2010 Loveland Stone Age Fair

The 2010 Stone Age Fair will be held in Loveland, CO, on Sept. 25 and 26. Although I wasn't planning on going, in the end, I was able to make it to last year's 75th edition, and it was a lot of fun and a great way to learn about Paleoindian archaeology and Colorado archaeology generally. I'm definitely planning to attend this year's Fair, which also will include the following two presentations:

Building a Paleoindian Research Program in Southeastern Idaho & Northern Utah
Bonnie Pitblado

For historical reasons, virtually nothing is known about the Paleoindian record of southeastern Idaho and northern Utah. However, in this region, four major physiographic zones converge—the Central Rockies, Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, and Wyoming Basin—creating an exceptionally diverse and inviting environment. Four years of foundational fieldwork has begun to reveal that the Paleoindian record of the region, like its environment, is diverse…and very inviting!

A Folsom winter campsite in the Colorado Rockies
Todd Surovell

Excavations at Barger Gulch Locality B in Middle Park Colorado have produced a rich assemblage of Folsom artifacts occurring within clusters associated with hearth features. Large scale excavations at the site over a 10 year period have allowed us to identify a number of aspects of Folsom spatial and social behavior.

Regular AVRPI readers might remember that some of Surovell's research on the effectiveness of wooden vs. stone projectile point tips was discussed earlier on this blog (and featured on Mythbusters!). In addition to the talks, there will be artifact displays, and the great Bob Patten (who was kind enough to come show Lithic Analysis students how to knap this past srping) will be doing a flintknapping demo, while Bob Heid will be making beads.  Find out all the details about this year's Stone Age Fair, including directions and a schedule of event, by visitng their website.