Each summer the Schoharie River Center holds an Archeology Field School, usually in August. This is a week long program that begins at 8:30am and ends at 4:30am each day of the week, Monday through Friday.

Working in partnership with professional archeologists from Hartgen Archeological Associates of Albany New York, youth ages 11-18 will work to excavate a pre-historic site along the Schoharie Creek in Burtonsville, or at a new dig site at the New York State Power Authority in Gilboa.

This year, the Burtonsville program runs from 8/23/10 - 8/27/10 and costs $50 for EST members and $100 for non-members. The Burtonsville program is sponsored by the Schoharie River Center and is supported with grants from the United Way and the Schenectady Foundation.

In previous years, while working under the supervision of Corey McQuinn, Project Director for Hartgen Archeological Associates, the team has found much evidence of early pre-contact Native-American inhabitance along the Schoharie Creek in Burtonsville. Artifacts discovered in past digs include hundreds of pieces of chert flakes and fire cracked rock indicating the site was used as a place to make projectile points, stone tools and pottery.

Although further artifact analysis and testing will occur at the Laboratories at Hartgen, initial study of the artifacts, including the pottery indicate that the site is very old, possibly dating back as far as  0 – 999 AD.

This year, for the first time, we will host a dig site at the New York State Power Authority in Gilboa. This program is sponsored by the Schoharie County Youth Bureau and the Schoharie River Center, and runs from 8/16/10 - 8/20/10. The cost to register for this program is $50.

To register for either of these programs, click here. If you have questions about the programs, contact John McKeeby at schoharierivercenter@juno.com.

Click here to see a slide show* of photos taken by EST members.

For more information about Hartgen Archeological Associates go to their website at: www.hartgen.com

Videography

Several years ago, during one week of Archeology Field School we also had members of Freshwaters Illustrated from Mapleton, Oregon on hand to provide professional video production training to the youths. 

Click here to see a slide show of photos taken by the Freshwaters Illustrated team while working with EST.  For more information about Freshwaters Illustrated, check out their website at: www.freshwatersillustrated.org.

Mercury Study

Under the direction of Dr. Barbara Brabetz, Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences at Cobleskill College, along with several of the Fisheries Biology faculty, the EST members also spent a day learning how to and conducting a mercury study.  

A great variety of fish were collected from the creek including Small Mouth Bass, Walleye, Stone Catfish, Hognosed Stone Roller, Darter, Blacknose Dace, Sucker Carp and more.

Click here to see photos from EST's testing at the SUNY Cobleskill labratories.

* To view the slide show, you need Adobe Flash Player installed. You can download it here.