Archaeologist pens new book on Remapough Lenape people of northern N.J.
Ringwood. Archaeologist Edward J. Lenik will sign his new book at the Ringwood Manor park’s coffee shop on Oct. 26.
| 10 Oct 2019 | 01:50
Ed Lenik at the Ramapough Split Rock Sweetwater Prayer Camp in Mahwah, NJ. Photo by Tom Fitzpatrick, 2019. (
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Archaeologist Edward J. Lenik celebrates a half-century of research, fieldwork and investigation with the publication of his new book, “Ramapough Lenape Heritage. Archaeology, History & Culture 10500 B.C. to the Present.”
The North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, the publisher of the book, will host a book signing from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 26 at Ringwood Manor State Park, in the coffee shop opposite the park office.
The book is Lenik’s fourth on the Ramapough Lenape people of northern New Jersey and southeastern New York. This volume focuses on archaeological data, drawing on Lenik’s research and that of others.
Halifax (Green Mountain Valley), an abandoned Ramapough hamlet in Mahwah, and the Mysterious Prehistoric Walls site in Sloatsburg, N.Y., are among the sites discussed in this volume. Campsites, lithic scatter sites, workshops, rock shelters and quarries are featured.
Lenik, a registered archaeologist, is a past president of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey and the Eastern States Archaeological Federation. As honorary curator emeritus of archaeology at Bear Mountain’s Trailside Museums, he developed a monitoring program to protect the many rock shelters and other Indian archaeological sites in Harriman-Bear Mountain State Park.
After receiving a master’s degree at New York University, Lenik founded Sheffield Archaeological Consultants. In his professional work, Lenik has investigated historic properties and archaeological sites in the greater New York City area. He has researched both historic and prehistoric sites and has worked with organizations engaged in historic preservation.
Lenik, who no longer does fieldwork, writes about what he has learned. He is the author of more than 10 books, beginning with “Weekends in the Soil,” published by the Archaeological Society of New Jersey in 1977.
The longtime Wayne resident was for many years a member of the Wayne Historical Commission.
“There are human stories found along every path,” he said.
He has devoted his life to digging up and documenting these stories and telling them.