A new initiative at the Center for Big Bend Studies and Sul Ross Anthropology Department is the development of an experimental archaeology lab for teaching and research. Because few of the tools and technologies we study from the past have direct contemporary or historical referents, experiments and experiences are a necessary part of archaeological work. We rely on our own experiences with comparable tools (for instance cutting tools), as well as historical accounts of similar tool use, to interpret past technologies. Experiencing the past through replicas is thus essential for both students and professionals in our field. However, we sometimes rely on experiences that are not truly analogous to past tools or experiences, which hampers interpretation, and we often lack vital information about how ancient tools performed, broke, or left marks on bone and other materials. Guided experiential teaching with replicas and carefully designed experiments thus have an important place in archaeology. The most effective research in this area compares results of experiments performed by actual humans in field settings that closely mimic past settings (i.e., naturalistic experiments) and experiments conducted in a lab under highly controlled but artificial settings (i.e., controlled experiments). At CBBS we plan to take this two-step approach to an experimental science in archaeology. Our first goal is to fund the construction and outfitting of a lab with indoor and outdoor space applicable for the messy aspects of archaeological experiments; building fires, flintknapping, throwing atlatl darts, and etcetera, and then analyzing the residues of such activities indoors with sophisticated modern lab equipment. Fortunately, the rural setting of Alpine combined with the academic setting of Sul Ross provides a perfect place for this close marrying of field and laboratory science. If you are interested in donating to our lab please locate the Donate button at the top of the screen and earmark your donation to the experimental lab after adding it to your cart. As our lab develops, we look forward to pursuing the following research and education directives:

Research and Teaching Directives

Subject Description
Archaeological Ballistics Research We will continue a program of experiments on humanely culled animal carcasses using spears, atlatl darts, and arrows to better understand how variations in projectiles perform, how stone points break, and the marks they leave on bone. This is type of experiment allows us to capture many variables in a single experiment and use the results to answer broad questions. We will also continue a controlled program of launching projectiles at consistent velocities into artificial targets indoors, which allows us to hone in on more specific questions. Both of these naturalistic and controlled approaches use high-speed cameras, accelerometers, and radar to capture details of weapon impacts and ballistics.
Earth Oven Cooking Earth oven pit baking, where food is encapsulated in plant material, set over heated rocks, and covered under a layer of earth, was used by peoples around the world for millennia to slow-cook different types of plants and animals. The Trans-Pecos contains an 11,000-year record of Indigenous earth oven cooking and burned rock features are one of the most ubiquitous archaeological features encountered in the region. Experimental archaeology can document the physical processes of oven cooking and provide insight into relationships between feature size and different types of foods, such as agave and lechuguilla. The Experimental Archaeology Lab at Sul Ross State University explores earth oven site formation processes, thermal properties, and how foods are transformed during the baking process to understand this vital aspect of ancient lifeways.
Flintknapping and Stone Tools Due in part to the durability of stone, flintknapping is the earliest technology to appear in the archaeological record, showing up more than 4 million years ago in Africa. The first flintknappers were early hominins before the appearance of our species, demonstrating that our species has never been without technology thanks to these early innovators. Flintknapping can yield clues to human evolution, and stone cutting and scraping tools, not to mention weapon tips, remained essential everyday items until recently. At Sul Ross we are prepared to devise flintknapping experiments using high-speed cameras for observation, use stone woodworking, plant processing, and butchering tools, and observe macro and microscopic use-wear on experimental tools in a lab setting to better interpret ancient stone tools that do not come with these detailed histories of use.
Ground Stone Technology Experimental research involving ground stone tools can help us better understand effective methods of food processing, for both plant and animal resources, as well as providing comparative material for use-wear studies. Additionally, experimental studies of bedrock mortar production and other grinding surfaces yield data regarding efficiency, purpose, and investment in food processing. Numerous examples of grinding stones (manos and metates) and mortars are found in the Big Bend and surrounding regions.
Hide Tanning Hide and fur tanning were among the earliest and most important innovations that allowed people to move into colder climates. But hide tanning is a tricky process that requires the right tools for the job and strict adherence to a particular method in order to achieve success, yet a variety of different tools and methods have been used. The archaeological record of North America contains numerous classes of stone tools often identified as hide scrapers, and tanning often uses methods of soaking hide in chemicals such as produced by mixing wood ash and water. A better understanding of these tools and methods through experimental approaches would assist interpretation of features and tools used for hide tanning.
Plant Fiber Research Although stone tools form the most prominent class of artifact in most regions of the world, dry rock shelters in the Big Bend demonstrate that a majority of material culture was formed of more perishable materials such as leather, wood, and plant fiber, which do not preserve on open-air sites. Big Bend cultural materials made from fiber include sandals, baskets, cordage, nets, bags, snares, and much more. Because of the incredible preservation in this region, analysis of plant fiber artifacts, including replication and testing, will be an essential component of our work moving forward.
Rock Art and Paint Recipes Most Indigenous paint recipes include pigment, a binder, and an extender/emulsifier. The particular ingredients in the recipe can change depending on available resources. Experiments involving paint-making can be paired with geochemical analysis of archaeological paint samples and a pigment sourcing program to provide information about the chaîne opératoire (chain of operation) of paint production.