Measurements and projectile points
Archaeologists sometimes make detailed studies of artifacts. Projectile points are one kind of artifact that some archaeologists study with great care. This article discusses measurements made in one recent study of North American Paleoindian points, in which measurements were made of the bases and blades of points, along with various length measurements, and the maximum thickness. Consider that points were almost always used, which altered their dimensions from when they were created.
“Before Georgia had roads, it was laced with Indian trails or paths,” writes 
The University of Georgia Student Association for Archaeological Sciences recently sponsored a day-long atlatl workshop with Scott Jones, primitive technologist and expert in atlatl manufacture and use. Twelve SAAS members and their faculty advisor, Jared Wood, gathered at Scott’s outdoor classroom at “The Woods” just northeast of Lexington, and listened to Scott’s exciting lecture, then practiced primitive skills, and had great fun taking aim at cardboard quarry. The full story includes many exciting photographs of the outing.
Archaeology is a comparative science. How can we compare houses cross-culturally? How do houses reflect variable wealth among their owners and residents? How do their size and layout reflect the activities they are designed to accommodate? How does our concept of the house affect how we think about the residential living areas of ancient peoples? These issues are touched on in the full article….
When people began to save food for longer than several days, they had to develop ways of storing it that would be safe from predators ranging from other humans to bacteria. Look around a typical Georgia kitchen today, and you probably will see a refrigerator and freezer, cupboards, perhaps a pantry, breadbox, and cookie jar—all for storing food. What strategies did ancient peoples use to store their food? This article uses an example from the Neolithic period in what is now Jordan to investigate how ancient peoples solved the problem of food storage.
Consider this…you live in a world without cell phones, without cars, or even bicycles or horses to ride. You walk if you want to go somewhere. People living in the places you know about live in scattered, small villages and hamlets. So, if you want to communicate with someone who lives several villages distant, how do you do it? Think about this and then click over to the full story.
SGA member Brian Floyd uses primitive technological methods and materials to produce replicas and art regarding Georgia history. His work is not designed through the lens of modern interpretation on past artifacts but rather creates a more accurate looking replica of the past based on intensive research. Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia, has picked up on the uniqueness of his art and talent as they are beginning to carry his ceramic pottery pieces in the gift shop. Make sure to get yours today!
In the full story, click through photos from two days spent with the ArchaeoBus at the Georgia National Fair, in Perry. Visitors of all ages enjoyed the Fair from October 7–17, 2010. SGA members pulled together to staff the ArchaeoBus exhibit with three or more volunteers at all times, helping thousands of fair-goers learn about Georgia archaeology.
Are you interested in visiting a castle? There’s a thirteenth-century fortress under construction in northern Arkansas that opened in May. Well, the construction site opened. Planners say it’ll take thirty years to finish the stone complex.
The Society for Georgia Archaeology’s seventeenth annual Georgia Archaeology Awareness promotion, Archaeology Month 2010, had as its theme Making the Past Come to Life: Exploring Ancient Techniques. Making Archaeology Month 2010 happen involved several events. Governor Perdue signed the proclamation designating May as Georgia Archaeology Month on May 25 at the Capitol. Volunteers met on April 26th at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History to package posters, fliers announcing the lesson plan, and surveys for the teachers to return to the SGA. Finally, the SGA’s annual gathering for the spring meeting was held in Albany, Georgia on May 14–16, 2010, complete with demonstrators and the 
The SGA’s 2010 Spring Meeting, held Saturday, May 15th, at The Parks at Chehaw, just outside of Albany, featured demonstrators knowledgable in the skills of ancient peoples. The theme of this year’s Archaeology Month was Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques. The full story has more photographs.
How could Native American Indians in Georgia have survived in a vast “wilderness” for thousands of years? That question will be answered on 
The Society for Georgia Archaeology proudly presents this year’s lesson plan for teachers and other interested parties! The theme SGA has chosen for Georgia Archaeology Month 2010 is Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques. We hope that the readers of this lesson plan will become familiar with a range of skills and techniques used by the early inhabitants of Georgia, and perhaps better understand the dynamic interaction between the natural environment and humans and their culture.
Across the Southeast, before Europeans arrived, Native Peoples prized the wood of a tree that inhabited only a small portion of the vast interior of the North American continent. The tree is commonly known as the osage orange. The fruit of this tree looks like a lumpy bright green to yellow-green softball. The tree is thorny, too. Read the full story to learn why North American archaeologists ponder this strange species.
The Human Spark is a three-part series investigating the topic of human uniqueness hosted by Alan Alda. One of the interviewees, Dr. Veronica Waweru, discusses the pros and cons of arrow and spear use, along with other interesting topics, in a blog entry associated with the program’s web pages.