Native American Archaeology of the Norwalk Area

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About this event

Join the Norwalk Historical Society for the in person lecture, “From the Ice Age to the Founding of Norwalk: Native American Archaeology of the Norwalk Area,” with guest presenter Ernest A. Wiegand, professor of archaeology at NCC, on Thursday, December 9, 2021 at 8:00pm in the old town meetinghouse at Mill Hill Historic Park, 2 East Wall Street in Norwalk, CT.

Registration Required! Free event but please consider making a donation to the Norwalk Historical Society.

Please Note: All visitors will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status when inside the Mill Hill Historic Park buildings. The buildings at Mill Hill Historic Park are City of Norwalk property and masks are required inside all City of Norwalk buildings.

This presentation will bring the audience back in time and reveal what archaeology has found about the history and cultural lifeways of the First Americans. Archaeological digs conducted in and around Norwalk will be discussed. Artifacts from local digs will accompany the program, and the audience is encouraged to bring artifacts that they may have found on the beach, along rivers and streams or while digging in the garden.

Twelve thousand years ago, southern New England had emerged from a covering of glacial ice. In this cold climate, an environment far different than the present existed. Ice age animals such as the mammoth, mastodon and caribou roamed the newly-deglaciated land, as did the first Native Americans to enter the Northeast. The way of life of these early peoples, and the adaptations their descendants made as the environment continued to change, have been the focus of much interest and archaeological research for several decades.

This program is in conjunction with the Norwalk Historical Society’s new exhibit, “Norwalk’s Changing Communities – 13,000BC – 1835”, which was funded in part by grants from Connecticut Humanities and the City of Norwalk Historical Commission. The new exhibit will be on view!

Mill Hill Historic Park is located at 2 East Wall Street in Norwalk, CT. Handicapped and limited mobility parking on site. General parking is at the HSC building on the corner of East Wall Street and Park Street. Follow blue parking signs.

About the Presenter

Ernie Wiegand has taught at Norwalk Community College since 1975, when the college’s unique “Archaeology as an Avocation” certificate program was initiated. Students in the program have worked on many pre-contact period Native American sites as well as several historic period sites, including the Rogers-Ritch-Merritt house in Norwalk. He received a Masters degree in anthropology from Hunter College in 1982 and has been the Archaeology as an Avocation program coordinator since 1990. In addition to his teaching duties, he has been the faculty advisor to the NCC Archaeology Club, which has not only conducted archaeological investigations of local sites but has brought archaeology to the public through its program meetings (which are open to the public) and special community outreach projects. He also serves as a consultant for both public and private land-use projects that may have an impact on archaeological sites.

 

Norwalk Historical Society Museum Visitor Guidelines

The health and safety of our visitors, volunteers, and staff are our highest priority. Therefore, we continue to implement the State of Connecticut’s regulations, CDC guidelines, and industry standards for best museum practices during the ongoing pandemic with the following rules and measures established for your visit.

Masks:

• All visitors will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status when inside the Mill Hill Historic Park buildings. The buildings at Mill Hill Historic Park are City of Norwalk property and masks are required inside all City of Norwalk buildings.
• If you have a medical condition that keeps you from wearing a mask, we ask you to please visit at a later date when it is deemed safe for visitors not to wear a mask.
• If you do not have a mask available, or your mask is deemed ineffective, the Norwalk Historical Society will make a disposable mask available to you.

Social Distancing:

• Social distancing shall be required for all staff, volunteers and visitors. Social distancing means keeping 6 feet apart from guests, docents, and staff at all times during your visit.
• Bathrooms will accommodate 1 person at any given time.

Sanitizing:

• The Norwalk Historical Society will make hand sanitizer available at entrances, exits and common areas.
• We are taking precautions in cleaning common areas with EPA approved cleaning products. Sanitary wipes and trash cans will be available in the restrooms to avoid direct contact on commonly used surfaces.
• All visitors will have to agree to these regulations before entering Mill Hill Historic Park buildings.

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