Recent Archaeological Research on First Peoples of the New York Region

Peoples arrived in what is now New York more than 13,000 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age. Archaeologists find traces of their lives in ancient campsites, where small scatters of fluted spear points and other stone tools remain. Though these early Native Americans left only a limited material record, the evidence points to a remarkable story of skill, adaptation, and survival in a cold and changing landscape. Dr. John Lothrop, archaeologist with the New York State Museum, will share what recent research reveals about when people first came to the region, how they lived, and how small hunter-gatherer groups may have connected with one another across New York.