Living in the Stone Age Short Films

Recently Oxford Palaeotechnology Society committee members were involved with Oxford University creating a number of videos for young students about living in the stone age. Check them out here:

https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/living-stone-age

Facebook Group

Our blog has been dormant for a long time... it might get started up again soon, but until then join us on our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Oxfordpalaeotechnologysociety/

If you are interested in joining us, please email oxpalaeo@gmail.com and we can put you on our mailing list.

Week 3 and Week 4 Activities

Join us on Tuesday, October 28^th at 1:30 – 2:30 at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and we will tour the museum as a group looking at the different ethnographic examples of projectile technologies. Then we can relax with a drink in the pub afterwards to reflect. Meet outside the Natural History Museum entrance and we can head in together.

Then on Saturday, November 8^th at 1:30 – 3:00, join us at the Harcourt Arboretum with special guests, to tour around the beautiful grounds where we will examine the raw materials available to hunter gatherer groups in the creation of their projectile tools (and enjoy the Autumn colours!).

I will be sending out an email closer to the time with further details - please email oxpalaeo@gmail.com if you are not on the mailing list!

Basketry and Fishtrap making session (Photos)

On Sunday OxPalTechSoc had a great session gathering materials and coming back to the knapping tent to create some baskets, which with some modification, could be used as fish traps (and now we need to plan a session where we can try catching some crayfish with them!)

Here are some photos of our exploits:

We had much better weather on this excursion that our last one in January!

 

Klint went over which materials were best

And we collected a few extra materials - such as this Victorian Jam jar we found on the ground!

It seems the willow trees were growing near a bank which was eroding out a whole bunch of Victorian ceramic materials, possibly an old dumping ground?  There were intact glass bottles, large pieces of old plates, tubes and even bottles with what looked like their original material left in the bottom...

Some of us found really expedient ways of getting the willow branches necessary for our baskets!

 

So we lugged all the willow back to the knapping tent

The method we used was to stick 5 larger willow branches into the ground, splayed out, and then weave smaller bendier willow branches in and out between them.

Cory experimented with the willow bark, which created an excellent cordage

But the others made some excellent baskets!

Manse's was made with the additional part on the top (made with the same principles) so that the basket could be used as a fish trap.  Fish swim into the hole in the centre, and don't manage to swim back out again, staying to the edges of the basket.

We had a great time... helped as well by the fantastic weather, some cider and ice cream!

End of Term Barbeque

I've become very behind in posting pictures - flintknapping last Saturday and yesterday will be posted soon!

But this Wednesday, OxPalTechSoc will be holding a barbeque in the knapping tent, from 6pm.

It's a potluck, so everyone bring something yummy and something for yourselves to drink.  Plus ones welcome too!

RSVP by emailing me at oxpalaeo@gmail.com and I'll give you directions!

Working With Clay - Saturday's Pictures

Last Saturday OxPalTechSoc met in the knapping tent with a few buckets of clay from the Lyme Regis area. Here's what happened:

We had buckets of dry clay...

And added a bit of water and a mix...

Gave it to a bunch of OxPalTechSoc-ers...

 With a bit of expert know-how and tips...

 Beautiful things started to be created...

 Like so!

 And so - ooh la la!

 And so!

It was a pretty messy process...

 But the results were quite impressive!

 More impressive creations...

Even a dinosaur...? 

And by the end of the day we all felt like this: 

Flint Knapping Photos from Last Saturday

We had a great time flint knapping in the tent last Saturday. The sun even came out for us which was a bit of a surprise!

While a few of us had knapped before, it was brand new to a couple of us and we took the time to go over some of the basic information we'd need, such as a bit of terminology, and angles to look for on the flint cobble to take off a good flake.

 And then we got to knapping!

Here is some of the basic equipment...

Here's a little something knapped as it was the day after Valentine's...

I hope everyone that came felt they learned a lot!  We will be knapping again in two weeks, giving us an opportunity to improve on last time.