Updated: Jan 23
Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Long before the days of central heating and cell phones, humans occupied what is now known as New Jersey.
Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century, New Jersey (and portions of the neighboring states) was the homeland of the Lenape Indians and their ancestors for more than 10,000 years. We know this because of archeological and ethnological studies.
Archeology is the study of ancient and recent human history by the examination of material remains, while ethnology is the study of humans as cultural beings.
Gregory D. Lattanzi, Curator and State Archaeologist, New Jersey State Museum in front of an artifact found in the Garden State.
To learn more about who came before us, please join cosponsors Van Harlingen Historical Society and Montgomery Library on Thursday, January 23 at 6 pm for a lecture about the indigenous people of New Jersey dating back to when Homo sapiens first entered North America, traveling south between two ice sheets.
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The presenter is Dr. Greg Lattanzi, NJ State Archaeologist and Curator for the Bureau of Archeology and Ethnology at the New Jersey State Museum.
According to the museum website, the archeology and ethnology collection he oversees at the State Museum “encompasses more than two million prehistoric and historic specimens from nearly 100 years of excavation and over 2,000 ethnographic objects. Archaeology specimens are recognized as the definitive systematic research collection for the study of New Jersey prehistory and one of the most important collections for regional study of northeastern North America.”
Lattanzi has worked on all types of projects, from excavations to state and national register nominations. He earned his Ph.D. from Temple University, his B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and his M.A. in anthropology from the City University of New York, Hunter College.
Register at sclsnj.org.
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