The Really Ancient
Southwest
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Mapping
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Pangaea
Canyon Lands
Geology & Volcanoes
Dinosaurs & More
GIS &
Mapping
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to Camp Internet's Explore the Ancient Southwest!
Exploring the Ancient Southwest
Basketmaker Tools
Two new important tools were
invented during this time period - both related to new types of foods.
The mano and metate - stone grinding rock and slab - became a feature
at every hearth. This new system of grinding grain broke down the
fiber of hard dried kernels - or fresh - and made its nutrients more
easily assimilated by the human digestive system. (But, it also introduced
grains of stone into the diet that had the problem of wearing the
teeth down at a young age. )
The
archaic spear points were to give way to smaller arrowheads, and the
bow and arrow was invented. This weapon was better suited to individual
hunters searching for small game, and signals the end of the group
hunting parties as the primary food quest.
Look at the arrowheads and
imagine the challenge of carving them and securing them to a stick
- and then - betting your families survival on your ability to catch
fast moving small game or birds. Not the same as walking into a supermarket
….
What food do you buy at the
supermarket that you would know how to find or catch in the wild ?
Which do you know how to grow yourself ? And which of those would
you know how to prepare for a meal ? What tools would it take to gather
those foods ?
Exploring the Ancient Southwest
Basketmaker Tools
Two new important tools were invented during this time period - both related to new types of foods. The mano and metate - stone grinding rock and slab - became a feature at every hearth. This new system of grinding grain broke down the fiber of hard dried kernels - or fresh - and made its nutrients more easily assimilated by the human digestive system. (But, it also introduced grains of stone into the diet that had the problem of wearing the teeth down at a young age. )
The
archaic spear points were to give way to smaller arrowheads, and the
bow and arrow was invented. This weapon was better suited to individual
hunters searching for small game, and signals the end of the group
hunting parties as the primary food quest.
Look at the arrowheads and imagine the challenge of carving them and securing them to a stick - and then - betting your families survival on your ability to catch fast moving small game or birds. Not the same as walking into a supermarket ….
What food do you buy at the supermarket that you would know how to find or catch in the wild ? Which do you know how to grow yourself ? And which of those would you know how to prepare for a meal ? What tools would it take to gather those foods ?