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present:
Nightengale Archeology Center
Last October 26th we took a trip to Kingsland, Texas, to the Nightengale Archeology Center. There we found out how people before the modern era used energy to help them live. Also we learned how they hunted, about their campsite and some of their food sources.
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We first took a tour through the museum and saw some of the things that were a part of prehistoric peoples’ daily lives; for example, a comb or hair ornament which was made out of three sticks tied together. Also there were some sandals made out of yucca, a native plant. They used wild tobacco for their pipes, and they ate acorns, mesquite beans and walnuts. |
| There was a certain way that they built their fire. They had a thick piece of wood and they would turn a stick inside a hole in the wood in order to make friction. They changed mechanical energy to heat energy. People back then were called hunter-gatherers, which means that they went out looking for their food. Their bodies required energy because, if their prey moved, they had to move with it. |  |
After the museum we went outside and we projected a spear with a model of prehistoric tool, called an atlatl, at bales of hay. They used the atlatl to propel their weapons faster so they could penetrate the skin of larger prey. The atlatl works by attaching a spear to it, then you pull your hand back and as if you were throwing a ball, releasing the spear. But you have to be careful that you don’t throw the atlatl too. This is an example of another way mechanical energy was used. See more about the atlatl in our Games links.
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Another model of a prehistoric tool that we had the opportunity to use was a “Rabbit Stick.” This tool works by you holding a certain side of it then pulling your wrist back and releasing it. When we were throwing the Rabbit Stick our targets were jugs. Throwing the Rabbit Stick is a form of mechanical energy prehistoric man used to obtain energy (food).
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After we tried out the tools we took a hike. We saw prehistoric campsites. The deeper the archeologist dug the older whatever they found was. All campsites were around rivers, lakes or streams. Wherever they built their campsites depended on where rivers flowed. We saw a grinding stone where they ground different types of food. This shows another example of mechanical energy they used to obtain food.
With this trip we learned that prehistoric people had different sources of energy from us. We also saw that they spent most of their time and energy obtaining food, since at least some of the time food was not that plentiful in Central Texas.
-Marlen