Ever wondered how ancient people made their tools and clothing, or how archaeologists go about finding, collecting and analyzing those artifacts?
Find out Saturday, April 18, when the Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado at Boulder hosts Archaeology Family Day, a series of presentations, demonstrations, information and outreach.
The event, featuring hands-on learning experiences and real artifacts as well as a special exhibit of posters highlighting current research by various CU-Boulder faculty, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
Visitors can tour CU-Boulder labs and get information on archaeology locally and around the world.
Archaeologists from all over Colorado will also be on hand from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hale Science Building to discuss current research and ongoing archaeological projects.
"There are so many professional archaeologists and other people interested in archaeology in Colorado," said Beth Dusinberre, associate professor of classics at CU-Boulder and president of the Archaeological Institute of America-Boulder Society. "We wanted to pull them all together to talk about research and methodology, new discoveries, archaeological opportunity and learning."
The daylong series of lectures, demonstrations and events will bring together researchers from CU-Boulder, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Colorado State University, as well as members of the Archaeological Institute of America-Boulder and Denver Societies, Colorado College, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the Colorado State Archaeologist's Office, among others.
Dusinberre said the event will feature presentations on research being conducted everywhere from Fiji to Kazakhstan, from the Santa Fe Trail to the bottom of the seafloor and even right here in Boulder. One presenter, anthropologist Thomas Wynn of UCCS, will discuss what he calls "cognitive archaeology," the study of archaeological evidence for the evolution of the modern mind.
Saturday's Archeology Day is a first for Colorado, bringing together researchers from all over the state. Dusinberre said the event demonstrates the importance CU-Boulder can have as a center for archaeological study.
"CU has the largest group of archaeologists in the state, rostered in multiple departments, institutes and museums," said Dusinberre. "We come from the social sciences, humanities and the natural sciences, but we are united by an interest in studying the human past through the analysis of material culture."
For a complete schedule of events and participants visit .