2019
05
Oct
How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools?
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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2019
25
Jun
Obsidian Hunt
This post is one in our annual series of essays by our Preservation Archaeology Field School students. We invite you to continue following along with their experiences over the next few weeks.
Alex Burden, University of Colorado Boulder
(June 25, 2019)—We rode the RAV4 up along a single-lane c...
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2019
10
Jun
Treasures in the Screen
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.
Chris Fuchs, Washington College
(June 10, 2019)—I’ve always found archaeology particu...
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2019
01
Apr
Women's Work
Stacy Ryan, Preservation Archaeologist
"Women's bipolar lithic technology may look simple, but it is complex and sophisticated, requiring continual decision making and intensive learning and practice." Kathryn Weedman Arthur discussing present-day toolmakers, in Feminine Knowledge and Skill Rec...
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2018
14
Jun
On the Hunt for Obsidian
Laura Rojas, Adelphi University
(June 13, 2018)—On June 5, experimental archaeologist Allen Denoyer, fellow field school student Shiloh, and I spent the day in the Gila National Forest looking for obsidian in order to gain a better understanding of the process involved in flintknapping. This is...
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2017
01
Aug
Where the Wild Things Are
Sam Banderas, Riverside Community College
(August 1, 2017)—On the first and fourth of June I went on a hike down to the San Francisco River as part of an experimental archaeology group with Allen Denoyer. We parked at the beginning of the hiking trail, shouldered on our gear, and began our trek...
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2017
14
Mar
Hands-On Archaeology: How to Make Prismatic Blades, Featuring Greg Nunn
Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert
(March 14, 2017)—I recently attended WinterCount, an outdoor traditional technology gathering near Gila Bend, AZ. More than 650 people attended this sold-out event, more than 100 of whom were instructors. I attend as a st...
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2016
27
Oct
Hands-On Archaeology: How to Make Flintknapping Tools
Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert
(October 27, 2016)—In this post, I’ll explain how to make a set of tools for flintknapping. Specifically, I will show how to create a set of traditional tools that is very much like what people used in the distant past....
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2016
28
Sep
Hands-On Archaeology: How to Find Good Tool Stone
Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert
(September 28, 2016)—I often have people ask me how to find good stone to flintknap. It’s not easy. I enjoy working rock I have gathered myself from places I have visited or from areas near sites where I have worked. Lo...
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2016
23
Sep
Hands-On Archaeology: How to Heat-Treat Rock
Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert
(September 23, 2016)—In this post, I show the process I use to heat-treat rocks. I learned this technique years ago and have been using it ever since.
Why heat-treat rock? In short, because it makes tough or grainy roc...
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2016
11
Jul
Antelope Creek Obsidian
Kaitlyn Cometa, University of Delaware
(July 12, 2016)—What is the first thing you think of when you hear someone refer to the obsidian at a specific source as “bomb” obsidian? Probably that you don’t want to be near it when it blows up. I however, was drawn to the idea of the “bomb” ...
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2016
11
Jun
In Appreciation
Patrick Depret-Guillaume, University of Virginia
(June 11, 2016)—Attending field school has given me a renewed appreciation for the skill and ingenuity of humanity’s common ancestors. For millions of years, stone technology underpinned our survival. For centuries considered crude and primit...
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