Anthropologists share finds from Pine Bush farmstead

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - 19:21

— Photo from albanypinebush.org

Students at the University at Albany’s archaeological field school dug at the Helme farmstead in the Pine Bush last summer.

Two anthropologists will share what they have found of a mid-1800s farmstead on the outskirts of Albany.

Theirs will be the first talk of the 2025 Science Lecture Series of the Pine Bush Discovery Center, on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.

Last summer, the University at Albany’s archaeological field school dug at the site of the farmstead that had been occupied by the Helme family for half a century, collecting hundreds of artifacts and intact architectural features.

 Many of those artifacts and early analyses of the site will be presented at this talk by the two professors who ran the field school, Drs. Sean Rafferty and Chris Wolff.

Rafferty, a professor of anthropology at UAlbany, has done research on the use of intoxicating plants by the Indigenous peoples of North America. Recently, he has focused on how archaeology and history are misrepresented in popular culture.

Wolff, an associate professor of anthropology at UAlbany, has done research on the Indigenous peoples of the Far Northeast and their interactions with their various environments, but more recently he has been examining the impact of European colonization on various peoples and landscapes in northeastern North America.

This lecture is being offered both in person and online. It is free and is recommended for people 15 or older. Pre-registration is required. The Discovery Center is located at 195 New Karner Road in Albany. Sign up at www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events or call 518-456-0655.

 

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