Special exhibit to open at Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in Coshocton
October 26, 2012
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The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum (JHM) will present the special exhibit, Traces of Time, Traces of Glory: Native American Pre-historic Tools & Points through Dec. 30. This exhibit features hundreds of artifacts found in Coshocton and adjacent counties, from blades, points and drills to axes, bannerstones and celts.
It is always a thrill to discover remnants of cultures past. Although landowners, farmers and excavators unearth these beautifully crafted tools while working, most are found by amateur archaeologists who doggedly walk newly plowed fields or poke around flint outcroppings. Most often these artifacts find their home in private collections, the source of the museums exhibit. Portions of two such private collections, donated to the museum in the 1980s, will be included in the exhibit. Doctors Norman L. Wright and W.R. Agricola, local physicians now deceased, collected with passion and scientific exactitude. They had accumulated enough material culture and data for a lifetime of study. Subsequently, as museum property, their artifacts have been examined by professional archaeologists, contributing to our understanding of Ohios prehistory.
The earliest human culture that has been discovered in Ohio so far is the Clovis culture (9500 to 8000 B.C.) Hunters and gatherers were drawn to places like Coshocton County because of navigable rivers and ample flora and fauna. But even more specifically, the Paleoindians found Coshoctons flint of the highest quality for their tools. According to the Ohio Historical Society, their favorite flint was the Upper Mercer flint from Coshocton County and Flint Ridge flint from Licking County. Simply put, east central Ohio provided just the right resources to sustain human flourishing for thousands of years.
A number of adult and childrens programs will be offered in connection with this exhibit. On Nov. 5, at 7 p.m., Dr. Bradley T. Lepper, curator of archaeology for the Ohio Historical Society, will give an overview of Ohios prehistory. The public is invited to bring in an archaeological find Nov. 17, at 4 p.m., for a program on artifact identification and flintknapping. Bill Pickard, assistant curator and collections specialist with the Ohio Historical Society, will identify artifacts. He plans to bring along a flintknapper to demonstrate the techniques.
Sponsors for Traces of Time, Traces of Glory are Organic Technologies and Three River Therapies. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is located at 300 N. Whitewoman St. in Roscoe Village, Coshocton. The museum is open noon to 5 p.m. daily through October. Winter hours, 1-4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, begin in November. For more information, contact JHM at 740-622-8710 or email jhmuseum@jhmuseum.org.
