100 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



determined by archeological evidences, records of the excavations 

 in typical sites, descriptions of the implements and utensils of the 

 aborigines and an encyclopedic section dealing with various archeolog- 

 ical topics. The task of procuring photographs has been a lengthy 

 one. More than one hundred full page plates will be used by way of 

 illustration. This bulletin is designed to be a general handbook on 

 New York archeology and it has been written for the amateur student 

 as well as for those with more professional interests. 



The Dewey collection. During the year the Museum acquired 

 the collection of archeological specimens made by Alvin H. Dewey 

 of Rochester. The collection came to us as the gift of Mrs Frederick 

 F. Thompson, to whose beneficence the Museum owes several of 

 its most striking exhibits. 



Mr Dewey specialized in material from the counties of Monroe, 

 Genesee, Ontario and Livingston. Every specimen was nimibered 

 and its history recorded in a card index. Of all the collections that 

 have come from private hands to the Musetim this one is the most 

 accurately cataloged. This fact as well as the quality of the speci- 

 mens has made it a pleasant task to fit the collection into our plan of 

 exhibition. 



The material in this collection is that obtained by Mr Dewey 

 personally or by excavators and collectors working under his direction. 

 The principal sites represented are Bergen, Stafford and LeRoy, 

 Genesee county; Irondequoit bay, Rush, Honeoye Falls and Brighton, 

 Monroe county; Avon, Lima, Geneseo and Caledonia, Livingston 

 county; Victor, West Bloomfield, Holcomb, Canandaigua, Richmond 

 Mills and Honeoye lake, Ontario county. 



The exploration of the principal sites, and many of those of minor 

 importance, in the area mentioned, represents about ten years' 

 field work. The observations of the collector and of others who 

 have. examined the area and the specimens show that the region was 

 occupied at a comparatively early time and that ntmierous tribes 

 and bands have swept over it, some staying longer than others. 

 The difference between sites and the artifacts found in them is 

 striking. The differences are so great in many instances as to make 

 certain the wide differences in the type of culture represented. The 

 Dewey collection contains specimens from sites showing character- 

 istics that differentiate them from those of any identified culture. 

 Other sites may with varying degrees of certainty be attributed to 

 known cultures; thus, we may point out sites that are Eskimo-like, 

 Algonkian, Mound Builder and Iroquoian. In some instances 



