Archaeological excavations undertaken prior to the construction of a parking garage in 2000 and 2001 resulted in the recovery of over 10,000 artifacts dating from the mid-seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. These excavations took place outside the original stockade associated with the seventeenth-century Dutch settlement at Albany called Beverwyck (1652-1664). Significant individual components of the collection include artifacts from a brick maker’s house and yard dating to the second half of the seventeenth century, a mid-eighteenth century rum distillery, and several nineteenth century features and deposits.

The DEC/Picotte Office Building Collection includes 146,000 artifacts from an excavation on the east side of Broadway between Columbia Street and Orange Street in Albany where the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Office Building is currently located. During the colonial period, this area was near the waterfront but outside of the city wall, and occupied by tanneries and shoemakers. The buildings in these blocks were destroyed by the fire of 1797, but were rebuilt in the nineteenth century. Many important components of Albany’s history dating from the seventeenth through the early twentieth centuries are represented in this collection.

This collection resulted from an archeological data retrieval undertaken along Sheridan Avenue in the City of Albany, New York. This area of Albany developed during the mid-19th century in the midst of the city’s decades-long growth spurt and was mostly populated by Irish immigrants and first-generation Irish-Americans. New houses, shops, schools, churches, and factories were constructed as the city expanded outward from its historic center, and by the 1840s the South End of Albany and Sheridan Hollow were under development. Over 9,000 artifacts from features and deposits associated with the occupation of Sheridan Hollow from c. 1840-1920 are included in the collection.

• Deposits: No dates, 15 artifacts.
• Architectural remains of two houses: ca. 1840, 139 artifacts.
• Wooden Privy: Late 19^th century, 503 artifacts.
• Wooden Privy: Mid-19^th century, 4,450 artifacts.
• Unidentified Brick Feature: ca. 1840, 2016 artifacts.
• Brick Drain: ca. 1850 - Late 19^th century, 4 artifacts.
• Wooden Privy: Early to Mid-19^th century, 921 artifacts.
• Wooden Privy: Mid to Late 19^th century, 105 artifacts.
• Wooden Barrel Privy: ca. 1800, 567 artifacts.
• Concrete Privy: Late 19^th century, 56 artifacts.
• Wooden Cistern: Mid-19^th century, 369 artifacts.
• Brick Drain connected to Feature 4: ca. 1840, 41 artifacts.
• Concrete Drain Pipe: Late 19^th century, 8 artifacts.

In the 1960s, former state archaeologist Robert E. Funk excavated the West Athens Hill site in Greene County. West Athens Hill is well known as one of the oldest prehistoric archaeological sites in New York, dating to circa 12,500 years ago, and documents one of the earliest encampments of Native Americans who colonized New York at the end of the Ice Age. Funk's investigations revealed how these first peoples of New York systematically mined the distinctive green chert found on this hilltop outcrop to fashion spear points and other stone tools to support their hunting and gathering life way.

In 2009 the NYSM acquired Stanford Gibson’s collection recovered from 28 prehistoric Native American archaeological sites in central New York.  One of these, the White site in Chenango County, stands out due to its diverse artifact assemblage and the insights it revealed on Native American life ways in central New York, circa 900 A.D.  Archaeologists have noted that the White site yielded some artifacts that represent exotic imports, likely obtained from contemporaneous Native American groups elsewhere in Eastern North America, pointing to far-flung connections with groups outside New York at this time.

The Mineralogy Collection constitutes the world's largest and most complete array of New York State minerals. It contains approximately 35,000 specimens divided into two sub-collections. More than 11,000 of the specimens are in the "New York" collection and the others are in the "non-New York" collection representing world-wide localities. Almost all minerals reported from New York are in the "New York" collection. This collection contains about 290 valid mineral species, is organized based on the chemical composition and crystal structure, and the minerals are ordered according to Dana's System of Mineralogy. Validity of the mineral species is based on the International Mineralogical Association—Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification rules and reports. Species from most classic, depleted, and new collection sites are represented. The mineral collection contains specimens used for public display, research, and reference. Multiple specimens of a given species from the same locality may be present in the collection to allow for study material. The "non-New York" mineral collection is dominated by specimens from sites in the Americas, but Europe and Africa are also very well represented. 

Garoga is a 16th-century Mohawk–Iroquois village site, located in Fulton County, that has been excavated periodically by archaeologists since the late 19th century.  The NYSM has acquired several of these assemblages, including those resulting from large-scale excavations by state archaeologists William A. Ritchie and Robert E. Funk in the 1960s.  As a result Garoga is one of the most studied Mohawk village sites, and research on our holdings continues to yield important information on the ancient Mohawk way of life prior to extensive contact with non-native peoples.  

The New York State Museum curates the largest series of archaeological collections from Mohawk Iroquois sites in the world. One of these collections – the Swart family collection – was assembled during the 20th century by three generations of the Swart family, all of whom had a passion for archaeology.  At the age of eight, Joel Swart found his first artifact and began collecting on his sister’s farm.  His son, John, became involved with the Van Epps-Hartley chapter of the NYS Archaeological Association and worked as a federally-funded WPA archaeologist in the 1930s and 1940s.  John’s son, Jan, devoted his life to documenting archaeological sites in eastern New York.  The collection they assembled with help from their family and friends represents hundreds of sites throughout the Mohawk Valley, and provides a basis for ongoing research into the pre-contact and contact-era Mohawk Iroquois.  

Between the 1640s and 1670s, eastern Iroquois used lead obtained from fur traders to fashion small effigy figures and other forms by cold hammering or casting. The effigies sometimes take a human form, but also appear as animals or other human/animal forms. Animal effigies might have reflected the makers' clan, or perhaps some form of "charm." The Iroquois also fashioned crucifixes of lead, perhaps reflecting early contact with Jesuit missionaries. From the 1940s into the 1970s, avocational archaeologist Donald Rumrill investigated a number of Mohawk Iroquois sites, assembling a large collection of these distinctive lead effigies and crosses.

I am particularly interested in moth lineages that have larvae that feed on Protococcus viridis; a globally distributed alga that is typically found on tree trunks. 

Isolated populations are particularly intriguing for biologists.  They foster endemic species and harbor relictual populations that are indicative of past climatic and geologic events.   Focusing on these types of populations leads to the discovery of new species and even new genera.

Human activities have constrained animal and plant communities to relatively small areas that are subject to catastrophic extinction.  Identifying and managing these small enclaves are critical to the survival of species.  

The Bryophyte Herbarium of the New York State Museum includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts and it serves to document these plant groups as they are represented in the New York flora. While most of the bryophyte collection is from New York, also included are significant holdings from other parts of the United States and from other countries. The total number of accessioned specimens exceeds 50,000.

The Bryophyte Herbarium has had a long history, and accordingly it houses numerous collections dating from the 1800s. Important historical collections include specimens from Coe Finch Austin, Elizabeth G. Britton, George W. Clinton, Roy Latham, John M. Macoun, and W. H. Wiegmann. An important nineteen volume bound set of bryophytes prepared by Lewis Caleb Beck includes collections that likely predate 1829. Other major collections are the results of research and studies by former state botanists and curators, Charles H. Peck, Stanley J. Smith, and Norton G. Miller.

For information about requesting Specimen Loans, please see the Loan Policy. 

The Vascular Plant Herbarium is a repository of plants collected primarily from New York and adjacent states or provinces. It also contains a significant number of specimens from other areas of North America and abroad. The early establishment and importance of the Herbarium through John Torrey’s collections for A Flora of the State of New York (1843) and the prominence of Herbarium staff attracted many important botanists and collections. This included material from Lewis Caleb Beck, Chester Dewey, Henry Parker Sartwell, Edward Tuckerman, Asa Gray, and Peter D. Knieskern among others. The herbarium also received important type specimens from M. A. Curtis, L. S. Rose, I. W. Clokey, C. F. Austin, B. D. Gilbert, C. S. Sheldon, E. Brainerd, C. S. Sargent, E. P. Bicknell, and H. M. Denslow. Throughout its history, the herbarium grew considerably from collections made by state botanists, Charles H. Peck (tenure: 1868-1913), Homer D. House (tenure: 1913–1948, active until his death in 1949), Eugene C. Ogden (tenure: 1952–1975), and Richard M. Mitchell (tenure: 1975-2002) and curators, Stanley J. Smith (tenure: 1947-1978) and Charles J. Sheviak (tenure: 1978-2013). 

In addition to collections made by museum staff, and by the many other botanists who document the flora of New York, the herbarium preserves important collections that were transferred from other institutions. These transferred institutional collections include the following:

• ASLC: The herbarium of the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation.
• ASRC: The herbarium of the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, Whiteface Mountain Field Station. 
• BROC: The original State University College at Brockport herbarium. That institution continues to maintain an herbarium with many new collections. 
• GESU: A major component of the State University of New York at Geneseo herbarium. This institution continues to maintain an herbarium.
• GLA: The herbarium of the George Landis Arboretum comprised almost entirely of collections made by Theodore C. Baim.
• MSMC: The herbarium of Mount Saint Mary College, which comprises the herbarium of New York University’s Sterling Forest Research Center.
• POST: The C.W. Post Herbarium from Long Island University. This collection includes the CUNY Hunter College herbarium.
• Wildlife Resources Center (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation).
• Today, the Vascular Plant Herbarium continues to grow and contains approximately 210,000 accessioned specimens.

Vascular Plant Databases

A portion of the NYSM Vascular Plant database focusing on invasive species can be accessed here: https://greatlakesinvasives.org/portal/collections/misc/collprofiles.ph…

The remaining portion of the NYSM Vascular Plant database can be accessed here: https://neherbaria.org/portal/collections/misc/collprofiles.php?collid=…

More specimen records will be added in the future.

For information about requesting Specimen Loans, please see the Loan Policy.

The Mimic Shiner (Notropis volucellus) is a small, silvery, North American minnow with a wide geographic distribution that includes portions of the Mississippi River, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and several Atlantic Coast drainage basins. As currently classified, the Mimic Shiner has long been thought to contain multiple undescribed, morphologically similar species but, to date, little research has been performed to determine the identity, geographic distribution, and evolutionary relationships of these cryptic species, which has been called “one of the most interesting, needed, and difficult problems remaining in the systematics of North American freshwater fishes” (Etnier and Starnes 1993, p. 233). In New York, this species has a curious distribution, with populations being found in the northeastern watersheds of the Saint Lawrence River Basin and the southwestern watersheds of the Ohio River and Great Lakes watersheds, but nowhere in between. Our examinations of specimens deposited in the NYSM Ichthyology collection have uncovered several differences in morphology (particularly in pigmentation patterns) between these populations. In order to fully demonstrate the distinctiveness of these populations and determine their evolutionary and geographical origins, we have begun an examination of this species complex throughout its entire range, which includes both classical morphological methods and molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. We anticipate this work to result in the description of several new species in the coming years, as well as an increased understanding of the interspecific and intrageneric evolutionary relationships of this perplexing group of minnows.

Recent research has indicated that over 2,500 fish species (or ≈ 10% of all known species) possess venom glands associated with specialized teeth, or fin, opercular, and/or or cleithral spines. The secretions produced by these glands cause a wide array of physiological effects in vertebrate organisms, including severe pain, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and general cytolytic effects, and, as might be expected, have been shown to have significant impacts on the predator/prey interactions of the species that produce them. In spite of this, however, the venoms of fishes have received comparatively little attention from scientists relative to those of other venomous organisms, to the point that we lack even the most basic information regarding venom composition, toxin identity, and genetic architecture of venom production for nearly all venomous fish species.

Over half of all venomous fish species are catfishes, which possess venom glands lining the spines that are found along the front edges of their pectoral and/or dorsal fins. Using comparative next generation RNA sequencing of fin spines and histologically similar fin tissues, we will compare the gene transcripts that code for protein production in these two tissue types and, by using bioinformatic methods to eliminate transcripts that both have in common, identify only those transcripts that are unique to venom gland cells. Additional examination of these transcripts, in conjunction with information gained from earlier studies and proteomic sequencing, will allow us to identify those transcripts that code for venom proteins, as well as the genes that are responsible for the production of these venom protein RNAs. These results will provide the first insight into the genetic mechanisms underlying venom production in a group of venomous fishes, and will serve as a springboard for future studies in this developing area of research.

Two species of Pearl Dace are known to occur in New York State. The Allegheny Pearl Dace (Margariscus margarita) is found in the Hudson River watershed and those of the Southern Tier, while the Northern Pearl Dace (M. nachtreibi) is found in the watersheds of the Saint Lawrence drainage and direct tributaries to Lake Ontario. Although these two species are recognized as distinct, the descriptions and morphological characters used to tell them apart are currently insufficient as many of these characters overlap, making positive identifications unnecessarily difficult. During a routine morphological study to identify consistent diagnostic traits for these species, we discovered that individuals from several locations in the Eastern Lake Ontario Basin showed characteristics that were intermediate between Allegheny and Northern Pearl Dace, indicating that these specimens were of hybrid origin. This has necessitated an expansion of this project to include genetic data and specimens from throughout the two species' ranges in New York, in order to fully delimit and characterize the range and population genetics within this hybrid zone, as well as to fulfill our original objective of being able to reliably identify Pearl Dace Specimens from New York. Because the hybrid zone occurs at the nearest margins of the two recognized species’ ranges, our genetic studies also have the potential to generate significant insights into the processes leading to the isolation and speciation of these two forms.    

In 1963, Weidhaas co-authored,  “The occurrence and importance of tetranychid and eriophyid mites on woody [ornamental] plants in New York" with R. M. Reeves.  There are 22  boxes of slides (100 slides / box) of mites in the Weidhaas collection.

F. Reese Nevin taught acarology for the  College of Arts and Science, in Plattsburgh, New York. There are 48 boxes (100 slides / box) of mites in the Nevin collection.

Mercedes Delfinado co-authored with (and eventually married) USDA Acarologist Ed Baker.  Dr. Delfinado described over 60 mite species associated with host insects.
There are 120  boxes of slides (100 slides / box) of mites in the Delfinado collection.

The New York State Museum has an extensive collection of plant galls. The collection—the finest of its kind—fills 72 drawers, each 18-by-18-inches. The collection contains plant galls that were dried and preserved, most in the early 20th century but some as early as the 1850s. They have been continuously cared for and are in excellent condition.

Plant galls comprise tissue that the plant produced as a defense against an invading organism. The plant tissue reacts to an invader by encapsulating the invader in a gall. The gall can be very ornate and is highly characteristic of the specific species of invader. A polyphagous (literally “many foods”) gall insect will attack numerous plant species, and each plant species will produce a different-looking gall even though the invading insect is the same identical species.

The gall collection also includes the associated insects. Dr. Ephraim Porter Felt (1868–1943), the third state entomologist for New York, described more than 200 species of gall flies. He preserved the plant gall that was associated with the emerging fly. This field of study requires botanical expertise as well as a certain tenacity since many flies take a year to emerge.

The New York State Museum has the original drawer of Heteroptera types that has been maintained in their original arrangement as prepared by Asa Fitch.

Asa Fitch is considered the founder of economic entomology in America. His early studies of various grain insects lead to methods of preventing crop damage and his volumious reports set the standard for practicing entomology. Fitch began working for New York State informally in 1838 when Ebenezer Emmons, a chief geologist working for the State's Geological Survey, hired him to assist with the publication of papers describing insects of importance to agriculture. In 1847, Fitch was employed directly by the State Cabinet of Natural History to collect and name specimens of New York insects. With his 1854 appointment Entomologist of the New York State Agricultural Society, Fitch became the first occupational entomologist in the United States. More significantly, however, Fitch used this appointment as a vehicle to help solve public problems, namely how to prevent crop damage by various insects. Many types of Fitch's species of Hemiptera are in the Museum's collection.

Fitch served as official entomologist for 19 years until he was incapacitated by health in 1873. During this time, he published 14 official annual reports on the Noxious, Beneficial and Other Insects of the State of New York. These reports set the standard for entomologists and agriculturalists. Fitch is also credited with discovering the Rodent Bot fly (Cuterebra emasculator). Today, many of his notebooks are now the property of the Smithsonian Institution. 

Roughly 2,000 specimens comprise this collection of rocks from New York. All rock types and most stratigraphic formations are represented. The collection is organized by physiographic region. These regions are the Ontario Lowlands, Allegheny Highlands, Tug Hill Plateau, St. Lawrence Lowlands, Adirondack Lowlands, Adirondack Highlands, Mohawk Lowlands, Catskill Highlands, Hudson Lowlands, Champlain Lowlands, Taconic Highlands, Hudson Highlands, and Atlantic (coastal plain) Lowlands. Most specimens are hand-sized. Many were collected in the course of specific geological investigations. Consequently, samples are irregularly distributed statewide. A catalog is available.

The Empire State Organized Geologic Information System (ESOGIS) is your complete resource for shallow well and deep well information in the state of New York. In addition to allowing you to query and view data for all of New York's 42,000+ deep wells, and thousands of shallow wells, we provide easy access to digital maps, published papers (PDF), and other related information. Whether you have been interested in New York's shallow wells or deep wells for many years or you are just beginning your research, ESOGIS provides you with a wealth of information delivered to your desktop.

Visit ESOGIS:  http://esogis.nysm.nysed.gov

The New York State Museum has a small collection of meteorite specimens from 28 localities, one pseudo meteorite, three tektites, and one lunar basalt. The majority of the specimens were acquired between 1880 and 1920. The Bethlehem, Burlington, Mount Morris, and Tomhannock Creek meteorites and the Scriba pseudo meteorite are the only meteorites from New York State represented in the collection. A catalog of the meteorite collection is available. It includes information on provenance, weight, size, description, and references.

The New York State Museum Economic Geology Collection contains approximately 2,000 specimens of ore, concentrates, gangue, and finished products collected from the operations of the mineral industry of New York during the past century. Most of the material mined in New York is represented in this collection. The bulk of the specimens were on public display when the State Museum was housed in the State Education Building. Specific commodity representation in this collection is related to the importance and duration of the industry producing the product. Hence, there are more specimens of iron and zinc ore than of pigments or slate roofing shingles. The majority of specimens were collected while the mines were in actual operation, so provenance is good overall. A catalog of this collection is available.

The mineral collection of the New York State Museum contains one thousand specimens of gem material. The term "gem" refers to inorganic materials that have been cut into faceted stones, cabochons, or beads, and organic materials such as coral and pearls which have not necessarily been modified from their natural state. The specimens are not mounted in jewelry and this collection does not contain carved mineral material. Uncut gem-quality minerals and polished slabs of agate or other gem species are not included in the gem collection. A catalog of this collection is available. The catalog is organized alphabetically by species and subdivided by variety. Both natural and synthetic minerals are included. Locality information, cut, color, weight, and source are provided along with specimen number. Information is most complete for material from New York localities. Locality data are lacking for some entries.

The Contemporary Indigenous Art Collection honors a living legacy of master craftsmanship and vibrant innovation in the artistic expressions of New York State's First Nations. Building on an initiative begun in 1986 and now numbering more than 130 objects, the collection offers insight into the endurance and evolution of tradition in tribal communities and a profound determination to survive and express as sovereign nations. Included in the collection are examples of beadwork, basketry, sculpture, silverwork, clothing, carving, painting, and pottery. The collection reflects the broad range of artwork from Native artists from functional to unique and decorative, and from traditional to modern in style and technique.

These objects speak of Indigenous experience in the first person, forging a respectful partnership between the State Museum and those whose spiritual, economic, and material presence long predates the founding of New York State. 

The Abenaki basketry collection donated by Rodney Johnson of Rochester, NY, is a unique collection of 20th century Native American material culture handed down through four generations of his family. The collection, which includes baskets, basket-making tools, birch bark and wooden items, represents the types of things once made by Mr. Johnson’s great-grandparents, Norman and Angeline Sarah (Totoson) Johnson and his great-uncle George Johnson in Lake George, NY, during the early to mid-1900s.

As early as the mid-19th century, Native American families would sell beadwork, baskets, and other hand-made items as souvenirs to tourists at well-known vacation destinations such as Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs, and Lake George. The Johnson family was among a group of Native American artisans who settled in Lake George where they ran a small store selling baskets, canoes, and other items. Their family’s collection, which also includes a cradleboard donated by his great-grandmother in 1909, is the largest and best documented collection of Abenaki material culture ever acquired by the NYSM.

The Cohoes Mastodon was discovered in 1866 during construction of Harmony Mill No. 3 near Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River in the city of Cohoes, New York.  The mastodon’s remains were found deeply buried in two potholes, which had been worn into the bedrock by the swirling action of water and stones at the end of the last Ice Age. In life, the Cohoes Mastodon stood about eight and one-half feet high at the shoulder, was about fifteen feet long, and weighed between eight and ten thousand pounds. 

Is this a Mastodon or a Mammoth?  
Although mastodons resembled mammoths (also extinct) and elephants, they were not closely related mammal species.  The ancestors of the mastodons diverged from the evolutionary tree, about 15 million years ago, long before those of the mammoths and elephants did.  

A major difference between mastodons and mammoths was the shape of their teeth.  Mastodon teeth had pointed cusps used to cut and crush the coarse, often woody plants on which they fed.  In fact, the name mastodon is derived from Greek words describing the shape of their teeth, “mastos”, meaning breast, and “odous”, meaning tooth.  In contrast, mammoths and elephants, had molar teeth that were flattened on top, suitable for grazing on grasses.  The different diets and habitats of mastodons and mammoths suggest that they behaved differently. 

What Happened to the Mastodons?: The End-Pleistocene Mass Extinction 
Why did mastodons, mammoths and many other large mammals become extinct about 10,000 years ago, while other animals did not?  The question has puzzled researchers for over one hundred years.  One explanation is that climatic change caused their habitat to shrink in size.  Along with their low birthrates, this environmental stress made these mammals especially vulnerable to predation and disease.  Perhaps, like mammoths, mastodons were also hunted by early American Indians.  The most probable explanation is a combination of human hunting and climatic change caused the mastodons and other large mammals to go extinct. 

Over a 30 year period from the late 1940s to the late 1970s, over a million pounds of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were released into the Upper Hudson River. These compounds  cause a number of harmful effects to fish and other aquatic wildlife, as well as the humans who might consume them. Since 2009, dredging and backfilling to remove and replace PCB-contaminated sediments has been taking place in a 40-mile stretch of the river from Fort Edward to the Federal Dam in Troy. When clean-up efforts have been completed, fish will be tested to demonstrate that PCB levels in their flesh have declined, however, no post-dredging monitoring of the overall recovery of biological communities from these large scale ecological disturbances has been planned. In collaboration with Dr. Denise Mayer (NYSM Cambridge Field Laboratory), we have received a research grant from the Hudson River Foundation to examine the rates and relationships of fish and invertebrate community recoveries in dredged areas of the Upper Hudson. Our surveys and studies will encompass a broad range of environmental and biological variables, in order to better understand the interplay between these communities and the river itself, as well as the clean-up activities that have occurred there. This work has great potential to inform future policy decisions regarding the Upper Hudson River fishery, as well as large river clean-up projects nation- and worldwide, considering that less than 10% of these operations have planned to examine post-remediation recovery of biological communities in this way.

The Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) is a small, brightly colored, bottom-dwelling fish that is native to the Lake Erie, western Lake Ontario, and Allegheny River watersheds in western New York. In 2009, this species was discovered in Fox Creek, a tributary of Schoharie Creek, in the Mohawk River watershed, but was not known from other sites in the basin. In 2013, during routine surveys in the area, we discovered Rainbow Darters in the Switzkill, which is a tributary of Fox Creek, but also in the Plotter Kill, a tributary of the main stem Mohawk River, indicating possible dispersal and range expansion through Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk River. In 2014, we began broad scale surveys of the Schoharie Creek and eastern Mohawk basins and have documented Rainbow Darters at 10 additional sites throughout these drainages, often at very high population densities, indicating that the species has become established in these parts of the watershed. Surveys continue to document the full extent of this species’ colonization and expansion in the Mohawk watershed, along with examinations of past museum collections from these sites. The specimens contained in these museum collections, when compared to more recent survey results, will help to identify other species that may have decreased in abundance since this darter’s introduction. We are complementing these surveys and historical examinations with dietary studies, in order to identify those species that show overlap with the Rainbow Darter and which may have been, or continue to be, negatively affected by this introduced species.

Cuttings are a byproduct of the well drilling process. As a well is being drilled, these small bits of bedrock circulate to the surface. In many cases these rock chips are collected, labeled with the depth from which they came, and stored for later studies. Cuttings are often stored in plastic vials or manilla envelopes. These rock fragments can be used to identify the type of rock at a given depth as well as provide sample material for geochemical and mineralogical analyses.

The NYSGS currently holds a collection of cuttings from over 3,000 wells, all of which are available for scientific analysis. 

Geophysical logs are depth-registered graphical representations of the rock properties in a given well. When drilling is complete, a logging company is brought in to log the well. This involves lowering a series of sophisticated tools down the well. As these tools are brought back up, they record various rock properties, such density and porosity. Logs from a single well can been used to study the geology characteristics of a single well. Logs from multiple wells can be correlated to determine the geology across a large area.

The NYSGS maintains a large collection of wireline logs from over 12,500 oil and gas wells. These logs are stored in the New York State Archives, however they have been scanned and are available for a fee on the Empire State Organized Geologic Information System (ESOGIS) at http://esogis.nysm.nysed.gov/. A portion of the collection has been digitized to create LAS files which can be used in a wide variety of geologic software.

The New York State Museum has 4,000 vials of liquid preserved spiders.  Most are from Long Island due to the efforts of a Long Island naturalist, Roy Latham.

This collection includes artifacts from late 17th century land filling and contained deposits and features dating from this period through the mid-19th century.  Features include the foundation walls of the first structures built on the site, as well as basement deposits, privies, and cisterns dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Four major sub-components comprise the collection: a variety of household goods and metal working tools associated with a gold and silversmith named Daniel van Voorhis, who lived and worked on the block in the 1780s; a group of artifacts from druggist Richard Brown dating to 1810; artifacts from the shop of druggist-physicians Joel and Jotham Post, dating to c. 1790; and an assemblage of objects from the privy of David Dunham, auctioneer and commission merchant, deposited c.1820. The total count of artifacts is more than 208,000.

• Daniel van Voorhis metalsmith shop/house: 1780s.
• Richard Browne druggist household: 1810s.
• Joel & Jotham Post druggist shop: ca. 1790.
• David Dunham privy: ca. 1820.

Broad Financial Center collection comes from an excavation conducted during the early 1980s on the block bounded by Whitehall, Pearl, Bridge, and Broad streets in lower Manhattan. This site was located on the original 17th century island of Manhattan as opposed to landfill or man-made land. Excavation revealed deposits and features dating from the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam through the mid-19th century. There are materials associated with the c. 1650 warehouse of tobacco merchant and slave trader Augustine Heermans, including a 1590 Dutch token (the oldest European artifact excavated in New York) and domestic deposits from 17th and early 18th century inhabitants of the block.  Significant components from the collection include the privy of the first doctor of the Dutch West India Company named Dr. Hans Kiersted and his wife Sarah, who was Peter Stuyvesant’s Native American interpreter; a c. 1680 basket filled with Native American and European goods including delft tiles, hand-wrought nails, wampum, glass trade beads, thimbles and pins, 17 marbles of various sizes and a possible wooden game board. English Colonial artifacts include 7,000 fragments of 17th and 18th century clay tobacco pipes made at the Robert Tippet shop in Bristol, England, and probably shipped to a local tavern on the block, a sword guard, candle snuffer, candlestick holder, and a delft posset pot. Many other domestic materials date to Federalist and Jacksonian New York. More than 61,000 artifacts are contained in this collection.

• Kiersted privy: 17^th century.
• Augustine Heerman’s warehouse: 17^th century.

The Greenwich Mews collection includes three large domestic deposits recovered from two 19th century privies excavated on Greenwich Street in Manhattan.  One assemblage was from privy no.1 at 689 Greenwich Street and was deposited after 1868.  The house at 689 Greenwich Street was occupied by seafood merchants, and a mason during the 1870s and 1880s. A second assemblage consists of the upper layers of privy no.2 at 691 Greenwich Street, deposited c. 1880. The two-family house was then occupied by the families of a milk-dealer and a clerk. The large domestic deposit from the lower levels of privy no. 2, were deposited after 1851. This deposit represents three consecutive single family occupations by the families of a merchant (1840s-1850s), a mahogany dealer (1850s) and a butcher (1870s).  Objects include chamber pots, spittoons, bone toothbrushes, coins, a profusion of pitchers, numerous medicine, perfume and hair-dye bottles (some with ingredients still inside), cold cream and ointment pots, cologne bottles, a glass bird feeder, cruets, candlesticks, and stoneware storage vessels. Ambrotypes (an early method of photography) were also recovered, one of which, dating to c. 1860, was conserved and reproduced.  Locks of hair were also found between the framing and the matting of several ambrotypes. The total artifact count is more than 5,000 for this collection.

• Privy at 689 Greenwich Street: 1868-1880s.
• Privy at 691 Greenwich Street, context 1: 1851-1870s.
• Privy at 691 Greenwich Street, context 2: ca. 1880.

The Sullivan Street collection includes approximately 200,000 artifacts recovered from Manhattan. One important domestic assemblage illustrates the upper middle-class lifestyle of wealthy Dr. Benjamin Robson whose house faced Washington Square.  Robson is thought to be the prototype of Dr. Roper, one of the protagonists in the novel “Washington Square” by Henry James.  Domestic artifacts include perfume bottles, tortoise shell combs, a hair brush and hair ornaments, baking dishes, and a pressing iron.  Also found in this spectacular assemblage is a child’s presentation mug, (“A Present from Carolina”), slate pencils and writing slates, champagne bottles, coffee beans, shell and bone buttons, and  bone button blanks (for making buttons). Two other important upper middle-class assemblages in this collection are from the privy associated with Francis Sage, a wealthy commission flour merchant and another linked to Edward Tailer, a New York City broker. In contrast, a stone-lined privy dating from 1850-century 1880 was attributed to members of the working class, and was probably used by a glassmaker and his family and by an English artist.  By the 1880s, the building associated with the privy housed unskilled workers.

• Robson family house/privy: 1841 – 1860s.
• Francis Sage house/privy: 19^th century.
• Edward Tailer house/privy: 1828 – 1903.
• Working-class privy: 1850 – ca. 1880

The Betsey Prince collection consists of over 8,000 artifacts recovered from the late 18th to early 19th century household of Prince Jessup and his wife Betsey in Brookhaven Long Island. Jessup was among several free African Americans who owned houses in the area during the first two decades of the 19th century. Betsey Prince remained in the house following her husband’s death in the 1810s until the 1830s. The collection includes a wide variety of household artifacts dating from 1800 to the 1830s. The Betsey Prince collection represents a rare assemblage of material culture from a free African American household in New York State.    

Excavations at this site, located east of Dean Street and south of Maiden Lane in Albany, unearthed a French and Indian War stockade line, waterfront bulkheads, and numerous foundations, privies, wells, cisterns, drains, and other features associated with 18th-19th century warehouses, shops, taverns, homes, and boarding houses. There are 176,000 artifacts in this collection. Artifacts within the collection range in date from about 1740 to 1900.