The Palisades Museum of Prehistory

I stopped by the Palisades Museum of Prehistory today to see founder Doug Dupin's latest finds. Doug started the museum after he found hundreds of artifacts in his own yard, while digging a hole for his wine cellar. The Palisades neighborhood overlooks the first falls of the Potomac River, and it was once one big Indian site.

Doug has acquired many other artifacts since those first finds, some contributed by neighbors, others found on nearby construction sites. Here are some of Doug's points: at top, a Kirk stemmed point, around 9,000 years old; then three Savannah River points, around 4500 years old.

Pictures I took today of the museum's main display cases.

And the latest finds, not yet on display. Yeah, I should have taken them off the aluminum lid before I photographed them, but you get the general idea.

I think local museums like this are really cool, and they serve the important purpose of connecting people to the archaeology of their own communities. If this stuff were in some state repository, nobody would ever see it. In Doug's yard, it is accessible to anyone who wants to drop by and chat.