Southold Indian Museum

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Southold Indian Museum

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The Incorporated Long Island Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association is a private, non-profit educational organization dedicated to the preservation and study of the culture of the native peoples of Long Island.

09/01/2026

Some things are hard to categorize, like Native American ceramic traditions in the Northeast. We are excited to have a new AI tool to help us out! By closely examining detailed photos of restored vessel front views, top views, inside and outside patterns, decoration motifs, and base shapes, AI can spot unifying characteristics that could be difficult for humans to agree on. This figure shows three of our restored ceramic vessels sharing Sebonac tradition traits from different Long Island regions (South Fork, Shelter Island, and North Fork). The Sebonac phase production range was from 900 to 1500 AD in southern New England. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, September 6 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. (All photos by Ephraim Horowitz).

08/25/2026

Time for fall caribou hunting! As glaciers retreated from Long Island around 17,000 yrs ago, huge numbers of caribou migrated across land bridges connected to Long Island. Late August was the start time for the annual fall migration as caribou moved south, away from extreme winter snow and winds. These caribou likely served as an important annual game source for the Paleo people just arriving into our area. Caribou bones dated to 13,840 BP were discovered in upstate New York caves, but it has been challenging to find evidence directly linking Paleo hunting activities to caribou bones. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, Aug 30 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

08/19/2026

Intense archaeological interest has been paid to the Shoreham-Wading River area for the past 75 years. From 3500 BC to around 1500 BC, the shore area evolved from an open bay to a salt marsh through sedimentation. Both environments provided the local Native Americans with rich resources over that entire period of time. The AI figure shown here illustrates the large number of published documented and dated sites in the area. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday August 23 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

08/11/2026

Northeastern Algonquins used the position of the Three Sisters asterism (in Algonquin, niswi nimisenhyag) to track the progression of summer to fall. Vega, Deneb, and Altair form a triangle which in mid-August appears directly above at night. As this triangle appears to move lower and to the west, autumn is approaching. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, August 16 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

08/03/2026

AI is a powerful tool we use to help categorize artifact images you send us as well as our own museum items. From just this photo of a small ceramic sherd from the Ryder's Pond site in Brooklyn, AI was able to classify the entire vessel as most likely Bowman's Brook Incised (in the East River Tradition collared incised vessel class) produced around A.D. 1200-1450. The technical terms for the decoration are opposed diagonal incised (herringbone/chevron), and fortunately a fragment of the collared rim with a notched lip was also present. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, Aug 9 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

07/28/2026

Enjoy the upcoming full July Buck Moon! Northeastern Algonquins named the July full moon the Buck Moon because male deer can be seen rapidly regrowing velvet antlers during this time. Long Island Native Americans engaged mostly in fishing and harvesting from gardens in July, leaving intensive deer hunting to the fall season. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, August 2 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

07/21/2026

Native Americans during the Woodland period on Long Island engaged in ceramic vessel repair, similar to other cultures in North America. A few of our restored ceramic pots exhibit a number of drill holes associated with these repairs. The pot would have been tightly stitched together likely with dogbane or h**p fiber, extending its life as at least a dry container or serving vessel. Shown in the picture here is a repaired vessel from a Shelter Island site (top) compared to a repaired vessel from Arizona (bottom). Smooth areas in the restored vessel represent missing sherds. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, July 26 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

07/14/2026

We recently began using AI analysis of our artifacts to discover new features we may have never considered before. This restored castellated ceramic pot recovered from a Contact era North Fork village site has the ornate rim typical of Contact influences on local ceramic art. It is classified as Windsor tradition with a probable Niantic focus. What we missed was a possibly anthropomorphic effigy in the oval region inset of the castellated rim (check the close up image). There's clearly more to learn every day at the museum! Visit us on Sunday, July 19 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

07/07/2026

Couldn't make our summer exhibit opening last weekend? No worries, it's open until November! Come by to check out common small items dropped on the Revolutionary War battlefields by Native American, Colonial, and British forces. These include coins and gunflints, as seen in the picture. Visit us to learn more! The museum will be open on Sunday, July 12 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

06/30/2026

Here we go for July 4th activities! Our special summer exhibit, opening on Sunday July 5, focuses on Native American involvement in the Northeast during the Revolutionary War. Join us to view replicas of muskets, pistols, and European gunflints discovered at local Native American archaeological sites! We examine the choices and consequences facing Native American enlisted soldiers during the Revolutionary War. We'll also stamp your Suffolk Passport book when you visit. See you there!

Address

1080 Main Bayview Road
Southold, NY
11971

Opening Hours

1:30pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

(631) 765-5577

Website

http://www.southoldindianmuseum.com/

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