Archaeologist will speak about American Indian rock art

Fort Montgomery — Archaeologist Edward J. Lenik will give a lecture — American Indian Rock Art in the Hudson Valley — at the Fort Montgomery Visitor Center, on Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m.

Located along rivers, at the edges of lakes, on mountain boulders, in rock shelters, on rock ledges where the continent meets the ocean, and tucked into parks and public places, American Indian rock art offers glimpses of the signs and symbols of Native American culture.

Petroglyphs carved into rock surfaces and pictographs painted on them are harder to find in northeastern North America than in the American Southwest, but they are here. The lower Hudson River Valley contains examples of these elusive artifacts from the past.

Lenik, familiar to many for his work in historic archaeology at Fort Montgomery, has had a lifelong fascination with the petroglyphs and the pictographs of northeastern North America. He has researched and searched out the rock art that remains here and is the author of two books on American Indian rock art of the northeast. He will share his adventures, discoveries, and interpretations on rock art sites in the Hudson region during this evening slide presentation.

Admission is free. A book sale and signing will follow the event.

The visitor center is located at 690 Route 9W, 1/4 mile north of the Bear Mountain Traffic Circle in Fort Montgomery.