It's probably not how you would typically plan to spend your weekend, but living life as an American Indian or an anthropologist might inspire a trip downtown. At the The University of Memphis' C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa tomorrow, you can learn how to throw axes or walk through an excavation trench and watch experts chisel arrowheads.
Archaeology Day at the museum is April 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"It will be five hours where students or community members can get a feel of what archaeologists are doing in the Mid-South," said Robert Connolly, museum director and anthropology professor at The U of M.
Archaeologists dug an excavation trench in the 1960s. The trench runs through the middle mound, allowing museum goers to see 500 years before recorded history.
"C.H. Nash has been a part of Memphis research on (American) Indian Culture for 50 years now," he said. "It's a wonderful way to experience American Indian cultures that have been in the area since 800 B.C."
The event will be kid-friendly with plenty of hands-on activities and artifacts that can be handled and touched, he said.
The museum, which focuses on Choctaw and Chickasaw heritage, showcases several authentic toys made from animal fur. It also features "turtle shakers," which are similar to maracas. The instruments are made from hollow turtle shells filled with dried beans or corn.
"The hands-on lab will let people know what an artifact really is," said Jenn Graham, an anthropology graduate student at The U of M. "Most people get what excavation is. They know it's when (archaeologists) dig in the dirt, and this will teach them why it's done."
Chucalissa has several exhibits that show the different stages of American Indian culture. A self-guided tour of the first exhibit room begins with the Paleo period, from 20,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C, according to exhibit plaques.
Visitors can also learn about American Indian medicine, pottery, dress, ornamentation and tools as they walk through the timeline exhibit.
There is also an exhibit that shows the evolution of projectile points, such as arrowheads and spear points, and it illustrates how they shrunk in size when the bow and arrow replaced the atlatl, a spear-launching weapon.
The last exhibit in the timeline was created by members of the Chickasaw nation of Oklahoma.
"This was their creation," said Samantha Gibbs, anthropology graduate student at The U of M. "It's significant because it's their representation of themselves. This is what they want our visitors to see."
Graham said Chucalissa had been discarded by the American Indians before European settlers arrived. The site was named "abandoned house" by the Choctaws, she said.
The reason they left their area is unknown, she said.
After observing the timeline exhibit, museum guests can explore the authentic American Indian temple mound outside of the museum.
"It's interesting to see how things were in the past," said Cilda Young, a museum visitor from Illinois.
Young said she learned about Chucalissa online when she was planning a trip to Tunica for herself and her husband.
