Cumberland County Museum of Prehistory

Introduction

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The Cumberland County Museum of Prehistory is dedicated to preserving the history of the Native Americans who inhabited the lower Delaware Valley. Included in the museum's exhibits are stone and bone artifacts, pottery, and Native crafts. A large number of fossils originally discovered in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are also on display in the museum.

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Backstory and Context

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The bulk of the Cumberland County Museum of Prehistory's contents were donated by archaeologist Alan Ewing Carman, whose wish it was that these artifacts remain in the area in order to pay tribute to the Native Americans they represent.

At the time of first European contact, the Native Americans who inhabited southern New Jersey were the Lenape, today known as the Delaware. Anthropologists have since identified 44 subdivisions of the Lenape people, including the Little Siconese, the

Sewapose, and the Alloways.

On display are Native fire-making kits, pottery, and other crafts, as well as bone and shell remains that shed light on Native American food sources. A number of fossils are also exhibited.

Sources

Ye Greate Street Sites, Historic Greenwich, NJ. Accessed September 14th 2020. http://www.historicgreenwichnj.org/greate-street-historic-houses-monuments/.

Discover the Cumberland County Prehistorical Museum, Accessed September 14th 2020. http://digilib.clueslibs.org/info/prehistorical.pdf.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

http://www.historicgreenwichnj.org/greate-street-historic-houses-monuments/