New England Antiquities Research Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to a particular understanding of the history and prehistory of New England that views a number of Pre-Columbian archaeological sites to be European in origin. The association was founded in 1964 to replace the Early Sites Foundation by some members who felt that organization to be "too tame".[1]

NEARA is headquartered in Massachusetts, and maintains offices in (or at least provides local contact information for) nine US states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and two Canadian provinces (Quebec and Nova Scotia). The chairperson of the organization is Suzanne Carlson.

[edit] Areas of interest

NEARA appears to be primarily concerned with controversial archeological sites in and around New England. In particular, sites containing items such as purported stone cairns and underground chambers are often written about in their affiliated publication, The NEARA Journal, and are the subject of group outings. Some of these are the same sites said to fall under the category of ceremonial stone landscapes by United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.[2], in their recent resolution on the topic. Of particular interest to NEARA members are large sites such as America's Stonehenge, which have proven to be the subject of much debate.

One observer has noted that "NEARA is also a hotbed of 'Diffusionist' thought, the belief that the Americas were widely visited by European and Asiatic cultures before Columbus." [3] See also Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact.

In addition, articles dealing specifically with the subject of epigraphy are featured on the NEARA website.