Archaeology Fest at New College March 17, 2012

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Sarasota, Fla. – February 21, 2012 – The New College Public Archaeology Lab (NCPAL) and Time Sifters Archaeology Society are sponsoring Archaeology Fest 2012 on Saturday, March 17, 2012 from 10 am to 1 pm.  The event takes place on the grounds of the lab on the College’s main, Bayfront campus (5800 Bay Shore Road), about half-way down College Drive.
The fun-filled day of activities is appropriate for all ages  and is completely free, including hot dogs and lemonade at 11:30 am.  Activities will include lectures, tours, films and demonstrations including historic subsistence techniques and blacksmithing.  The whole family can experiment with artifacts, Native technology, fossils, and archaeology survey and analysis tools.  At 11 am, featured speaker Willie Johns from Seminole Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki museum will talk about Seminole History and Culture.  At 12 pm, Time Sifters board member Robert Bopp will speak about his travels and knowledge of Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
New College anthropology students, working under the guidance of NCPAL’s director, Uzi Baram, and its supervisor, New College alumna Sherry Svekis, will help guide the activities.
“The event provides opportunities for Florida residents and visitors to learn about the extensive archaeological record in Florida, to engage the insights from historic technologies and cultures, and to appreciate the necessity of stewardship of material heritage,” says Baram, who is a professor of anthropology at New College.
Kids activities include a Gutter Regatta in which children create the wind to race a model skipjack boat from Sarasota to Havana; Native Tools demonstration in which youngsters can try their hand with a spear thrower, fire-starter and drill; and an Artifact Analysis which invites children to use their own thinking cap and the tools of archaeology to figure out an artifact.
Participating organizations this year include the Florida Public Archaeology Network, Seminole Tribe of Florida, Around the Bend Nature Tours, Manasota Fossil Club, G Wiz, Historic Spanish Point, Little Salt Spring/Warm Mineral Springs Archaeology Society, Reflections of Manatee, Gamble Plantation,  South Florida Museum and the Longboat Key Historical Society.
Funding for the program is provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information, contact the New College Events Office at 941-487-4888.
(photo caption: New College of Florida anthropology student Jessi Ploss  demonstrates an atlatl, or spear thrower.)