The Ancient Art of Flintknapping - Demonstration

November 16, 2019

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Flintknapping is the process of reducing large cores of raw stone in a controlled manner with special tools to produce sharp projectile points or tools. Natives of North America have produced the finest flint and jasper projectiles and blades in the world. These pre-historic artists are the  inspiration for modern day flintknappers.

 

Now is your chance to see how this ancient and highly specialized process on Saturday, November 16, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Veteran flintknapper, Rich Poirier, will demonstrate this process of using percussion flaking techniques to make a biface or arrowhead from raw flint.  

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Admission includes a full museum tour: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors over 62 and children 12-17, and free for children under 12.

Artifact Roadshow

November 23, 2019

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Do you have a box of arrowheads stashed in your closet?  Now’s the time to dust it off! Curator Lee Hallman and president of the Indian Artifact Collectors Association of the Northeast will be at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown on November 23, 2019, for Artifact Roadshow, 10 noon to 4:00 pm, where he will offer his expertise on your collections.

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Admission includes a full museum tour: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors over 62 and children 12-17, and free for children under 12.

FLINTKNAPPING FOR ADULTS - Beginner’s workshop:

Saturday, November 23, 2019, 4 pm - 6 pm

 

(Age 18 and up) Learn how to make your own arrowheads from local stone—an ancient skill mastered by Native Americans thousands of years ago!

 

Flintknapping is the process of reducing large cores of raw stone in a controlled manner with special tools to produce sharp projectile points or tools. Natives of North America have produced the finest flint and jasper projectiles and blades in the world. These pre-historic artists are the inspiration for modern day flintknappers.  Now is your chance to learn the basics of this ancient and highly specialized process. Thirty-year flintknapping veteran Rich Poirier will walk you through the step-by-step process of using percussion flaking techniques to make a biface or arrowhead from raw flint.

 

Class Fee:  Members $20 /Non-Members $30    

Plus Materials Fee:  $15  

KACHINAS:  SPIRIT DOLLS OF THE HOPI

                          

“Kachinas: Spirit Dolls of the Hopi” features over 50 hand-carved and hand-painted wooden figures based on Hopi kachinas. Carved by George Melloy, a retired Bethlehem Steel Metallurgical Engineer, the sculptures reproduce with stunning color and historical accuracy the full round of Hopi ceremonies, including the Bean Dance ceremony and the Winter Solstice ceremony. Visit us and learn the fascinating history of Hopi kachinas and their pivotal role in Pueblo Indian cultures.

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“Warrior Spirit: Journey of the Native American Warrior”                                

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The Museum of Indian Culture’s newest exhibit, “Warrior Spirit:  Journey of the Native American Warrior,” honors a long tradition and largely unknown participation of native peoples in the U.S. military.  Since the Revolutionary War, Native Americans have served in every major conflict and at a higher rate in proportion to their population than any other ethnic group.

 

The spirit of the Native American warrior is deeply rooted in culture and tradition.  “Warrior Spirit:  Journey of the Native American Warrior” chronicles the history of native participation in the U.S. military amidst wars fought on a land that once was theirs and also abroad.  This 200-year history is told through pictures, stories of heroism, and wartime relics, including 1940’s field radios used during WWII by Navajo Code Talkers who used their once forbidden language to help save this nation.

 

Mystery Unearthed:

The Extraordinary Story of Two Lenape Rock Shelters

This exhibit features a unique collection of over 200 stone and bone tools, pendants, decorated ceramics, and European trade goods excavated in 1942 from the Broomall Rock Shelter sites in Broomall, Pennsylvania. This assemblage was featured in a 1947 article in the prestigious archaeological journal American Antiquity, and includes a fully-reconstructed steatite bowl and numerous archaic stone points that may date to over 3,000 years ago. Visit us to learn the incredible story of the site’s discovery, context, excavation, and the artifacts’ journey to the museum.

 

Treading Lightly around Prehistoric Digs: 

1980’s Interstate-78 Southern Corridor Project - Upper Saucon

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In 1972 Tropical Storm Agnes ravaged the Lehigh Valley with rain and wind. Days after the flood waters subsided, Upper Saucon resident Robert Kufrovich went rock hunting in a nearby cornfield. To Robert’s surprise, the ground erosion caused by “Agnes’” heavy rains unearthed stone artifacts and pottery sherds from an ancient Lenape settlement dating 8,000 B.C. to 1,500 A.D. Robert’s findings were reported to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and became part of PennDot's 1980's Interstate-78 archaeological sites surveyed for prehistoric evidence.    The artifacts show how the Lenape lived and worked in our region before the land filled with housing developments                                  and shopping centers.  

Beneath the Mounds: Pottery and Tools of the Mississippians

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Discover America’s prehistoric cities at Beneath the Mounds: Pottery and Tools of the Mississippians.

 

Over 1,000 years ago, a mysterious and advanced civilization existed in Midwestern America. These prehistoric people built complex mounds in massive building projects that amaze modern scientists—and with no metal tools. Their culture extended throughout Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, and Ohio, and they controlled trade networks that extended coast to coast and into Mexico. They left no written language but created some of the most complex burials and artifacts ever recorded in North America.