David Moyer
Here
are three photos of a new display of artifacts at the New
Berlin Public Library and Museum. Among the more interesting artifacts
is a small black fluted point dating to the end of the last Ice Age,
about 10,000 years ago. The point is very similar (but not identical) to
some points which appeared in Ted Whitney’s (1977) article “Fluted Points
from the Chenango Area.” Chenango
Chapter NYSAA Bulletin 17(1): 1-13. Unfortunately,
the display case does not include any information about where any of
the artifacts came from or even who donated them to the library.
To
date over a dozen fluted points have been reported in the Unadilla
Valley; one of the highest density of such finds in New York State. No
intact archaeological sites from this period have been found in the
area, and it remains unclear if these Ice Age hunters were just passing
through or if they were spending more time in the New Berlin area. If
anyone has ever found other fluted points like these in the Unadilla
drainage I'd love to hear about it!
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