George Mason anthropology students test ancient tools — and earn points for spear throwing

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To Kimberly Foecke, studying the past doesn't need to be a passive experience.

The George Mason University assistant professor of anthropology believes in the importance of hands-on learning so much that she created the ANTH 599 Contemporary Issues in Anthropology course on experimental archaeology to help bridge theory and practice.

This past spring, undergraduate and graduate students got their hands dirty with a variety of experiments in the field that tested theory discussed in the classroom.

Students created new versions of old tech in their archaeology labs. Photo by Haagen D. Klaus.

Foecke's course pushes critical thinking and experimental design while focusing on the themes of innovation of technology, exploiting and processing food resources, and cultural and social transmission of knowledge--all subjects she says are applicable and transferrable to other areas of study.

"I think active learning is so important," Foecke said. "All of these experiments we do have information we can then project back into the archaeological record. This is interspersed with lecture where we talk about how to design experiments for different types of material that we find in the record. This helps students to understand how to test the capabilities of ancient technology and other archaeological items we find and create testable predictions for the artifacts."

Labs included flint knapping, the art of creating tools out of stone. Students struck obsidian sent from one of Foecke's peers in Kenya into a sharp flake and used their new tool to cut chicken feet. They also created scale buildings to test the load-bearing capacity of different roof types through experimental architecture, and they cooked ancient recipes for adhesives to test strength, longevity, and flexibility to use for hunting tools.

"I've done things in this class I've never done before," anthropology junior Sophia Taylor said. "I got to process oats with a big slab of slate and a grinding stone. I never thought my wrists would be sore from something like that, but I'm finding out new knowledge every day."

The class culminated with experimental spear throwing on the lawn next to the Mason Pond parking garage at the end of April. Wielding replicated ancient spears that Foecke constructed at her father's woodshop in Maryland, her students conducted accuracy and penetration tests.

Foecke created a hands-on spear workshop for students. Photo by Haagen D. Klaus.

"It is a nice break, a nice change having the hands-on," anthropology graduate student Chuck Tjersland said. "It's different and really does play a role. You read enough about experimental archaeology filling in some of the gaps."

Added Tjersland's class partner, anthropology undergraduate student David Rubalacaba: "How often do you throw spears for a grade?"

Foecke set up targets-featuring a drawing of a wooly mammoth-and hoops for students to throw wooden spears through. Each student attempted five throws, recording points for each target struck.

Foecke said the experiment displays what ancient civilizations encountered when having to use sticks that aren't the most aerodynamic and while facing tough weather conditions. "They're learning how difficult it is to throw a non-ideal spear and hit a target first time, every time," Foecke said. "It is almost impossible, even for professional javelin throwers."

Another station featured stabbing blocks made from insulated foam. Students tested the differences in cut size using two types of spears: one just whittled on one end and the other with an arrowhead stone attached to the end. The experiment showed that the spear with the arrowhead always made a wider and more jagged cut.

Both the spear throwing and spear stabbing experiments tried to answer the "why." Why spend all this time throwing a spear with a high miss rate? Why take so much time flint knapping or carving stones to attach to sticks when whittling would only take five minutes?

"That animal bleeds out more quickly and therefore you eat dinner sooner," Foecke said. "It is these kinds of questions around something weird in the record that we have to explain. We have to explain why and what the process is that causes us to see that pattern in the archaeological record. Experimental archaeology is all about creating predictions and hypotheses for why we see the patterns that we do and the processes that we do.

"This is the favorite part of my job. I love to teach, and I love to create cool experiences in the classroom."

Students throwing spears. Photo by Haagen D. Klaus.

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