There’s a big park 20 minutes north of my home. It’s called Inwood Hill Park, and until a couple of months ago, I hadn’t even heard of it. But a warm Saturday in an unusually frigid March introduced the perfect opportunity to venture outside of my usual go-to places in the neighborhood. On first glance, it doesn’t seem like much. Just another green splotch on a map. An escape from the concrete jungle.
But there’s something in particular that caught my attention - a landmark called the “Indian caves”. A cave system that, allegedly, was inhabited by Native Americans prior to the Dutch and English colonization of New York.
I soon found out that it’s something no other public park in New York City has - living, breathing archaeology.
To understand why Inwood Hill Park is unique, we need to go back to its roots. Its prehistoric roots.
Thousands of years ago, shifting glaciers cracked and split what is now Inwood into fragments, creating ravines, valleys, and importantly, caves. Over time, a large forest - now the last natural one in Manhattan - formed next to a salt marsh. Today, it’s a reminder of tidal marshes that once surrounded the island. But the combination of a temperate climate, lush vegetation, and a thriving ecosystem meant that this place was perfect for human occupation.
Millennia later, Inwood Hill Park saw its first human inhabitants - the Lenape Native Americans. Wedged right between the Hudson and Harlem rivers, Inwood was an ideal location for a seasonal camp. They fished, hunted, built, and found shelter in Inwood, leaving behind artifacts that amateur archaeologists centuries later would unearth.
And it’s the activity during this time period, around the 17th century, that places Inwood on the map - or, at least, our maps.
Because soon after, European colonists (see: Americans) took over. Records show that it was a relatively peaceful takeover, and considering that Inwood was only a seasonal camp, it’s hard to imagine that this particular transaction was exceptionally harmful to the Lenape.
Under the Europeans during the Revolutionary War, the Inwood area was transformed into a military base. It thankfully didn’t see much bloodshed, and over the years, developed into a quiet, peaceful residential area.
In 1890, an engineer named Alexander Chenoweth stumbled upon an interesting rock formation not far from his house - huge, slab like stones piled on top of one another. In the following weeks, he dug beneath these rocks, uncovering pottery sherds, stone tools, and remnants of campfires. The stones, he concluded, were in fact an ancient cave system once inhabited by the Lenape.
And that brings us to today. A simple online search of Inwood Hill Park reveals that its most popular attraction are the caves - labeled “Indian caves”. Visitors to the park don’t have to walk too far or search long and hard - you can find them right off one of the main paths.
This form of tourism forgets the wigwams, longhouses, and intricate compounds created by the Lenape. It ignores the problematic archaeology of the area, and dilutes historical truth. It erroneously sets up these conflicting cultures as stark contrasts: primitive Native Americans to advanced Europeans.
In reality, this is harmful - not only to the Lenape and their descendants, but to the general public’s overall perception of the violent and whitewashed history of American genocide. It sets us up to believe that the cultures and peoples lost had overall little effect on the country. That the new wave of Europeans, with superior technology and smarter infrastructure, ultimately pushed America in the right direction.
Maybe that is the case. It’s easy to say what if, but hard to come to meaningful conclusions. But shallow history and inadequate archaeology will only propagate biased narratives. With Columbus Day celebrated every year, we don’t have to look too far to see what happens when we choose to ignore nuanced history.
And that’s precisely why Inwood Hill Park is so important. Not just because it’s home to an active archaeological site, but also because it serves as a reminder that the key to deciphering the past - and ultimately grappling with the present - is context, context, context.
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| An 1870 map of Upper Manhattan |
But there’s something in particular that caught my attention - a landmark called the “Indian caves”. A cave system that, allegedly, was inhabited by Native Americans prior to the Dutch and English colonization of New York.
I soon found out that it’s something no other public park in New York City has - living, breathing archaeology.
To understand why Inwood Hill Park is unique, we need to go back to its roots. Its prehistoric roots.
Thousands of years ago, shifting glaciers cracked and split what is now Inwood into fragments, creating ravines, valleys, and importantly, caves. Over time, a large forest - now the last natural one in Manhattan - formed next to a salt marsh. Today, it’s a reminder of tidal marshes that once surrounded the island. But the combination of a temperate climate, lush vegetation, and a thriving ecosystem meant that this place was perfect for human occupation.
Millennia later, Inwood Hill Park saw its first human inhabitants - the Lenape Native Americans. Wedged right between the Hudson and Harlem rivers, Inwood was an ideal location for a seasonal camp. They fished, hunted, built, and found shelter in Inwood, leaving behind artifacts that amateur archaeologists centuries later would unearth.
And it’s the activity during this time period, around the 17th century, that places Inwood on the map - or, at least, our maps.
Because soon after, European colonists (see: Americans) took over. Records show that it was a relatively peaceful takeover, and considering that Inwood was only a seasonal camp, it’s hard to imagine that this particular transaction was exceptionally harmful to the Lenape.
 |
| The Treaty of Penn with the Indians, Benjamin West (1771-72) |
In 1890, an engineer named Alexander Chenoweth stumbled upon an interesting rock formation not far from his house - huge, slab like stones piled on top of one another. In the following weeks, he dug beneath these rocks, uncovering pottery sherds, stone tools, and remnants of campfires. The stones, he concluded, were in fact an ancient cave system once inhabited by the Lenape.
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| A drawing of the Inwood caves |
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| The caves are next to a path, though it somehow took me 2 hours to find them |
So my curiosity got the better of me. A few hours later, I came across these fabled caves.
Aside: if you remember, the park is a 20 minute jaunt from my apartment. I overestimated my ability to use Google Maps - which is literally a foolproof software. I looped around the caves 10 or so times before sheepishly following two men in their late 60s, after overhearing their conversation about “Indian sacrifices” that took place in the caves. I have my reservations about those facts, but their navigation was spot on.
Anyway, back to the park. Excited, I climbed up a gentle slope to the entrance of the rocky outcrop. But I was greeted with nothing more than a few large rocks piled on one another, with just enough crawl space inside to fit a few kneeling people. Trash, clothes, and cigarette butts littered the floor. Calling them a disappointment would be an understatement. These weren’t the pristine historic caves I was promised - this was a local hangout spot for truants.
Vandalism or desecration of a historic site isn’t uncommon. Usually when I come across something like this, my first reaction is disgust towards the people that do things like this. But this time, its treatment didn’t bother me as much. Because these caves weren’t what I was sold.
These caves… aren’t really caves at all, but merely hollowed out burrows underneath these stones. They’re more akin to crawlspaces than actual habitations.
Now, the underwhelming nature of these caves shouldn’t be reason to dismiss their historical importance. However, superficial history and bad archaeology can lead us down incorrect conclusions.
The name “Indian caves”, without any context or background information, none of which is provided in the park itself, creates a narrow yet vague definition - only these caves were inhabited by Native Americans. This, combined with destructive archaeology that strips away all context from the scene, sets a precedent - that Native Americans in the 17th century mostly lived in these naturally formed, rudimentary shelters. That we owe the current infrastructure built in Inwood and around the New York area solely to the Europeans who settled after.Aside: if you remember, the park is a 20 minute jaunt from my apartment. I overestimated my ability to use Google Maps - which is literally a foolproof software. I looped around the caves 10 or so times before sheepishly following two men in their late 60s, after overhearing their conversation about “Indian sacrifices” that took place in the caves. I have my reservations about those facts, but their navigation was spot on.
Anyway, back to the park. Excited, I climbed up a gentle slope to the entrance of the rocky outcrop. But I was greeted with nothing more than a few large rocks piled on one another, with just enough crawl space inside to fit a few kneeling people. Trash, clothes, and cigarette butts littered the floor. Calling them a disappointment would be an understatement. These weren’t the pristine historic caves I was promised - this was a local hangout spot for truants.
Vandalism or desecration of a historic site isn’t uncommon. Usually when I come across something like this, my first reaction is disgust towards the people that do things like this. But this time, its treatment didn’t bother me as much. Because these caves weren’t what I was sold.
These caves… aren’t really caves at all, but merely hollowed out burrows underneath these stones. They’re more akin to crawlspaces than actual habitations.
Now, the underwhelming nature of these caves shouldn’t be reason to dismiss their historical importance. However, superficial history and bad archaeology can lead us down incorrect conclusions.
 |
| Inside one of the "caves" - large enough to fit one adult lying down |
This form of tourism forgets the wigwams, longhouses, and intricate compounds created by the Lenape. It ignores the problematic archaeology of the area, and dilutes historical truth. It erroneously sets up these conflicting cultures as stark contrasts: primitive Native Americans to advanced Europeans.
 |
| The Town of Pomeiooc, Theodor de Bry |
In reality, this is harmful - not only to the Lenape and their descendants, but to the general public’s overall perception of the violent and whitewashed history of American genocide. It sets us up to believe that the cultures and peoples lost had overall little effect on the country. That the new wave of Europeans, with superior technology and smarter infrastructure, ultimately pushed America in the right direction.
Maybe that is the case. It’s easy to say what if, but hard to come to meaningful conclusions. But shallow history and inadequate archaeology will only propagate biased narratives. With Columbus Day celebrated every year, we don’t have to look too far to see what happens when we choose to ignore nuanced history.
And that’s precisely why Inwood Hill Park is so important. Not just because it’s home to an active archaeological site, but also because it serves as a reminder that the key to deciphering the past - and ultimately grappling with the present - is context, context, context.
