Unveiling A Face From The Past

       In May 2008, regional news covered the discovery of a skull at the Ariaantje and Samuel Coeymans Stone   House. The skull was found when a section of stone wall collapsed. However, this was not the first time the skull had been unearthed. During the 1970s, during construction on the property, the skull was found and reinterred where it was found.

       The remains have been determined to be a woman over 50 years of age and may date back to the 18th century. The skull, which is exceptionally well preserved, exhibits no clues as to a possible cause of death, but does have a series of sharp cut marks around the scalp. Who was this woman? Why is just her skull buried at the Coeymans stone house? When did she live? What did she look like? Could it be the remains of Ariaantje Coeymans?

     To help solve the mystery, a reconstruction of the face based on the forensic evidence was recently completed with the creation of a lifesize, three dimensional sculpture of the individual. On January 15, 2012, a panel composed of experts who worked on the project  explained how this person was brought “back to life” and answered some of the mysteries. Speakers included Gay Malin, an exhibiting sculptor and printmaker who served as a museum specialist at the NYSM for over twenty years. Her work has included the conservation of the Cohoes Mastodon, life cast figures, the creation of diorama elements and facial reconstructions. Also speaking was  Lisa Anderson, the Curator of Bioarchaeology and Coordinator for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) at the New York State Museum and John Bonafide, a local historian and consultant to the Coeymans Landing Heritage Fund, which provided grant funding for the project.

     The discussion culminated with the unveiling of the facial reconstruction along with a cast of the actual skull, that is now on display at the Ravena-Coeymans Historical Society Museum.