Fall 2024 Conference -- our 60th Anniversary

NEARA Through Time: 60 Years of Research

View the program at NEARA 2024 Fall Conference Program.

November 1 to 3 in Manchester, NH

The Fall 2024 NEARA Conference was held at the Falls Event Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the first weekend of November.

Program

The program provided updates on NEARA's areas of focus over six decades, including land use in New England, the peopling of the Americas, ongoing research on Viking settlements in North America, and updates on indigenous archaeology and research efforts in the Northeast.

The videos are on our YouTube channel. Videos that are only available for NEARA members are behind a login at SiteDB.org.

• NEARA Member Terry Deveau presented his research into William Goodwin, Malcolm Pearson, and the early owners of Mystery Hill.
  Video: Early NEARA Founders
• NEARA Member Donna Thompson discussed the American Antiquarian Movement and NEARA's historical and philosophical roots going back to the 1600's.
  Video: The Antiquarian Movement
• New Hampshire Chapter Coordinator Devon Toland talked about working with local historical societies to discover records that you cannot find online.
  Video: Working With Your Local Historical Societies (Sorry, some of the audio is missing.)
• NEARA President Walter van Roggen provided a general introduction to NEARA and its SiteDB.org online database.
  Video: Welcome to NEARA
• Martyn Whittock, historian and author known for his work on Viking history and mythology, including “American Vikings: How the Norse Sailed into the Lands and Imaginations of America,” separated fact from fiction and explored the research of the Viking settlement of North America.
  (This video is only available for NEARA members by logging in at SiteDB.org)
• Rich Holschuh, an indigenous cultural and historic researcher and a citizen of the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, talked about the Kchi Pontegok Petroglyph Project that aims to compile and catalog an inventory of known archaeological and historic sites in the Connecticut River Valley, including important geographic features and sacred indigenous places.
  Video: Kchi Pôntegok Akiôtloka: The Land Speaks Its Story
• NEARA Research Committee Chair Phil Getty reviewed NEARA's history of research, sharing his interviews with longtime NEARA members. Phil also talked about upcoming techniques and equipment, discussed how to support your own research efforts, and invited your ideas for future research.
  Video: NEARA through Time; 60 Years of Research
• The Keynote Speaker was Bruce Bradley, renowned researcher, archaeologist, and co-author of Across Atlantic Ice. He shared the latest evidence of human occupation in North and South America dating back 30,000 to 20,000 years.
  (This video is only available for NEARA members by logging in at SiteDB.org)

Field Trips

Friday afternoon field trips included:

• The NEARA Library, with Walter van Roggen (11 AM -- 1 PM)
• Northwood Meadows State Park & Bear Brook State Park, with Devon Toland (11 AM -- 4 PM)
• The New Hampshire State Archaeology Lab, with State Archaeologist Mark Doperalski (1 PM -- 3 PM)
• America's Stonehenge, with a special talk by Dennis Stone (1 PM -- 4 PM)

Sunday's field trips were:

• Joe English Reservation, with Walter van Roggen
• Northwood Meadows State Park & Bear Brook State Park, with Devon Toland
• Southern New Hampshire Chamber Tour, with Donna Thompson

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