Public Invited to International Archaeology Day Events

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Posted on October 12, 2015

Alice Jackson

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Students and faculty will share their knowledge of Native American games, prehistoric hunting tools and Colonial jewelry-making techniques with the public on Oct. 17 when the USA Archaeology Museum celebrates International Archaeology Day.

The public is invited to the free events and museum exhibits tour, noon until 4 p.m., located at USA South Drive on the University’s main campus.

“We want to inform the public what archaeology is really all about as well as raise the community’s visibility of the museum and what it’s about,” said Barbara Filion, associate director of the museum. “We want the community to know we are here, and they are welcome to visit.”

Members of the Anthropology Club will help visitors play “chunky,” a Native American game that requires hand-to-eye coordination using spears to hit a disc-like stone.

“We will be using a hockey puck rather than a spear,” Filion said. “While this game may sound easy to do, trust me, it’s very hard.”

Visitors will have the opportunity to guess the use of some artifacts, learn about matching bones from archaeological digs and make a type necklace popular during the Mississippian Period.

The completed USA Archaeology Museum, opened to the public in October 2012, has hosted about 18,000 visitors, including more than 8,000 school students on field trips. The unique exhibits use storytelling to take visitors from the area’s prehistoric era through Colonial settlements, the Civil War, the 20^th century and into present day life while highlighting how archaeologists’ work. A gift shop includes a variety of learning materials, including books, toys and maps.

“We want the public to come out and learn about the past and its importance,” Filion said. “We can learn a lot from the past.”

For more information on the USA Archaeology Museum, visit southalabama.edu/org/archaeology/museum/index.html.

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