Vermont Archaeology Month
Now in its 26th year, Vermont Archeology Month’s mission is to raise awareness, promote knowledge, and create educational opportunities for Vermonters to engage with archaeology and learn about Vermont’s deep and rich human past. Please join us at one or more of these events across Vermont this September! More events are currently being scheduled so please check back.
*Note due to the changing COVID-19 situation across the State, events may be changed or cancelled with little warning. Will we make every effort to provide timely updates here. You may also contact the event hosts using the contact information provided in the summaries close to the event date.
Soldiers Atop the Mount
Saturday, September 4, 2021 - 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Mount Independence State Historic Site
472 Mt Independence Road, Orwell, Vermont, 05760
Reenactors honor the 1776-1777 history of Mount Independence during this living history event. The popular interactive Baldwin Trail Walkabout, from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm, features experts at trail stations bringing the site’s history to life. Military tacticals and camp life and skills demonstrations.
Call (802) 948-2000 for details and if there will be more scheduled for Sunday, September 5.
Fee: $6 adults, free for children under 15.
Fiddleheads, Lamb’s Quarters, Nettles, and Nuts: Wild Edible, Medicinal, and Poisonous Plants
Saturday, September 4, 2021 - 1:00 pm
Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site
Justin Morrill Memorial Hwy, Strafford, VT 05072
On this walk, Michael Caduto will share Colonial and Native American folklore and knowledge concerning the uses of wild plants for food, medicine, and materials, as well as identifying poisonous plants to avoid. We’ll taste some delectables in the field and sample a mystery wild treat. Walk includes stories and the sampling of plants in the field, as well as a prepared wild edible. Pre-registration required.
Michael Caduto—well known as co-author of the Keepers of the Earth series—has written and taught extensively on herbalism and has studied the uses of plants among the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. His other books include Native American Gardening and Everyday Herbs in Spiritual Life.
Fee: Adults $15 (children under 15, free)
For more information or to register, visit morrillhomestead.org, or call (802) 765-4288,
This is a program of the Friends of the Morrill Homestead.
The Abenaki Experience: Prehistory to Present – Part 1 “Archaeological History of the Connecticut River Valley” with Jess Robinson
Sunday, September 5, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site
Justin Morrill Memorial Hwy, Strafford, VT 05072
Jess Robinson, Vermont State Archaeologist, will present an overview of the archaeological history of Vermont’s Connecticut River valley and adjacent areas from the arrival of its first Native inhabitants approximately 13,000 years ago through to their contact with Europeans. Jess will focus on newly studied sites and will also discuss what we do not yet know about this regions Precontact past. Pre-registration is required.
Fee: $5 (in person or via Zoom)
For more information or to register, visit morrillhomestead.org, or call (802) 765-4822.
Presented in collaboration with the Friends of the Morrill Homestead.
The Abenaki Experience: Prehistory to Present – Part 2 “The Vermont Abenakis: Un-writing History” with Fred Wiseman
Sunday, September 12, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site
Justin Morrill Memorial Hwy, Strafford, VT 05072
Join Prof. Frederick Wiseman in a discussion of three critical, but little-known cultural periods of Vermont Indigenous history. Misunderstanding of these periods is a major obstacle in social, economic, and racial equity of the modern Abenaki communities. Wiseman will conclude with how Vermont Abenaki communities are getting to know their incredible and unique cultural-ecological-historical experience. The lecture will be accompanied by a PowerPoint slide show, artifact demonstrations, and music.
Fee: $5 (in person or via Zoom)
For more information or to register, visit morrillhomestead.org, or call (802) 765-4822.
Presented in collaboration with the Friends of the Morrill Homestead.
Atlatl Workshop
Chimney Point State Historic Site
Friday, September 17, 2021 - 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
31 VT-17, Addison, VT 05491
Atlatl experts Bob and Cheryll Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl teach traditional and modern techniques of atlatl and dart construction (you will be making your own), flint knapping, hafting stone points, and cordage making. Enjoy atlatl lore and coaching on the use of your new atlatl. Fee includes instruction and materials.
Fee $70.00. Pre-registration required (Call (802) 759-2412).
The 26th Annual Northeastern Open Atlatl Championship
Chimney Point State Historic Site
Saturday, September 18, 2021 - 10:30 am – 4:00 pm
31 VT-17, Addison, VT 05491
Participate in or watch this annual atlatl championship, which tests skills in accuracy and distance. The sport of using the atlatl to throw darts is based on ancient hunting techniques. Newcomers to experts welcome. Be prepared to practice social distancing and to wear facial masks. Pre-registration is mandatory for competitors.
Call (802) 759-2412 to register or for more information.
Fee: Competitors $10.00, Visitors $5.00 (children under 15, free)
Willow Basketmaking with Barry
Sunday, September 19, 2021 - 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Chimney Point State Historic Site
31 VT-17, Addison, VT 05491
Make your own woven willow basket with expert guidance from Barry Keegan. You’ll use willow shoots and wands to weave and twine a round base, and sharpened spokes and twined willow shoots to form the basket walls. The final basket will be about 10 inches tall. All materials provided. Enjoy a relaxing day on the lake as you learn and create.
Fee: $60:00. Pre-registration and payment are required, call (802) 759-2412.
Our Stories Remembered
Sunday, September 19, 2021 - 2:00 pm
Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site
Justin Morrill Memorial Hwy, Strafford, VT 05072
Using drum, flute, rattle, and vocals, father and son storytellers and musicians Joseph and Jesse Bruchac of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation will share Abenaki stories for the whole family. Pre-registration required.
Suggested donation: $5
For more information or to register, visit morrillhomestead.org, or call (802) 765-4288.
Presented in collaboration with the Friends of the Morrill Homestead.
The Abenaki Experience: Prehistory to Present – Part 3 “We Are Still Here” with Joseph & Jesse Bruchac
Sunday, September 19, 2021 - 4:00 pm
Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site
Justin Morrill Memorial Hwy, Strafford, VT 05072
Father and son author and educator, Joseph and Jesse Bruchac of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation will address the continued presence and vibrant cultural heritage of the Wabanaki Nations of Ndakinna, with special emphasis on the years of the Vermont Eugenics project and the long struggle for government recognition. Pre-registration required.
Fee: $5 (in person or via Zoom)
For more information or to register, visit morrillhomestead.org, or call (802) 765-4288,
Presented in collaboration with the Friends of the Morrill Homestead.
Before Vermont: an Early Archaeological History (with a concentration on the Northeast Kingdom)
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021 – 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
26 School Road, Holland, VT 05830
State Archaeologist Jess Robinson will present an overview of Vermont’s Precontact Native history from the arrival of its first inhabitants approximately 13,000 years ago through to the first Abenaki contacts with Europeans. A question-and-answer session will follow.
Fee: Free!
Sponsored by the Nulhegan Education and Cultural Center and the Holland Historical Society
Exploring Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge: From Insects to Archaeology
Wednesday, September 22 - 3:00 - 4:00 pm
29 Tabor Road, Swanton, VT 05488
Ken Sturm, Wildlife Refugee Manager, will introduce Vermont's first National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and focus on what the refuge was established for, explain the mission of the USFWS and the refuge system and detail the varied wildlife which find refuge at this incredible part of Vermont. We will also discuss how the refuge also protects one of the most important archaeological sites in Vermont, the long time home of the Abenaki.
Fee: Free!
The Deptartment of Anthropology Presents the 8th Annual James B. Petersen Lecture: Reconsidering the Hinterland: Piecing Together the 3000+ Year Chronology of the Ancient Maya and their Predecessors in the Mid-Lower Belize River Valley with Marieka Brouwer Burg, Assistant Professor, University of Vermont
Thursday, September 23, - 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
University of Vermont, Lafayette Hall L207
Burlington, Vermont, 05405
The mid-lower Belize River watershed–comprised of pine savanna and lowland scrub jungle–has long been regarded by the archaeological community as a hinterland largely uninhabited and underused by the Ancient Maya. However, over the last ten years, the Belize River East Archaeology (BREA) Project has employed a suite of field and lab-based methods to identify over 100 previously undetected archaeological sites, ranging in size and complexity from rural hamlets to urban, civic-ceremonial centers. Thousands of structures and artifacts have been documented within the 2000 km2 study area, spanning at least 3,400 years, from the Late Archaic to Post-Classic/Contact periods. Here, we discuss the application and differential efficacy of some of the methods used (e.g., ethnography, geoarchaeological coring, pedestrian reconnaissance, drone mapping, as well as surface/subsurface sampling and excavation) to investigate this environmentally diverse area. Additionally, some of this work has been driven by salvage efforts as forest clearance has increased exponentially in the last decade in central Belize. We describe our efforts to piece together an understanding of the cultural chronology of the region by documenting and conserving threatened archaeological remains, and discuss the unexpected silver linings of modern disturbance, including improved visibility into the extent of millennia-old raised agricultural fields.
*Masks are required indoors at the University of Vermont.
Fee: Free!
East Hubbardton Cemetery Tour
Sunday, September 27, 2021 -2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site
5696 Monument Hill Rd, Castleton, VT 05735
An afternoon of telling the stories of the early civilians who lived here, the soldiers who fought here, and those buried in the East Hubbardton Cemetery. Meet at the museum to start. The group will then drive down to the East Hubbardton Cemetery. Wear sturdy shoes, dress for the weather. Offered by the Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site and the Hubbardton Historical Society.
Fee: Included with site admission ($3.00 adults/free under 15).
Vermont Archaeology Heritage Center/ Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library Open House
Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641
Join us at Vermont Archaeology Heritage Center and Leahy Library for an Open House! Jess Robinson will give a short presentation, hands-on demonstrations, and tours of the center. Down the hall in the Leahy Library, an exhibit will highlight how archaeology can offer insights into long-term landscape change in Vermont.
For more information, please contact: 802-272-2509.
Fee: Free!
Montshire Museum of Science Archaeology Day
October 2nd, 10:30 am – 4:00 pm
1 Montshire Road
Norwich, VT 05055
How did Vermonters live in the past? What tools did they make and how did they make them? What has happened in the Upper Connecticut Valley during the last 12,900 years, and, most importantly, how do we know? Find out for yourself at Archaeology Day—a day-long celebration of us—the humans!
Fee: Free with Museum Admission
