Cornicopia for the Curios

I have decided to add a blog to highlight two aspects of what Puku B does, the first is the creation of resources to use in my workshops and the second is to highlight archaeological sites that link to the topics that I teach. As both an experienced and qualified teacher and eperienced and practicing field and experimental archaeologist Puku B combines my skills and allows me to share information in a fun and engaging way.


 


I teach on topics which I have personally been involved as an archaeologist rather than all of history as covered by the National Curriculum, this means that when I demonstrate or deliver a workshop you know you are receiving information from someone with first-hand knowledge and undertaken in-depth research of the culture or time period. 


 


Furthermore, I strive to learn skills from the past so that when I am demonstrating or teaching, I can talk from personal experience of the challenges that come from creating items people from the past used. This does not mean that I am a specialist in the creation of ALL items, but continuing my learning – this blog supports the journey I have as a teacher and learner. Enjoy reading!

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Puku B

A week in the Neolithic

Summer 2019 I spent a week in the hills of Wales, living off the grid and undertaking some experimental archaeology looking at life in the Neolithic. While we will never be able to get completely into the mindset of the people of the past it is helpful to give up the trappings of modern life to experience daily tasks to help to understand the challenges people faced and the skills they developed.

 

We had a range of activities going on throughout the week finishing with a public event to share the site with visitors.

 

This is an unique location where the Wilderness Trust – Out of Eden Project  has been creating a Neolithic settlement. To date there is a tannery, coracle store, 3 enclosed roundhouses and a barn. Some members of the group were starting to create a new roundhouse was being created, with the superstructure and the roof being worked on. All of the structures use local materials as would have been done in the Neolithic, with hazel being used for much of the building and heather used for the roofing material. The heather has proved to be waterproof if not the softest bedding material.

 

Another special feature of the location is their heard of Soay sheep, a self-shedding breed thought to be one of the closer breeds to those that were farmed in the Neolithic. The fleece on these sheep is more hair-like than wool (as the wool became softer due to selective breeding throughout the Neolithic) but could easily be collected and used for a number of purposed including felting and stuffing for warmth.

 

Throughout the week we undertook a range of activities from creating stone tools by knapping, digging local clay to temper, grinding the temper, digging a kiln before firing the pottery, smelting tin arrowheads using cuttlefish molds, basketry, spinning and weaving, netmaking, fish skin oakbark tanning and brain tanning. This was all interspersed with foraging, eating, storytelling and developing a community.

 

There aren’t as many photographs as I would have liked as we were keeping technology off the site and I had nowhere to charge my phone over the week!

 

Some of the following blogs will link to the activities we undertook during this week.




Fish leather

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