NAS Stone Age Fair

Just got back from the 4th annual Nebraska Archaeological Society Artifact Show, held August 23rd, in Seward, NE. Collections of stone and bone points and tools were on display from Paleo, Clovis, Folsom, and historic time periods. One of my reasons for going was to see Rick Hamilton and, his wife, Doris. Mr. Hamilton is a skilled flintknapper & primitive technologist. In the picture he is demonstrating thinning a spall of novaculite chert with only hammerstone percussion. Every September they host the Beaver Creek Primitive Skills & Knap-In, near Stuart, NE...good time. Check out his website at: http://www.spiritinthewind.com/. One of his specialities is plant use, by the Native Americans, for edible, medicinal, and utilitarian (tools, dyes, firemaking, bow & arrow, etc.) purposes. He recently finished a-10 years in the making, 3 DVD set on plant identification over the seasons, and Native uses. I particularly enjoyed segments on how to extract starch from cattail roots to make a flour, and harvesting arrowhead tubers. Also, the background flute music, by Virgie Ravenhawk Villarreal, was thoroughly enjoyable and worth mentioning.