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Archeology
Field School & Videography Workshop
The
Schoharie River Center held its 5th annual Archeology
Field School from August 20 – 24 this past summer
in Burtonsville. Also that week, the Schoharie
River Center held a videography training workshop and
began a mercury study of the Schoharie Creek. It was
a very busy week!
Archeology
Working
in partnership with professional archeologists from Hartgen
Archeological Associates of Albany New York, 15 youth from
the River Center’s Environmental Study Team worked to
excavate a pre-historic site along the Schoharie Creek in
Burtonsville.
Working
under the supervision of Corey McQuinn, Project Director for
Hartgen Archeological Associates, the team found much evidence
of early pre-contact Native-American inhabitance along the
Schoharie Creek in Burtonsville. Artifacts discovered 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.
For more
information about Hartgen Archeological Associates go to their
website at: www.hartgen.com
Click
here to see a slide
show* of photos taken by EST members.
Videography
Also during
this week, members of Freshwaters Illustrated from Mapleton,
Oregon were on hand to provide professional video production
training to the youths. The EST team is beginning to
put together a documentary video about the EST program.
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.
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