Our Hidden Landscape Stone Cultural Features & Native American Ceremonial Sites”

The Torrington Historical Society will host a FREE program on Wednesday, October 17th  in the Carriage House Gallery of the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street.  The speaker will be Lucianne Lavin Ph.D., Director of Research and Collections at the Institute for American Indian Studies, Washington, CT.  Dr. Lavin’s PowerPoint program, titled, “Our Hidden Landscapes: Stone Cultural Features & Native American Ceremonial Sites” will begin at 6:30 p.m.  This presentation is sponsored by the Torrington Chapter of UNICO National.  Admission is free; donations are welcome.

This program will explore the topic of stone features, many of which can often be seen as we hike through the woods.  Although some of these are the remains of abandoned farmsteads and industrial mill sites, many others represent Native American ceremonial sites.  Dr. Lavin’s PowerPoint presentation will illustrate the various kinds of European-American and indigenous stone structures found on our Connecticut landscapes. Although State regulations support the preservation of sacred Native American sites, these sites are often not recognized for what they are and subsequently, have been destroyed by development and suburban sprawl.  Even on protected lands, destruction is possible through logging, landscaping, or building placement.  This program will help individuals and organizations learn more about these Native American stone features so that we can identify them and help aid in the preservation of these significant indigenous stone features.

Lucianne Lavin, Ph.D., is Director of Research and Collections at the Institute for American Indian Studies, a museum and research and educational center in Washington, CT.  Dr. Lavin is an anthropologist and archaeologist who has over 40 years of research and field experience in Northeastern archaeology and anthropology, including teaching, museum exhibits and curatorial work, cultural resource management, editorial work, and public relations.  She has owned and operated an archaeological firm for over 25 years.   In addition, Dr. Lavin is the author of over 150 professional publications and technical reports on the archaeology and ethnohistory of the Northeast.  Her award-winning book, Connecticut’s Indigenous Peoples: What Archaeology, History and Oral Traditions Teach Us About Their Communities and Cultures, was published by Yale University Press (spring 2013).  She is a founding member of the state’s Native American Heritage Advisory Council and Editor of the journal of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut.  

The program will begin promptly at 6:30.  For more information about the Torrington Historical Society, please visit www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org.