Prehistoric Punch

Here’s a chance for the Palisades Museum of Prehistory to change it up a bit. The PMOP exhibit at Artomatic this year is on the 8th floor, on the building side facing the large courtyard (Area:  NW, Floor:   F08 Wayfinder ID:  08-1-02-0134-2D) . I am sharing a room with a guy named Novel Yi who has paintings and collages. It’s just pass the gay photography exhibit!

One wall has PMOP-intern, Seth Dremmel, exhibiting three sculptural pieces made from old door panels. The other wall has the PMOP drugs and weapons posters,  Sumerian tablets, and Earth’s first land colonizers.   I’ll be visiting the exhibit periodically to water  organisms and volunteer for the show.

A Zebra Swallowtail outside the window:

Pete Hill from DC’s Dept. of Environment had contacted me about putting fish in the new Hardy Middle School pond. The pond appears to be mostly lifeless, with the exception of mosquito larvae and some other aquatic bugs. Last week, I netted six Banded Killifish from the PMOP ponds and stocked them in Hardy’s hole-in-ground-filled-with-water. Hopefully it will blossom into a thriving pond.

Pond at Hardy Middle School, Georgetown DC

Banded Killifish in Hardy Pond

This example of a rhyolite point follows both Kirk and Susquehanna characteristics. Both types of points have been found at this site, and in the case of this point, I found it out of context on the tailings of a dirt mound. Faint serrations follow the blade profile of a Kirk, but the asymmetrical hanging shoulder screams Susquehanna. I will show it around and report on the observations of others.

I took my annual pilgrimage to the Smithsonian’s Natural History archives today in attempt to find some Adena artifacts from the Delmarva peninsula. Although none were found, curiosities abound. The 3/4 grooved axe (or probably more accurate – maul) is probably the largest one of I have seen. The archivist/curator, Dr. Krakker, pointed out the flattened top and bottom which could accommodate a wedge used to tighten the binding. The other object is an enormous pipe (actually a cast thereof) from Franklin County, VA. It’s safe to assume that when this thing was pulled out of the wigwam, it was time to partay!

Between “quittin’ time” and sundown (not much time), I unearthed a cluster of potsherds belonging to the same pot. The reddish fragments seem to be higher up towards the rim (thinner), whereas the darker section constitutes the mid to bottom half?. The construction/excavation began today and who knows how much more earth will be taken away. Considering these artifacts (among others) were found in the excavation wall (within inches), one can only imagine how many artifacts have been taken away by the parade of dump trucks.

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A letter from the IRS this morning informed me that the Palisades Museum of Prehistory’s status as a 501c non-profit has been revoked.  I failed to file taxes for the past three years on behalf of the museum.  It may have been quite simple since the museum loss money over the past three years, but I never saw the point of declaring failure.   I remember asking a small business tax consultant whether I must file even if the museum had no income.  I guess it was the first time the issue had arisen since he claimed not to know the answer!  At least he was kind enough not to pat me on the back and show me the door immediately.

A juvenile hawk showed up a bit later in the morning and I got a photo of him shitting in my yard.   Shamanic interpretations please!

I receive mailings from T&T Archaeological Consulting which previews upcoming “Prehistoric & Historic Artifact Auctions”.  The latest mailer details “The Dr. John Ryan Collection”, and  as usual, items on the block make the PMOP collection look rather wanting.   Of course there are probably phonies in the mix, but for the authentic ones . . . what an impact these relics must have had on their discoverers.

When my next door neighbor came to me with this carved bone art, he assumed it was something I had inadvertently left under his deck (which had been my deck during the great dig of 2002).  In spite of ringing no bells,  I have to think it has something to do with the Palisades Museum of Prehistory standing about twenty feet away.  Did somebody salt the area?  Is my neighbor pulling my leg?  Does the piece have any function?

Three figures carved into bone's distal ends - loon, walrus, demon head