Pondering the past

When your own personal history only stretches back eight or 10 years, it can be quite mind-boggling to think about what happened thousands of years ago. Yet, Assistant Utah State Archaeologist Ron Rood says, this age can be a perfect time to start learning about the far-distant past.

At this age, the world is beginning to expand, and kids are starting to think beyond themselves. "These kids are into exploring," he says. "They love the notion of discovery. They want to learn about the past."

And there's no better way to do that, says Rood, than through archaeology. "No matter what they are interested in — photography, creative writing, math, history, even dinosaurs — there's a tie to archaeology."

That's why Utah's annual celebration of Prehistory Week, which this year runs from May 2-9, offers a lot of activities just for youngsters, he says. The week kicks off with an open house at the Rio Grande Depot on Saturday, featuring hands-on activities for kids (and adults, too), including spear and atlatl throwing, corn grinding, craft demonstrations, tours of the archaeology lab, a chance to make your own rock art, Navajo tacos and more.

During the week, two workshops will be held for children ages 6-12. On Tuesday, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., the topic will be "The Human Skeleton" and will "encourage kids to learn about what is going on inside themselves," Rood says, "as well as teach them how archaeologists can learn about the lives of past peoples from their skeletons."

On Thursday, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the subject will be "What is Archaeology?" and will provide hands-on lessons, demonstrations and real work with the State Archaeology Lab.

The workshops are free, but space is limited. To make reservations, e-mail rrood@utah.gov or call 801-533-3564.

On Saturday, there will also be a Junior Ranger program at Antelope Island State Park that will focus on how native peoples gathered food and lived in the area. It will be held at the Fielding Garr Ranch and is intended for children ages 6-12, although everyone is welcome.

Other Prehistory Week events will be held statewide. For a complete list, go to www.history.utah.gov/archaeology.

Another session of particular note, says Rood, will be held Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will let anyone "Ask an Archaeologist."

"A lot of people have artifacts that may have been picked up by their grandfathers or great-grandfathers, and now they wonder exactly what they are. We can maybe tell them what they have and how to take care of the artifacts. We won't do any appraisals, but nothing will be confiscated, either," he says.