Archaeology Fair at Nightengale center has mammoth appeal for all ages
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
KINGSLAND — If the idea of taking down a mammoth appeals to you, a trip to the Llano Uplift Archeological Society’s Archaeology Fair on Oct. 12 should help you fine tune your atlatl skills.
Now even if you manage to master the ancient hunting tool, you probably shouldn’t set off after a mammoth with one.
For one thing, the giant beast is extinct.
Still, learning to use an atlatl isn’t something you get to do every day, so why not give it a try.
Oh, yeah, what is an atlatl?
“Well, it’s a hand-held tool early humans used to throw spears farther and with more energy,” said Linda Weatherford, president of the society. “We’ll have a hay bale out there, and people can learn how to use an atlatl.”[box]IF YOU GO
WHAT: Archaeology Fair
WHEN: 1-5 p.m. Oct. 12
WHERE: Nightengale Archaeological Center, 201 Circle Drive in Kingsland
FOR MORE: www.texasluas.org[/box]
The fair is 1-5 p.m. at the Nightengale Archaeological Center, 201 Circle Drive in Kingsland. The center is located in the Twin Isles community about 9.3 miles west of Marble Falls and 3.1 miles east of Kingsland on RR 1431. Turn into the Twin Isle community on CR 126 and follow it to Circle Drive.
The Lower Colorado River Authority center offers residents a look at how much-earlier residents in the area lived. Weatherford said the center and archaeologists have determined humans used this area up to 6,500 years ago.
“They may have been here as early as 10,000 years ago, but we haven’t found actual evidence of that. But we do know people were using this area 6,500 years ago,” Weatherford said.
During the fair, you can check out actual archaeological digs and excavations.
“In this area, it’s probably the only place you can visit an actual archaeological site,” she said. “There will be a dig table set up so people can learn how archaeologists locate items and map what they find. There will be a lot of things people can try.”
Along with the atlatl, you could try, what Weatherford calls, rabbit sticks. She described it as a hunting tool that looks somewhat like a boomerang — though it’s not — and was used to take down smaller game. Based on the name, early hunters probably got a few rabbits with the stick.
“We’ll have a lot of activities for kids,” she said. “And the adults can do them as well.”
And if the burn ban remains off, you could learn how these early Highland Lakes (or whatever they called it) residents made fires and processed food.
“It’s a chance to come out, have fun and learn about the local history and archaeology,” Weatherford said.
Go to www.texasluas.org for more information on the fair. You also can go to the society website or LCRA’s website at www.lcra.org to learn more about the Nightengale Archaeological Center.
daniel@thepicayune.com