12/8/22 AEG Event about Native American Artifacts

DINNER MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Modernization of the Hunterdon County Historical Society’s Collection of Native American Artifacts
or, how a forgotten treasure trove of Indian relics was transformed into a modern exhibit of indigenous culture

Thursday, December 8, 2022

At the Clarion Hotel in Somerset, New Jersey

Gregory Herman, Ed Fimbel, and Mark Zdepski

This meeting is sponsored by:

ABSTRACT
    Our area was once the center of a thriving prehistoric argillite-based indigenous Native American culture, and stone artifacts from that period have been found locally for years.  AEG Geologists Mark Zdepski and Greg Herman were key members of the team, joined by Ed Fimbel, that curated an impressive new exhibit of mostly locally-found artifacts just put on display in Flemington, New Jersey, by the Hunterdon County Historical Society (HCHS).
    The revamped exhibit was opened in time for Native American Heritage month.  Herman, Zdepski and Fimbel transformed a little known, time capsule-like collection of stone tools, arrowheads and weapons---some of which had been sitting untouched for years in the original collectors’ old oak cabinets---into a modern museum-quality exhibit.
    This talk will highlight the ingenuity and practical use of local Earth materials by indigenous peoples.  It will trace the innovative ways that the stone tools and weapons changed over the 13,000-year time period covered by the exhibit, and the adaptations made in response to climate change.
    These artifacts represent the unwritten legacy of the Lenape people in Hunterdon County, from early times through their first contact with Europeans 500 years ago. Beautiful illustrations of indigenous culture by famed Archeologist John Kraft were incorporated into the exhibit to bring the Lenape people to life. 
    Most of the artifacts on display were found in the Hunterdon County area by gentleman farmers in the 1800’s, wealthy individuals who collected and curated artifacts in the manner of the time.  Now, in 2022, their collections have been augmented, lit, and labeled so that we can more fully appreciate the unique treasures of the region.
    Please join Geologists Greg Herman, Mark Zdepski and their colleague Collector Ed Fimbel, in a virtual tour of the new exhibit and their presentation on transforming the unique HCHS Deats-Thatcher Native American collection into a modern, historically-accurate accessible display of indigenous stone artifacts and culture. 

BIOGRAPHY
Greg Herman is a Geologist at Trap Rock Industries who spent 32 years with the NJ State Geological Survey, teaches structural geology and continues researching and writing about impact tectonics and geoarchaeology.  Read Greg Herman’s remarkable story of finding his first arrowhead (shown on cover): http://www.impacttectonics.org/Archeology/Pennsylvania/GH1.html
Mark Zdepski ran his own geological consulting firm JMZ Geology in Flemington NJ until 2017 and continues to pursue his personal and professional interests in ore deposits, stone quarries, industrial archaeology, historical preservation and early cultures.
Ed Fimbel is an accomplished local collector with an outstanding 15-state personal collection, who was integral to the renovations of the Native American artifact collection in Flemington.