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	Vin Steponaitis, director of the UNC Research Labs of Archaeology, with artifacts from the North Carolina Archaeological Collection. Photo by Dan Sears.

Discover the science of archaeology and explore 12,000 years of North Carolina history through free hands-on activities, presentations, demonstrations and exhibits Oct. 17 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

North Carolina Archaeology Day, for visitors of all ages, will be from noon to 5 p.m. in the Alumni Building, home of the Research Laboratories of Archaeology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Alumni Building is on campus just off East Franklin Street, between the Morehead Planetarium and the Old Well.

Fifteen-minute tours of the North Carolina Archaeological Collection will start at 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. The collection includes more than 7 million artifacts, including pottery, pipes, spear points and ornaments. Space is limited; advance registration encouraged. E-mail Meg Kassabaum, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to register.

Continuous activities throughout the event will include primitive technology and hand-coiled pottery demonstrations, pottery puzzles, rock art, archaeologist question-and-answer sessions, pirate flag creation and more.  

These family-friendly presentations will last about 20 minutes each:

• 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.: “The Berry Site, Fort San Juan and the Exploring Joara Foundation.” David Moore of Warren Wilson College will discuss the Berry Site near Morganton, home of the American Indian village of Joara.
• 1:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.: “The Legend of the Three Sisters.” Folklife specialist Shelia Wilson, a member of the Sappony Tribe, will discuss the legend involving corn, bean and squash – “the three sisters” – planted together.
• 2 p.m.: “The Earliest North Carolinians.” I. Randolph Daniel Jr. of East Carolina University will discuss what life was like for people living in the state 10,000 years ago.
• 2:45 p.m.: “The Archaeology of Town Creek.” Tony Boudreaux of East Carolina University will discuss the Town Creek Indian Mound in Mount Gilead. Town Creek has been the focus of research for more than 50 years.
• 4:15 p.m.: “Exploring Blackbeard’s Shipwreck, ‘Queen Anne’s Revenge.’” Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing, director of the Queen Anne’s Revenge Project, will discuss the shipwreck recovery near Beaufort.

A for-credit workshop for North Carolina teachers from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. will introduce participants to the state’s “Intrigue of the Past” curriculum and other resources available through UNC’s Research Laboratories of Archaeology. Space is limited to 20 participants; registration is required.

For registration information for the teacher’s workshop plus directions, parking and a complete schedule of events for the day, visit http://rla.unc.edu/.

North Carolina Archaeology Day is produced in part by a grant from the Southeastern Archaeological Conference. It is co-sponsored by UNC’s Research Laboratories of Archaeology and Society of Anthropology Students and the North Carolina Archaeological Society.

N.C. Archaeology Day contact on site: Theresa McReynolds, (919) 302-1748
N.C. Archaeology Day advance contacts: Theresa McReynolds, (919) 302-1748, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Vin Steponaitis, (919) 962-6574, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it