked why she joined SRAC’s volunteer workforce Sandy explained, “I was looking for a way to give back to the community, so I answered the call to volunteer. The many people involved with SRAC are like family. The level of professionalism, dedication, knowledge and love for what they do is to be envied. It becomes contagious. I am honored to be even a small part of this group working to preserve our local history.”

Richard Price grew up in Lounsberry NY and his interest in archaeology began in the 1970s while attending college. Beginning In 1980 he began documenting artifact collections from surface sites near Owego and Nichols NY. He has been a member of the Triple Cities Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association and has volunteered at a various archeological site excavations. He joined SRAC in 2017 as a volunteer and experienced excavator and became involved in an ongoing effort to create a powerful database resource using the prehistoric artifacts in the collections housed at SRAC. “People lived in the Susquehanna River Valley for over 10,000 years before Europeans arrived and there is a tremendous amount of information which we can obtain from the collections at SRAC. I’m excited about the opportunity to work with local collectors, avocational archaeologists and professional archeologists to develop our database and expand our knowledge about the prehistory of our region.”.

SRAC’s Cofounder and Executive Director, Deb Twigg added, “Any nonprofit in the area realizes the struggle before us to find great volunteers and board members. Our organization actually only enlists board members that have been volunteers at our Center so that we know that their dedication to our mission is already strong. This also makes our board meetings more team oriented, as they all work together week to week in some fashion already, know each other well and understand the items that are brought to our meetings that we need to make decisions on. As a result finding engaged, hard working, and dedicated people like Richard and Sandy is a big win for SRAC, and we are honored to add them both to leadership positions.”

To learn more about SRAC and their volunteer opportunities, visit SRAC at 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY, online at www.SRACenter.org or call Deb Twigg at 607-727-3111.

Morning Times article on SRAC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:22:00 +0000

I have lived in this Valley all of my life. It's times like this that you realize what living in a small town community means and how important it can be to you as a member. While some may complain that there is nothing to do, others come together and MAKE something worthwhile. THAT is what has happened at SRAC, and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

Thank you ALL for all you have done and are doing for our small organization with big dreams, and please consider donating to our matching grant challenge to support our new laboratory facilities! We have a lot more work ahead of us!

Thank you Morning Times and Johnny Williams for such a great article that explains who SRAC is and what are doing for generations to come. (Click the image to read!)

SRAC Matching Grant Challenge Underway

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 17:18:00 +0000

Donate to the Barbara Sowinski Matching Grant Initiative here:

https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving

SRAC Drumbeats Through Time a HUGE Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 17:56:00 +0000

I wanted to share with you the report of yesterday's 14th annual DrumBeats Through Time. From all accounts, it was a memory maker on many levels.

The event started with a huge turnout for our membership luncheon that made us add chairs to an already packed lecture hall. We were delighted to have in our attendance people who traveled as far away as the Wilsons from Pittsburgh, PA, and two NYS Archaeology chapters from the Oneonta region as well. We also had in attendance many local members and friends that have been with us since our inception and some who also have just recently discovered us.

It was my honor to present SRAC's history from our big dreams and writing ideas around a kitchen

table one night to how far we have come since then. I had Dr. DeeAnne Wymer, Dan Caister and Richard Price all report on our most recent work from our internship program with Bloomsburg University and excavation to collections database work. We all elaborated on the fact that we are in dire need of donations to allow us to build a state of the art lab area for us to allow real scientific research to take place under our roof.

The luncheon ended with a tribute to our own Ted Keir whom we lost this year. His widow Evelyn and kids were in attendance as we revealed a large plaque that will be placed in our Woolly Mammoth exhibit of which Ted was the guiding force behind. SRAC Co-Founder Dick Cowles also spoke about Ted and his leadership at SRAC, saying it was Ted's commitment and valor that was so endearing in our organization. I agreed wholeheartedly with Dick's eloquent and perceptive tribute to our dear friend. The membership luncheon event closed with a small powerpoint that I made in Ted's honor. Tears and hugs were shared all around...

Can't see it? click this link: https://youtu.be/SelIOm6SMAo

Here are pictures from the rest of the days events - If you missed them, I posted them live on SRAC's Facebook page, but their quality is pretty poor. Try to attend next year to see all that we pack into one amazing day in person! For those of you that attended - thank you for spending your day with us - we really enjoy putting this annual event on for you and hope to see you again next year!

DrumBeats Through Time 2017 Saturday October 28th

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 16:18:00 +0000

Current members are invited to the luncheon at 11 am - 12:30pm, where exclusive commemorative gifts are a part of the program. If you are not a current member, please visit www.SRACenter.org and join or re-up your membership before the event.

The event begins at 1pm and is free to attend and is jam-packed with educational and cultural presentations throughout the day.

Beginning at 1pm, SRAC’s Presentation Schedule:

1:00 – 2:00 : SRAC's Paul Krohn: NYS Fossils 2017: Former curator at the Museum of the Earth, Paul Krohn will present his latest NYS fossil finds from 2017 and tell us about them and what New York looked like when these creatures were alive in our area.

2:00 - 3:00 : NYSAA's David Moyer, PhD: Tree Ring Dating a Dugout Canoe from The Upper Susquehanna Valley. Recently the Chenango Valley Chapter of NY Archaeology undertook an investigation into a dugout canoe that was first discovered in the 1940’s. Results of the study provides surprising information about Native American technology and subsistence practices on the northern Susquehanna region.

3:00 – 4:00 : SRAC's Dan Caister and Dr. DeeAnne Wymer: The Cayuta Creek Site (An SRAC Excavation Update): Last year SRAC undertook their first excavation at 36BR20 in Sayre, PA with some pretty impressive results leading to new questions about the early people in our region that we shared at our last Drumbeats event. This year’s excavation however has actually uncovered many new features and even more questions to go with them!

4pm - 5:00: Seneca Native American Dancers: Music, Dance and Cultural Education: Richard Kane and his family from Cattaraugus, NY are authentic Seneca Native American educators and have been sharing the Seneca drums, music and dance with the public for decades. They are always the crowd favorite at SRAC’s annual events. Richard will give a short cultural presentation and then will have his family dressed in full regalia share authentic Native American cultural music and dance.

SRAC’s co-founder and director, Deb Twigg explains, “The DrumBeats Through Time event is designed to offer a view of our region from millions of years ago when the fossils we now touch were live creatures crawling and swimming, to the early prehistoric people who lived here before us, to the Native Americans who were first recorded in historic records of our area and finally to the Native Americans that live with us and graciously share their culture with us today. We hope you will plan to support our efforts and attend this one of a kind event.”

SRAC is a 501(c)3 and staffed 100% by volunteers, please consider donating to support their efforts here: https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving

SRAC's "DrumBeats Through Time" Event Scheduled for Oct. 28th

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 20:22:00 +0000

The event begins at 1pm and is free to attend and is jam-packed with educational and cultural presentations throughout the day.

Beginning at 1pm, SRAC’s Presentation Schedule:

SRAC is a 501(c)3 and staffed 100% by volunteers, please consider donating to support their efforts here: https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving

Please RSVP for the 2017 SRAC Membership Luncheon before DrumBeats

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:22:00 +0000

I want to thank all of our members for supporting SRAC over the years and I want to make sure that you remember that you have a free Luncheon on us coming up the day of DrumBeats 2017 at 11 am complete with exclusive prizes and a presentation about our past and future efforts - so please RSVP at 607-565-7960 and let us know if you want to bring a dish to pass (dessert or salad - we will be having pasta and salad and bread catered by the Railhouse but some members like to bring something and we love that too!) If you are not a current member but would like to attend, please re-up or join here: click here to re-up or join today!

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) is proud to announce their 14th annual "DrumBeats Through Time" event to be held at their Center at 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY on Saturday, October 28th.

Current members are invited to the exclusive luncheon at 11 am - 12:30pm. If you are not a current member please click here to re-up or join today!

It is free to attend and jam-packed with educational and cultural presentations throughout the day.

Presentation Schedule:
1:00 – 2:00 : SRAC's Paul Krohn: NYS Fossils 2017
2:00 - 3:00 : NYSAA's David Moyer, Tree Ring Dating a Dugout Canoe from The Upper Susquehanna Valley
3:00 – 4:00 : SRAC's Dan Caister and Dr. DeeAnne Wymer: The Cayuta Creek Site : An SRAC Excavation Update
4pm - 5:00: Seneca Dancers: Music, Dance and Cultural Education

SRAC is a 501(c)3 and staffed 100% by volunteers, please consider donating to support their efforts here: https://www.gofundme.com/SRACGiving

Ways You Can Help

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 17:14:00 +0000

Please consider bringing an item to donate on your next visit! The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) is launching their 2017 giving campaign.

I hope that you can find it in your hearts to support SRAC's efforts dedicated to the research, education, and preservation of our local Native American and archaeological heritage. As we cannot accept state or federal funding, our survival depends on our community and generous individuals like you donating whatever they can. But I also want you to know that there's more than one way that you can help.

As you know I am not only a cofounder and director of the Center, but I also run the Crooked River Co-op across the street. This gives SRAC a unique opportunity to not only receive monetary donations, but also donations of items that we can sell at the co-op. 100% of what we sell your item(s) for goes back to the museum every day.

So as a part of the giving campaign this year I am asking all of you who love our community, love what SRAC is doing, and have an item that you feel we could sell and raise money for the Center with at the Co-op to please consider donating that item. (If You give me a list of your donations with your contact info I will send you a letter for you to claim it on your taxes.) Most importantly, whatever way you choose to support SRAC, I want to thank you in advance for helping our organization staffed 100% by volunteers and committed to serving our community every day. Together we can make a difference. ❤️

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Drumbeats Through Time 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 16:11:00 +0000

2017 SRAC Public Archaeology Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 17:42:00 +0000

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 Saturday, September 23rd with a morning and afternoon shift available.

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.) Click here to sign up !

Please note that the morning shift will be 9 am to 12:30 pm and afternoon shift will be 1pm to 4pm.

You will need to state which shift 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.

“2016 Excavations at the DeSisti Site (36BR20)” Presented at Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology Meeting by SRAC's Board Members

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 16:40:00 +0000

(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) located at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY is very pleased to announce the first formal professional presentation of the results of the 2016 SRAC DeSisti Site Excavations at the 2017 The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) 88th Annual Meeting recently. SRAC’s board members Dan Caister and Dr. DeeAnne Wymer presented the research poster “2016 Excavations at the DeSisti Site (36BR20)” (authored by SRAC’s Dan Caister, DeeAnne Wymer, Tom Vallilee, and Don Hunt) to the combined avocational and professional archaeology association on Saturday, April 8 in Harrisburg. This annual meeting is the most important state-wide event that brings together members of the SPA (both avocational and professional archaeologists) and is combined as well with the annual meeting for the professional archaeologists’ Pennsylvania Archaeology Council (PAC). The event took place over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning and consisted of a series of formal presentations by individuals, research posters in the book room on Saturday, primitive games contests, and a Saturday evening banquet with guest lecture highlighting the meeting.

Somewhere around 30 presentations were given and subjects ranged from historic sites, application of new remote sensing technologies, battlefield archaeology, rockshelter materials, Paleoindian sites, to early Susquehannock language studies. The conference was hosted by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (state museum) and representatives from the state museum, PennDot, ‘contract archaeology’ firms, many different colleges and universities, and various SPA chapters were present. This was a warm and welcoming group and little attention was paid to the “line” between professional and avocational – but simply included individuals passionate about their archaeology and historic resources and the story of their regions.

The SRAC research poster summarized and visually presented the overall excavation methods, the pit features we uncovered and documented, and a nice summation of the number and type of artifacts that were discovered during the excavations. This was also the first opportunity to reveal our radiocarbon dates to a larger, and quite interested, audience. In addition, Dan also brought to the conference several of the very nice larger decorated pottery rim sherds and stone specimens to display on our poster table and it was informative and great fun to listen to a goodly number of archaeologists trying to figure out exactly what pottery type and period our specimens represented. “It was very gratifying to hear people with years of experience in Pennsylvania archaeology making suggestions for continuing our research and offering to provide technical support,” Caister said. The original research poster can be viewed at SRAC and we must once again note that none of this could have been possible without the generosity of the DeSisti family and our many volunteers.

SRAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education, research and preservation of the Native American studies in the region along the northern branch of the Susquehanna River and has many artifacts discovered from the first year excavation work at the Desisti site on display in their museum which is free to visit Tuesdays through Fridays 1-5pm and Saturdays 11-4pm.

SRAC Tag Sale March 25th and 26th

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 19:50:00 +0000

PLEASE SHARE! SRAC's fundraiser tag sale and auction is set for Saturday March 25th and Sunday March 26th. We are still taking donations for this fundraiser of anything from garage items to kitchenware and gently used furniture as well. You can drop off items at SRAC Tuesdays - Fridays 1-5, and Saturdays 11-4 Or you can call me for a pick up. 607-727-3111 100% of your donated item's sale goes directly to SRAC. I want to thank you for for whatever you can do to help.

SRAC Seeks Donations for Fundraiser Tag Sale and Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 17:02:00 +0000

SRAC Seeks Donations for Fundraiser Tag Sale and Auction
Saturday and Sunday, March 25th and 26th
At SRAC, 345 Broad Street Waverly, NY

PLEASE SHARE!

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center(SRAC) will host a fundraiser on March 25th and 26th which will include a tag sale and auction on items that have been added to the sale by the Crooked River Co-op members or donated to SRAC to raise funds. The event is created in conjunction with the Crooked River Co-op, where 100% of every item donated to SRAC goes back to the Center all year round. The event was created to allow the Co-op and SRAC to have a "Clearance Sale" event that will be more centered on benefiting SRAC by not only selling SRAC items, but Co-op members have also agreed to donate a percentage of their sales back to SRAC.

**We will pick up items for the sale! Just let us know if you need a pick up - otherwise bring to to SRAC during normal business hours(Tues -Friday 1-5 or Saturdays 11-4) - a call beforehand is appreciated!

HOW IT WILL WORK:
On Saturday March 25th from 9-1 we will be having a tag sale where items will be tagged for sale

Starting at 2pm, Henry Evans will auction off items left in the sale and additional items we bring in specifically for the auction

On Sunday, we will have a "Fill a Flat for Five Bucks" AND NO REASONABLE OFFER WILL BE IGNORED

Stay tuned for announcements to come!

I want to thank all of you who support our Center and hope that you can find something to add to our fundraiser and plan to attend the event and get some great items as well!

Call me, Deb Twigg at 607-727-3111 or message me here for any questions you might have!

SRAC Grieves as Chairman and CoFounder Ted Keir Passes Away

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 15:14:00 +0000

In 2005, a few citizens of the region dedicated to the preservation of the Native American past of our region came together and formed what we called the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC). One of the most important people to be a part of that group was Mr. Ted Keir.

A few years prior to this I had begun researching Spanish Hill and during that work had met up with Ted Keir. Ted was known as the steward of so much knowledge of our region's history, geology, wildlife and archaeology. If you wanted to know anything about any of those topics, Ted was not only your guy, but he would also be the generous soul who would be happy to share it with your club, school, or any other group that wanted to know about it.

And so it was that I, like so many, ended up at Ted's house, and was invited into his "museum" he had in his cellar. I remember the awe I felt as I walked down those steps that first time, not only because I was welcomed into this special place with ancient artifacts placed in a mixture of lit cases, boxes and shelves, but that I was going to have a "special" tour from the master of this knowledge. That's how Ted made me feel from the first day that I met him...special. I mean there I was in awe of this guy who was an icon in our community - and HE made ME feel special.... and as I got to know him and see him with others, I knew that was his special God given gift... He just knew how to make you feel like what he was teaching you was a special gift, and that once he had gifted it to you, you were somehow better for it, and would hunger for more and more...

As I got to know Ted - I realized that all that he touched with his special gift of knowledge also gained a greater expectation of themselves. Ted was a gentleman and a prideful man, and being in his presence made everybody including myself stand a little straighter and think a little harder than we did before the day that we met him... Even as I speak to others about Ted today, there is a reverence and respect for him and our memories that we share about him.

On our many trips through Bradford, Chemung, Tioga, and Broome Counties and beyond to meetings and presentations Ted shared with me all about his life, his family, his beliefs, his dreams and especially that his favorite ice cream was strawberry, and as the years passed not only did I respect him more and more, I LOVED him more and more...

Ted was in title SRAC's Chairman of the Board, but there are no words to express who he was and forever will be to all of us that have sat with him as we planned out SRAC's mission and vision for our community.

As we bought our building, and began to renovate and eventually moved his museum into the new SRAC museum that we had created, I was so proud to give him his new space where the whole community to could not only enjoy his collection with all the others that we have, but that he could share his special gift with them. And the 4th graders that came for field trips made it clear year after year that Ted was a special icon of knowledge to them and their teachers... I can just hear his voice speaking above them to remind them about a specific point that he wanted to make sure that they would not forget after they left.."Children you must remember, ....." And then there was "Tuesdays with Ted" at SRAC where he gave tours from 1-5 week after week for years. He opened the cases and would tell his stories about how he found the artifacts as people held them, and would spend whole afternoons with just one family often. My favorite was always how he found 1/2 of a spearhead one year and the other half the next...still amazing!

And then there came the time that we knew that Ted needed SRAC as much we needed him...

To those on the outside, it might have seemed like Ted worked too hard, stayed to long, and should have stopped working at SRAC years before he did, but WE knew, it was important for him to have SRAC as he began to get weaker and his memory started to fail... we knew it was what Ted wanted... he wanted to keep going, and he did as long as he could, and then we accepted that Ted could no come during the week. So then we brought him to US when we could... I am so happy that we got him out to our first SRAC excavation this summer - it was the highlight for many of us and I am sure it meant the world to him.

I talked with Ted just a few weeks ago on the phone and we talked for a long time, and I really thought he was doing pretty good, talking about specific sites, specific things, like the old days....and them I got the call from Evelyn his wife yesterday and I knew as soon as I heard her voice that my dear dear friend, my father in many ways, had left us. And my heart broke.

It will be a long time before this Valley sees another person the likes of Mr. Ted Keir folks. He will always be to me the smartest, kindest, strongest, gentleman that I have ever had the chance to have in my life, and will forever be an icon and a mountain of knowledge to strive toward.

We at SRAC will carry his torch and his dream forward, for our children, for our community, and most importantly, FOR HIM.

Thank you Ted Keir for being my mentor, my friend, and my guide for how I can be a smarter, kinder, stronger person. You will be missed more than you will ever know. Rest in Peace my dear friend.

SRAC sends out our deepest sympathies and condolences to Evelyn, Deb, Jerry and the rest of the family during this moment of great loss.

Services for Ted will be held at the Athens Methodist Church at 118 South Main Street Athens on Saturday, January 28th at 11am. SRAC members are asked to meet with us at 10:45 if you want to enter with us together as a salute to our Chairman of the Board one last time. Hope to see you there.

SRAC holiday schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:50:00 +0000

SRAC will be closed today and Thanksgiving day. we will reopen 1-5 on Friday. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!