International Archaeology Day In Roxborough, Colorado

Do you find archaeology interesting?  I've always been fascinated by the past, and the people and civilizations that came before modern times and the remnants of their lives they left behind.  Every year on the third Saturday in October, the Archaeological Institute of America organizes International Archaeology Day, where the AIA and archaeological organizations across the United States, Canada, and abroad present archaeological programs and activities for people of all ages and interests. On that day, depending on where you live, many parks, museums, historic sites, colleges, and universities will hold all kinds of events including public digs, exhibits, talks, and demonstrations. 

In Colorado, the International Archaeology Day Expo held on October 20th, was held at the Roxborough Intermediate School. in Roxborough.  It was a celebration of archaeology and the thrill of discovery, via family-friendly exhibits, demonstrations, and lectures.

One of the exhibits was something I had recently heard about on Colorado Public Radio--lithophone rocks! A lithophone is a musical instrument consisting of a rock, or pieces of a rock, which are struck to produce musical notes. Notes may be sounded in combination (producing harmony) or in succession (melody).  If you click on the CPR article--here--you can hear the sound the rocks make.  Lithophone rocks have been found all over the world, but the ones discovered by archaeologists in the high desert near the Great Sand Dunes National Park were mysteries at first.  Some were 5,000 years old and the first found in Colorado. Archaeologists thought they were tools used to grind nuts or seeds. Longmont, Colorado, archaeologist Marilyn Martorano finally made the correlation that they were ancient man-made musical instruments. The ancient people who lived near the Great Sand Dunes crafted their lithophones out of dense, often volcanic, rock to get the best sound. The stones have different sizes, which gives them different tones and pitches. We were able to hit the rocks to hears their musical sounds.

There was information for on-site tours available for archaeological sites such as Lamb Spring, where ancient Mammoths roamed, and Roxborough State Park, and South Valley Park, where ancient peoples lived.  In these areas, there were other exhibits and talks on the schedule. I have been to all three of these areas in the past, and you can read blog posts about Lamb Spring here, Roxborough State Park here, and South Valley Park here.

There were also artifacts and information about digs and discoveries throughout Colorado.

Many interesting exhibits...

...many artifacts to see...

...as well as fun things for younger children to do.

The part of the International Archaeology Day Expo that my husband and I were most interested in was the scheduled lectures. One of the volunteers proudly showed us the schedule!

Jack Warner, a member of the Denver Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society, was the first speaker, whose topic was "Ancient People of the Hogback and Foothills: Golden to Roxborough."  We know Jack from our community history society and always enjoy his lectures. It is always so interesting to learn about the prehistoric people that lived where we now live. If you'd like to see a short version of his lecture about one area located along the Colorado front range, you can watch this YouTube video presentation.

Next was archaeologist Kevin Gilmore who spoke about "A Short History of the Palmer Divide: Everything You Need to Know in an hour or Your Money Back." You can read more about this unique area of Colorado's history where the earliest known area inhabitants were native-American tribes that date to the Folsom period, 10,000 years ago, on the Palmer Lake Historical Society link and also the Franktown Cave Wikipedia.

Archaeologist Neil Hauser spoke about "The Blackfoot Cave Dig in SE Douglas County" From archaeological digs there is evidence that prehistoric people occupied the cave and surrounding area from 10,000 years before present (BP) through 1540 AD. Evidence also shows that the cave and surrounding area was occupied by modern tribes from the 1540s through the 1840s. European contact occurred as early as the 1540s by the Spanish Conquistadors in the North American Continent. You can read more about the cave on this link.  My husband and I actually were able to see this archaeological dig taking place a few years ago--click here--to read that post, and we were interested in the final findings.

The last lecture of the day was presented by Douglas Bamforth about the "Mahaffy Clovis Cache." When landscapers uncovered a collection of 83 stone tools in the front yard of Patrick Mahaffy's home in Boulder, Colorado, the homeowner called the University of Colorado at Boulder's anthropology department and the next day archaeologist Douglas Bamforth came out to investigate. What they discovered is called the Mahaffy Clovis Cache. It contains elaborate stone knives and blades used to butcher ice-age mammals 13,000 years ago! You can read more about this exciting discovery on the University of Colorado at Boulder's website on this link.

I really enjoyed attending the International Archaeology Day Expo, and after listening to all the interesting lectures my mind was full of the possibilities of discoveries still waiting to be found in our part of Colorado, and also your part of the world. Perhaps in a local cave, among some large rocks, or underneath the soil, lie the secrets of life from thousands of years ago!  Doesn't that thought make you want to start digging?

You can also find me on 

Instagram Twitter Facebook Pinterest