Artifacts

Once considered pests with useless hides, coyote fur/pelts became popular when wolf fur could not longer be used for commercial purposes. Coyote pelts are durable, thick and warm. The furs are...

With spears similar to the one in this project, Pleistocene hunters used to kill mammoths and buffalo. Get a feel of history by making your own Clovis spear like ice-age hunters used 12,000 years ago.

The Calvert Cliffs of Maryland are peaceful now, but during the Miocene period (between 5 and 23 million years ago), they were the underwater home of megalodon, the giant ancestor of the great...

Sealing a fossil stabilizes it from chipping or flaking, and is called consolidation. A consolidant is a hardener which makes the dry or fragile fossil more stable and preserves its original...

A mold fossil (or fossil mold) is simply this: A living organism such as a plant, seed, fish or mammal, dies and is buried in a sediment of sand, silt or clay. The organism decomposes, but leaves...

Paleobiologists, paleontologists and archaeologists strive for one thing; to preserve their finds in as original a state as possible. You can mount a fossil with an epoxy or cement, which even...

Fossils are remains or signs of organisms that have passed, though the term is generally applied to ancient organisms. Fossils fall into two broad categories: preservation with alteration and...

Hunting for, and learning how to identify, different stone arrowheads is a wonderful hobby for those that enjoy history and the outdoors. Arrowheads can be found all over the world, remnants of...

There are over 120 pyramids and 20 pyramidlike structures in Egypt. Most were constructed for funerary purposes, serving as giant monuments/gravesites to the pharaohs and members of the royal...

Pyramids are usually associated with the deserts of Egypt, but many cultures of the ancient world built pyramids. Though all similar in style and function, there is variation in look and...

Fossils are preserved in two main ways: with and without alteration. Preservation with alteration includes carbonization, petrifaction, recrystallization and replacement. Preservation without...

Since it was developed by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Willard Libby in 1947, radiocarbon dating has been one of the most important tools available to archaeologists, and just about anyone else...

Fossil excavation captures the imaginations of children and adults around the world. Finding a fossil and actually seeing a living organism encased in rock creates a sense of wonder at the natural...

As American Indian warriors set out to hunt for food or fight another tribe, weapons had to be made from whatever materials were available. Arrowheads became popular because the stone used to make...

The Rosetta Stone, nearly 4 feet long and more than 2 feet wide, is a slab of black basalt. It is nearly a foot thick and weighs almost a ton. Upon its polished surface are engravings in three...

A magnetometer is an electric device that senses slight changes in magnetic fields. Essentially an extremely sensitive compass, a magnetometer is used by scientists and treasure hunters to detect...

Fossils are evidence of creatures that lived long ago. Thousands, even millions of years ago, animals or plants sometimes became encased so completely by mud pr other sediments that they were not...

There are a few ways that plant fossils can be formed, but the odds are against it actually happening. Most vegetation breaks down quickly when it dies and never gets the opportunity to be...

The castles built in England following the Norman Invasion of 1066 were made of timber rather than stone and for defense, depended not only on their multiple rings of walls but also on their...

A total station is an instrument used in surveying and archaeology that yields exact measurements of distance and location. While a total station is a complex instrument, the basics of setting it...

Vellum was originally harvested from animal hides and intestines. The most prized vellum was that obtained from newly born or stillborn herd animals like calves and sheep. The hide or intestinal...

At one time, elk were hunted and killed just for their ivory canine teeth. Collectors use elk ivory for necklaces, cuff links, rings and more. If you don't purchase elk teeth from a specialty shop...

Making leaf fossils is easy using several easily found ingredients. Using this method, you can make as many leaf fossils as you want, but make sure you use old utensils that you don't need...

Imprint fossils are results of footprints and of plant or animal remains. The remains have been trapped in stone, decayed completely and then dissolved away. The imprint fossil is a permanent...

Native Americans designed many different arrowheads--about 1,200 types are on record--and much can be determined about an arrowhead if you have simple information like the material it's made of,...

Wax anatomical models were used throughout the 18th and early 19th century as teaching tools for medical students and doctors. They were especially popular in Europe and are now sought after by...

Prehistory presents a challenge for contemporary scholar. Without written records, archaeologists and anthropologists are left to piece together bits of antiquity in order to formulate some kind...

Easter Island got its name when the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen landed there on Easter Sunday in 1722. Since that time it has been a hot spot for tourists, not only because of the island's...

Atlantis is the name of a mythical lost civilization, perhaps a continent, that disappeared in a sudden catastrophe in ancient history. No one knows where this land was and many legends and...

Hummingbirds are fascinating to watch as they hover over their favorite, usually red flowers in the garden on a sultry summer's day pushing their long beaks deep into the flowers to feed on the...

Most kids go through a "dinosaur phase" at some point. This contrived adventure helps your kids to feel like real paleontologists, even if just for an hour or so.

The discovery of the remains of a prior human civilization is one of an archaeologist's greatest thrills. The older the remains are, the more exciting the find. Prehistoric remains are among the...

The Viking city of Jorvik was constructed based on artifacts and evidence uncovered during the Coppergate excavations of the late 1970s to the early 1980s. During the dig, 10th Century Viking...

You can recognize the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex if you know the distinguishing characteristics of these extinct kings of the dinosaur world. Follow these steps before your next visit to...