The People of Ridgefield Before 1708 is the topic of a new live, interactive, online Zoom course in archaeology in Ridgefield Continuing Education.
Ten thousand years ago the glaciers had withdrawn from Ridgefield, leaving behind an inhospitable environment. Yet, there is evidence that at least one hunter was here. Since then Ridgefield has been populated by people, who lived their lives, raised their families, and lived off of the land. This course deals with these people, their lives, their tools; and their ability to adjust to the climate changes, and the changes in their environment over the ten thousand years they occupied this land.
Instructor Lynn-Marie Wieland is a lithic archaeologist specializing in Southern New England prehistory with an emphasis on the Native Americans of Ridgefield, who belonged to a larger community whose territory covered the land between the Norwalk River and the Hudson River. She excavated a site in Ridgefield that covered at least 10,000 years of occupation. Her specialty is the study of the manufacturing and use of stone tools.