Archeology Day with kids' activities at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on March 5, 2011

Turn back the clock and enter the world of prehistoric people on the Colorado Plateau. On Saturday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Flagstaff's Museum of Northern Arizona will celebrate Archaeology Day. This annual event focuses on ancient people from this region and offers an opportunity for budding archaeologists of all ages to get close to professionals in that field.

Archaeology Day features kids’ activities, hands-on ancient artifact analysis, atlatl throwing, and a symposium titled “Hohokam Archaeology Yesterday and Today.”

From 10 a.m.–2 p.m., visitors will enjoy exploring four docent-led kids’ activities: a hunter’s kit, making split twig figurines, mano and metate corn grinding and learning what prehistoric people ate, and rock art. There will also be a scavenger hunt throughout the Museum’s Exhibit Building.
MNA Docent Jerry Bacon will present atlatl throwing. Bacon is rated fourth in Arizona atlatl competitions and will share his extensive knowledge of this prehistoric tool.

Also from 10 a.m.–2 p.m., the Northern Arizona Archaeological Society /Elden Pueblo Project will conduct an interactive introduction to prehistoric artifact analysis from excavated ceramics and ground stone (manos, hammerstones, axes, and mauls), a post-excavation process that provides archaeologists valuable data for analysis at Elden Pueblo. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn identification of pottery types and stone tools, and be able to see some of the latest artifacts found at the Elden Pueblo excavation site. The Elden Pueblo Project’s work helps us to understand the connection between local cultures of the past, their distinctive styles, and the role natural resources played in the development of pottery and tools.

From 2–4:30 p.m., MNA’s Senior Archaeologist David Wilcox will host “Hohokam Archaeology Yesterday and Today,” a symposium to discuss the history of Hohokam archaeology and provide modern syntheses of current work in Hohokam irrigation, ceramics, settlement systems, and religious ideology. The symposium presenters will be David E. Doyel (chair), David R. Wilcox, Jerry B. Howard, David R. Abbott, and Henry Wallace. An opportunity for audience discussion will follow the presentations.

MNA is located three miles north of historic downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180. Admission is $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, and $4 children (7–17). Additional information about the Museum is available at 928-774-5213 or at musnaz.org.