Artifacts

Fossils are remains of ancient life that are over 10,000 years old and have been preserved in the earth's crust--usually mineralized bones, teeth, or shells. If you are interested in fossil...

Scribes in medieval times used quill pens to make handwritten copies of manuscripts containing beautiful calligraphy. In addition, people continued using quill pens through the 1800s for homework,...

A fossil is a trace of a living organism that lived in prehistoric times. Although we often find fossils when we dig down through layers of rock, fossil formation is actually quite rare. The...

The Garrett Ace 250 is a lightweight metal detector that will give you the best bang for your metal-detecting buck--if used correctly. The Ace 250 offers five different search modes, a...

Abandoned gold mines litter mountainous regions ranging from Georgia, where the first gold rush occurred in the United States, to the West Coast. Looking for gold can be exciting and rewarding but...

A brachiopod is a marine animal that has two valves, or shells. Although some brachiopods do exist today, most brachiopods can only be found in the fossil record. In fact, brachiopods existed at...

Wooden propellers were used in various aircraft until the development of metal blades post-World War I. Identification of wooden airplane propellers is a challenge since there is no authoritative...

Arrowheads are remnants of the hunter-gathers of the stone age and native tribes that used to roam the wilderness. These are artifacts originating from handmade bows and arrows that were once used...

Finding real fossils is a pretty cool experience. In your hands you could be holding the imprint of a fish that once lived thousands or even millions of years ago. Whether you are a teacher...

Though perhaps the simplest of all machines, the inclined plane has proved an invaluable tool across the ages. It is used in vast numbers of more complex machines, and has made some of the most...

Limestone normally contains a vast amount of fossilized plant and animal remains. Throughout the geological process of forming limestone, many creatures lie buried in sediment which surfaces as...

Forty-five miles west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Canon City offers a tremendous opportunity to observe the preserved footprints of dinosaurs along the ancient coastline of the Western Interior...

Are you a believer or a sceptic. Is bigfoot really out there. Has there really been sightings or are these people all crazy. Do some people have a real active imagination or can there be a species...

Fossils are the preserved remains of a plant, animal or other matter that existed a long time ago. Although only a small percentage of organisms become fossilized, there are many ways in which...

The great pyramids of Egypt, though thousands of years old, are still fascinating to modern humans. Built as tombs for royalty and filled with exotic riches, their existence has been a source of...

The water clock sits alongside the sundial in history as one of the earliest timekeeping mechanisms invented by mankind. Dating back to approximately 1500 B.C., this type of clock was used by...

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.

Water clocks, one of the first time-telling devices, first appeared in Ancient Egypt during the reign of King Amenhotep I around 1500 BCE. Most ancient Egyptian water clocks were outflow water...

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...

Ancient Mesopotamians used tools for a variety of purposes. Farming, building, sculpting and writing required different instruments, and the Mesopotamians learned to use tools made of a variety of...

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...

Much of the theory of continental drift (now referred to as plate tectonics) derives from evidence provided by fossils. Scientists have been collecting parallel evidence across the Pacific Ocean...

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...

It's hard to imagine going anywhere today without a GPS unit, a PDA or at least directions from a reputable map, but early explorers did without all of the above as they courageously forged their...

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...

This is a great science experiment for your kids. It teaches the basics of acoustics. Also a nice novelty to have in your room

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 Mesozoic Era lasted more than 180 million years and was marked by a generally tropical climate where plants and animals -- especially dinosaurs -- thrived. Today, Colorado retains evidence of...

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...

An hourglass is a device that measures time. They were the first dependable, accurate and reusable devices invented for tracking time. In addition, hourglasses will not freeze, giving them a...

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...

It's often said that the best way to find arrowhead artifacts is to scour the grounds of hunting sites frequented by modern hunters. And the scores of websites offering arrowheads for sale attest...

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...