Experimental Archaeology

Contact

Kate Sarther
Communications Director
Email | (520) 882-6946, ext. 16

 

2022
15
Jan

How Did People Haft A Knife?

In this class, you will learn the process of hafting a stone knife blade into a wood handle. There are very few examples of hafted knives preserved in the Southwest. The style of hafting we will do in this class is based on Basketmaker and Pueblo knives that have been found in rock shelters across t...
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2022
13
Jan

Hands-On Archaeology: How to Make a Cruciform

Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert (January 14, 2022)—Cruciforms are artifacts people made by flaking and then grinding stone. In the Southwest, archaeologists find them in sites dating to the Early Agricultural period, particularly those of the Cienega ph...
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2020
02
May

Postponed: How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools?

UPDATE (4/1/2020): This class has been postponed until further notice. Learn more.  Experience the ancient art of flintknapping. Join Allen Denoyer for his Hands-On Archaeology class, "How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools?" In each of these beginner classes, you will use ancient techniques an...
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2020
04
Apr

Postponed: How Did People Make and Use Atlatls?

UPDATE (3/16/2020): This class has been postponed until further notice. Learn more.  In this class, you will make a replica atlatl and an expedient dart. Hunters in the distant past used the atlatl to propel the dart and shaft. Patterned after archaeological examples known from the Southwest, ou...
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2020
01
Feb

How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools? | Afternoon Class

Experience the ancient art of flintknapping. Join Allen Denoyer for his Hands-On Archaeology class, "How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools?" In each of these beginner classes, you will use ancient techniques and replica tools to create a stone projectile point. You will also learn more about how p...
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2020
01
Feb

How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools? | Morning Class

Thank you for your interest in this class! This class time is no longer available. To reserve your spot for our 2:00-5:00 p.m. afternoon class instead, sign up here.  Afternoon Class Sign Up Questions? Call (520) 882-6946 x15.
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2020
04
Jan

How Did People Haft A Knife?

In this class, you will learn the process of hafting a stone knife blade into a wood handle. There are very few examples of hafted knives preserved in the Southwest. The style of hafting we will do in this class is based on Basketmaker and Pueblo knives that have been found in rock shelters across t...
more
2019
02
Aug

Learning with Adobe

Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert (August 2, 2019)—I wanted to follow up on Leslie’s post about how our 2014–2015 adobe structure helped us interpret walls at the Gila River Farm site in 2019. There is something almost metaphysical about mixing mud...
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2019
01
Aug

Clues from Experimental Archaeology

Leslie Aragon, Preservation Archaeology Fellow (August 1, 2019)—Now that we’ve wrapped up another field season of the Upper Gila Preservation Archaeology Field School, I thought I’d take a minute to talk about what we learned at the Gila River Farm site this season. I especially want to sha...
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2019
13
Jun

Learning Livelihoods

This post is one in our annual series of essays by our Preservation Archaeology Field School students. We invite you to follow along with their experiences over the next six weeks through their own words. Kristin Bridges, College of New Jersey (June 13, 2019)—My background in the field of arch...
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2017
25
Sep

Hands-On Archaeology: How to Make a Shell Bracelet

Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert (September 25, 2017)—In this post, I’ll share some insights into how much work goes into making shell bracelets. I suspect my time estimates are high, compared to experienced craftspeople in the past. Shell is not easy ...
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2017
28
Jul

Burning an Early Agricultural Period Pithouse: Documenting the Process

This is the second post in our "Burning Down the (Pit) House" series. For part 1, read Allen Denoyer's post here. Doug Gann, Preservation Archaeologist and Digital Media Specialist (July 28, 2017)—In experimental archaeology, a common technique for trying to learn about past human activities...
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