CNEHA Annual Meeting 2025

November 6-9, 2025
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania

Ahead of the Curve: Innovations in Archaeological Theory and Practice

Hotel West & Main
www.hotelwestandmain.com
46 Fayette Street
Conshohocken, PA

By Montgomery County Planning Commission

Located along the banks of a curve in the Schuylkill River approximately 13 miles west of Philadelphia, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania has a rich and diverse history. Colloquially known as "Conshy," the region was originally inhabited by the Lenape. By the middle of the 19th century, Conshohocken was a burgeoning industrial town owing to its location encompassing many natural resources and an expanding infrastructure of rails and roads connecting the town to surrounding markets.

As Conshohocken grew, immigrants from Ireland, Poland, Italy and other countries moved to the borough. Today, Conshohocken is home to many global corporations. Our host hotel, Hotel West and Main, a converted 19th-century fire house, embodies the reimagination of the town.

Based on Conshohocken's history, the 2025 conference theme is innovation in archaeological theory and practice. The conference committee welcomes papers and posters whose scholarship shapes and advances our understanding of the past through innovative theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and technological advancements. Suggested topics include:

• New theoretical approaches in historical archaeology
• Interdisciplinary approaches to historical archaeology
• Innovations in methodology and techniques
• Application of new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence
• Public archaeology and community engagement
• Archaeology of the Revolutionary Era
• Industrial archaeology
• Material culture and social dynamics
• The ethics and politics of the past

Organized paper sessions, panel discussions, individual papers, and posters should reflect these themes and their relationship to the historical Northeast. Organized sessions or panels should submit an abstract of no more than 250 words that emphasizes the theme of the session and the number of anticipated participants. Individual abstracts should be no more than 150 words that outline the purpose of the research and its significance. Paper presentations will be limited to 20 minutes with Q & A to follow each session.

All lead author(s) must be current members of CNEHA and must register for the conference. Additional conference information regarding registration, venue, tours, book room and more will follow.

Please email your abstract to 2025CNEHA@gmail.com and specify if you are part of an organized session or an individual paper submission. If part of an organized session, please specify the session organizer's name and session title. Abstracts are due by August 31st.

Hotel Information

A block of rooms is reserved at the Hotel West and Main with King beds ($219/night) and Two Queen Beds ($229/night). Hotel West and Main Conference Rate.

The code for the conference rate is “CNEHA” and the group name is “CNEHA Conference 2025.” The last date to reserve at the Conference rate is October 17, 2025.

Tours

Tour 1 – Friday, Nov. 7 (8:30 am-5:00 pm)

Defending the Capital City – A Tour of Revolution

Tour Guides: Wade Catts (South River Heritage Consulting) and David G. Orr, Ph.D. (Temple University Professor Emeritus, NPS Archaeologist, Retired)

This day-long tour will explore several of the sites of War for American Independence from the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign where archaeological work is recent and/or ongoing and has contributed to new interpretations of the War. We will begin the tour at the battlefield of Paoli Battlefield Historical Park where a night-time bayonet attack badly mauled an American force. Our next stop will be Red Bank Battlefield Park on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The park is the site of Fort Mercer; the engagement here was a significant defeat for the Hessian assault force. We'll then proceed to Valley Forge National Historical Park, where the American Continental Army commanded by George Washington spent the winter of 1777-1778, emerging from that encampment as a better-trained and more professional fighting force. Over the decades archaeology at Valley Forge has investigated brigade camps, headquarters, and training areas. Lunch is included in the tour cost.

Tour 2 – Friday, Nov. 7 (8:30 am-1:30 pm)

Six Penny Creek

Tour Guide: Benjamin Carter (Muhlenberg College)

Six Penny Creek was an essential, but poorly known, component of the Underground Railroad. This small, rural Black community was established in 1842, peaked between 1860-1870 and then shrunk. A portion of the site is still owned by descendants and the other portion lies within French Creek State Park. Of particular note is the relationship between the community and the landscape. On nearly all sides of the community were forests used by local iron furnaces to produce charcoal needed to fuel furnaces.

These landscapes provided the community with both necessary resources as well as “hidden” transportation routes and temporary housing (in the form of abandoned collier huts) that facilitated the clandestine movement of people. The remains of this community are being non-invasively investigated through oral histories, historic documents, remote sensing, pedestrian survey and GIS. On this field trip we will be using QField, a fully functional GIS application, in the field to “walk through” georeferenced historic and LiDAR based maps.

Tour 3 – Friday, Nov. 7 (9:00 am-12:00 pm)

Temple University Anthropology/Archaeology Laboratory and Museum

Leslie A. Reeder-Myers (Temple University)

Temple University's Department of Anthropology has been a driving force in the archaeology of Pennsylvania and New Jersey since the 1950s. Temple archaeologists such as Jacob Gruber, Daniel Crozier, David Orr, Michael Stewart, Anthony Ranere, and Patricia Hansell have worked alongside hundreds of students analyzing artifacts in the Anthropology Lab at Temple. In the spring of 2025, the lab opened to the public for the first time as the Temple Anthropology Laboratory and Museum, with newly renovated space for exhibits and public outreach. We invite you to visit for a special behind-the-scenes tour with current Temple faculty and TALM directors, Leslie Reeder-Myers and Greg Lattanzi. Hear more about our plans reinvigorate Temple archaeology and see collections from the first Philadelphia Almshouse, the town of Timbuctoo, New Jersey, Elfreth's Alley, and the I-95 project.

Tour 4 – Friday Nov. 7 (9:00 am-12:00 pm)

Conshohocken Walking Tour

Tour Guide: TBD

CConshohocken has a rich and diverse history. Through this walking tour, participants will explore the rich industrial, transportation, architectural, and cultural history of Conshohocken, PA. The tour will highlight Conshohocken's development from Native American occupation, to industrialization, and modern development. The tour will cover approximately 1.5 miles of paved, but hilly terrain.

Tour 5 – Sunday, Nov. 9 (10:00 am-2:00 pm)

I-95 Archaeological Center Open House

Tour Guide: AECOM staff

Located just north of Center City Philadelphia in the popular Fishtown neighborhood, the I-95 Archaeology Center is the temporary working laboratory and public outreach venue for the ongoing I-95 Girard Avenue Interchange Improvement Project undertaken by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). The project area extends for three miles through the ancestral lands of several Indigenous Tribes and Nations, later settled largely by immigrants who brought diverse cultures to the growing industrial Delaware River waterfront. The Center's interpretive exhibits explore change over time through the material culture of everyday life, the archaeology of local industries and their products, and much more. During the open house, AECOM archaeologists will be on hand to answer questions and share information about the fieldwork and analysis. This venue was opened in part to support the obligations of PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act as alternative mitigation of the project's adverse effect to National Register-eligible archaeological resources.

Workshops

Workshop 1 – Friday Nov. 7 (9:00 am-12:00 pm)

Human Paleopathology for the Historical Archaeologist

Presented by Thomas A. Crist, Ph.D. (Utica University)

Have you ever wondered how bioarchaeologists identify and diagnose skeletal markers of disease, nutritional deficiencies, congenital disorders, arthritic changes, trauma, and occupational activities? Curious about what the bones and teeth can tell us about past (and present) human behavior? Interested in the history of American medical education and evidence of dissections and autopsies? Combining a presentation with actual examples, this workshop focuses on the signs of diseases, disorders, and treatments that historical archaeologists are most likely to encounter among the human remains that they excavate. No previous experience is required to benefit from this workshop.

Workshop 2 – Friday, Nov. 7 (1:30 pm-4:30 pm)

Faunal Analysis in the Historic Period

Adam Heinrich (Monmouth University)

This workshop introduces key concepts and methods in the analysis of faunal remains in historical archaeology. Topics introduced will include skeletal identification and taxonomy, aging, quantification, and taphonomy. Attendees will be provided with resources related to the topics covered during the workshop.

Workshop 3 – Friday, Nov. 7 (1:30 pm-4:30 pm)

Philadelphia Area Red Earthenwares and Salt-Glazed Stonewares

Meta Janowitz (AECOM) and Debbie Miller (City of Wilmington)

This hands-on workshop will be about red earthenwares and salt-glazed stonewares made in the greater Philadelphia area during the 18th and 19th centuries. We will discuss the makers and their products, starting with utilitarian redwares and stonewares and continuing with potters' attempts to copy English refined earthenwares and the transition of stonewares from household to industrial products. We will also have examples of vessels from contemporary craft potters who are recreating traditional styles.