Robert E. Funk

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The Funk Foundation's 2018 Grant Cycle

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Robert E. Funk in the field, Upper Susquehanna Valley, New York
Photo courtesy of the New York State Museum

            The Robert E. Funk Memorial Archaeology Foundation, Inc. is now accepting proposals for grants for research in New York State archaeology. Grant applications must be received by May 7, 2018. The grant applications will be reviewed by the Funk Foundation Board of Directors in a competitive process with award decisions made by June 22, 2018. Further information including the grant application forms can be found on the Funk Foundation website at www.funkfoundation.org. If you have any questions, please email Funk Foundation Board President Ed Curtin at ed@curtinarchaeology.com, or call Ed at (518) 928-8813.
            The 2018 grants are for amounts in the range of $1,000.00-$2,500.00. They are ideal to assist parts of stand-alone research projects or studies that are parts of larger projects. For example, Funk Foundation grants have been made to support a range of services such as faunal analysis, radiocrabon dating, petrographic slides, lithic analysis, and remote sensing. Funk Foundation grants do not support fieldwork other than technical applications such as remote sensing.

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Walking in October Light: A Memory of Learning about the Archaic Period

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Walking in October Light: A Memory of Learning about the Archaic Period

This month as I drive down narrow country roads on my way to work, the sunlight shines at low angles through the tree canopies ahead, reminding me of an earlier time when I walked through October light in Albany, New York’s Washington Park on my way to the State Museum.  It was the late 1970s, and I had come to Albany from Binghamton to study with State Archaeologist Bob Funk, supported by a SUNY pre-doctoral research fellowship.

Archaeologists and Anthropologists Gather for Regional Conferences, Spring 2016

Archaeologists and Anthropologists Gather for Regional Conferences, Spring 2016

On April 15 the New York Archaeological Council (NYAC) met in Rochester, New York preceding the 100th anniversary meeting of the New York State Archaeological Association.  Workshops responsive to the crisis in archaeological collections curation were held as the NYAC program on Friday afternoon. Later that night NYSAA held its business meeting, while the conference continued through the rest of the weekend, ending with a guided tour of the new Seneca Art and Culture Center at the Ganondagan State Historic Site on Sunday afternoon.  Some of the featured events of the NYSAA conference included the day-long plenary session on Saturday and the keynote presentation by John Hart on Saturday night.  Volunteered papers were presented on Sunday morning.  

The Funk Foundation’s New Grant Cycle

The Robert E. Funk Memorial Archaeology Foundation, Inc. is initiating a 2016 grant application and funding cycle for grants of up to $2,000.00.  The Funk Foundation grants support archaeological research in New York State, and are ideal to assist stand-alone research projects or studies that are parts of larger projects.  For example, Funk Foundation grants have been used successfully to support a range of services such as faunal analysis, radiocarbon dating, petrographic slides, and remote sensing. Grant applications must be received by April 15, 2016.  The grant application will be reviewed by the Funk Foundation Board of Directors with award decisions made by June 15, 2016.  For the 2016 grant cycle, we intend to fund grants for two applicants.  For each grant award, the Foundation will issue a check to the recipient for 80% of the grant amount when the grant is awarded.  The final 20% will be paid when the completed report of the grant research is received.  Further information including the grant application forms is found on the Funk Foundation website at www.funkfoundation.org.   The 2016 grant application forms will be posted during March, 2016.  If you have any questions, please email Funk Foundation President Ed Curtin at ecurtin12003@yahoo.com, or call Ed at (518) 884-7102.

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Did Climate Change Affect the Hudson Valley, AD 800-1300?

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In the Hudson Valley, archaeological sites dating to the period AD 1000-1300 appear to be scarce, or at least relatively invisible to archaeologists.  This trend had been noted, for example, by former New York State Archaeologist Robert E. Funk (1976), and has continued to hold through the era of more recent archaeological research and Cultural Resource Management studies.  Could the Medieval Warm Period have affected Hudson Valley Native American populations in some significant way, such as causing population decline, out-migration, or a reorganization of settlement patterns?