FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Fort Leonard Wood history — and prehistory — buffs, young and old, visited Colyer Park Sept. 14 to throw spears, shoot arrows, dig for mock artifacts and learn more about the people who lived in this area over thousands of years — all in celebration of Missouri Archaeology Month.
The event, organized by archaeologists and natural resource specialists from the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division, gave attendees opportunities to get hands on with many aspects of life here before the installation was built, while also learning about the importance of preserving archaeological sites and how the experts work to ensure humanity continues to have chances to learn from who and what came before, said Stephanie Nutt, an archaeologist here, who helped plan the event.
“We enjoy being able to show folks on the installation what we have out here,” Nutt said. “We’ve got nearly 600 recorded archaeological sites on the installation — prehistoric and historical — and it’s just nice to be able to raise awareness.”
Attendees were given the opportunity to try using an atlatl, a prehistoric tool used for throwing spears.
Volunteering his time here for the event was David Patterson, Missouri Atlatl Association president in Jefferson City, who said the atlatl was commonly used, and pieces of the tool — which uses leverage to add velocity to spear throwing — have been found that are at least 20,000 years old.
“And they’ve found indirect evidence of high-speed projectiles — broken points, for example — up to 40,000 years old,” Patterson said. “So, they don’t really know the age. They’ve found them on every continent except Antarctica, and they still use them in Australia and Alaska for hunting, sustenance.”
Patterson, who brought many atlatl and dart variations for attendees to try, said atlatls were used to hunt “just about everything,” but that the bow and arrow eventually became the replacement in many areas.
“Whenever they figured out what a bow and arrow was — and if they had the adequate materials to make archery equipment — they dropped (the atlatl) pretty quick,” Patterson said. “However, the Aztecs and the Indians of Central America were still using them when the Spanish came over. They fought the Spanish with these.”
In addition to the atlatl, attendees could try archery, learn about and practice drawing their own ancient rock art, and learn flint knapping from a Missouri Department of Conservation representative — and younger attendees were given the chance to dig for mock artifacts to help get a feeling for the tools archaeologists use.
Archery, to eight-year-old Arianna Maddox, was “more fun than drawing,” and she hit one of the targets with the help of a DPW volunteer.
Nutt said the hands-on nature of much of the event helped make it a more effective — and fun — outreach tool.
“For example, I can try to explain to you what a historical medicine bottle would’ve looked like, but if you can pick it up and feel it and we can talk about how it was made and how old it is, that tends to stick with people better,” she said. “I think the atlatl and archery activities are great, especially for kids — they get a real sense of how, especially with the atlatls, how prehistoric peoples had to get their food. It’s just a lot more fun, and I think most people retain information better by being able to get their hands dirty.”
Besides getting to see and touch the many artifacts brought by the experts, the community was also invited to bring their own artifacts for identification — and that’s just what Molly Houser and her son, Steven, did.
Andrew Phillips, a prehistoric archaeologist here, looked at the two pieces of stone Steven found near their home south of the installation, noting the pieces — Phillips called one a “chirp flake” and the other a “rice side-notched point” — were indeed crafted by individuals thousands of years ago.
“You probably have an archaeological site,” Phillips said, which brought a smile to Steven’s face.
“I think it’s cool,” said Steven, about the possibility of more artifacts to find near his home. “I want to go digging more.”
For further details about archaeology on Fort Leonard Wood, call 573.596.7607.
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