‘Cool’ cat among artifacts in Salem display of items from ordinary life in ancient days

Professor Ann Nicgorski, who leads Willamette University’s archaeology program, made the long drive to Brookings to examine a handful of ancient artifacts.

She was going to the coastal home of Fred Neumann, who as a hobby once collected artifacts while living in Egypt.

“I thought it was going to be a collection of a couple dozen things,” Nicgorski recalled. “I walked into his house and he had it laid out on his dining room table.…