Archeology in New York State

Archeology is the study of the past through the material remains that people have left behind. While New York State's historic built environment records almost 400 years of non-native development, its archeological resources represent 12,000 years of human activity. Archeological sites yield important information about the state's pre-European contact and historic populations, documenting various cultures, traditions, and human interactions with the environment. In many cases, archeological data is the only information available about the state's early peoples and places.

Excavations in an urban setting Albany, Albany County

New York possesses a diverse collection of archeological resources. Some significant examples of Native American sites include the Dutchess Quarry Caves in Orange County, which have produced some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in the western hemisphere, Lamoka Lake in Schuyler County and the Oberlander and Robinson Sites along Onondaga Lake, important Archaic period sites (4500-2000 BC), and Ganondagon State Historic Site, a well-known Late Woodland and historic period Seneca village site in Victor. Some important historic archeological properties include the site of Fort Orange in Albany, which is associated with European exploration and settlement in the New World, the non-extant site of the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, Crown Point State Historic Site, a strategic military fortification near Ticonderoga, and Browns Race Historic District, the remains of an early industrial complex in Rochester. Material from many archeological sites are displayed and interpreted at various locations across the state.

Archeology is also a key component of historic preservation environmental review. State and National Registers listed and eligible resources receive a measure of protection whenever state and federal agencies fund, license or approve projects in New York State. Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 14.09 of the New York State Historic Preservation Act, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) strives to ensure that effects or impacts on eligible or listed properties, including archeological sites, are considered and avoidance or mitigation measures are developed during the project planning process. The SHPO also provides archeological assistance to numerous state and federal agencies and offers archeological guidance and recommendations to local municipalities upon request.

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