Staff
Jeremy Wilson, MA (Field School Instructor)
Jeremy Wilson will be the instructor for the 2007 field school. He received his MA in Anthropology from SUNY-Binghamton in 2004 and his BS from Iowa State University in 2001. Wilson has worked in professional archaeology since 1998, digging in Jordan and Spain, as well as New York, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming. He was the director of the 2006 field school at Choconut Creek and the assistant director for the 2004 and 2005 field schools at Castle Gardens. Wilson and PAF colleague Dr. Laurie Miroff are conducting research on Archaic hunter-gatherers in central and western New York. His ongoing dissertation research examines the population dynamics of Late Woodland and Mississippian societies in west-central Illinois. Wilson is the author of cultural resource management reports for PAF's statewide highway contract with the New York State Museum, and other projects in New York. He has served as an Adjunct Instructor and teaching assistant at Binghamton University. He is a member of the Society for American Archaeology, Southeastern Archaeological Conference, American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Paleopathology Association and the American Academy of Forensic Science.
Nina Versaggi, PhD
(Director and Principal Investigator, Public Archaeology Facility)
Versaggi received her doctorate in Anthropology from SUNY-Binghamton in 1988, her MA from SUNY Binghamton in 1976 and her BA from Rutgers University in 1974. She has been active in professional archaeology since 1972. Professional positions held include Director of the Public Archaeology Facility since 1988, Partner in Compliance Survey Associates for 6 years, Guest Curator at the Roberson Museum and Science Center, and Post-doctoral Fellow at the Hartwick College Museums. She serves as principal investigator for all current and past projects of the Public Archaeology Facility including the statewide Department of Transportation subcontract with the New York State Museum. She is a former member of the board for the Preservation Association of the Southern Tier, and a current board member for the New York Archaeological Council where she chairs the Professional Survey and Report Standards Committee. She serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Binghamton University
Contact Dr. Versaggi via email: nversagg@binghamton.edu
The
former Field School site at Castle Gardens... In the 1960s, excavations
at Castle Gardens uncovered a prehistoric site with a rich trash midden,
layers of Late Archaic artifacts, and features, such as hearths. Archaeologists
found a distinctive small, finely-notched point not previously recognized
on New York and Pennsylvania sites. Researchers identified a new phase,
Vestal, named for the town in which the site is located. Vestal marks a
time when people moved their camps seasonally and hunted, fished, and collected
wild plants. The 2003 field school completed preliminary excavations that
produced an abundance of artifacts as well as cooking hearths and pit features.
Investigations with the 2004 field school will examine the site in more
detail and address a series of research questions concerning the role of
Vestal within Susquehanna Valley prehistory.