GRAND CANYON, Ariz. – On Saturday, Grand Canyon National Park will host its sixth annual Archaeology Day celebration, commemorating Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month.
Archaeology Day is intended to help park visitors learn more about the people who inhabited the Grand Canyon long ago and to gain a greater understanding of the work that archaeologists do and what can be learned from their research.
The following regularly scheduled ranger programs for the day will focus on archaeology:
- Rim Nature Walk with park guide Ty Karlovetz – 10 a.m. at the Yavapai Geology Museum
- Mather Point Talk with park ranger Jennifer Onufer – 11 a.m. at the Mather Point Amphitheater
- Tusayan Ruins Walk – 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Tusayan Museum, Desert View
- History Talk with park guide Marty Martell – 2 p.m. at Verkamp’s Visitor Center
Family-friendly activities at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants of all ages can make clay pinch pots, split-twig figurines, create rock art and more to learn about the people who inhabited the Grand Canyon long ago.
Archaeology Day will conclude with a special evening program by Ellen Brennan, the park’s cultural resource program manager entitled “My Eyes Were Opened: Historical Memory and the Canyon’s Traditionally Associated Tribes.” This program will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of Ages Auditorium on the South Rim.
Additional special evening programs focusing on archaeology will be held throughout the month of March. For more information on Archaeology Day and special park programs happening throughout Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month, please visit the park’s website or call Supervisory Park Ranger Libby Schaaf at 928-638-7641.
Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month was created 30 years ago to inform the public about archaeology in the state of Arizona. In Grand Canyon National Park alone, over 4,300 archaeological sites have been recorded to date, and archaeologists estimate that the park may have as many as 50,000. Some of the artifacts found in the park date back almost 12,000 years, testimony to the vast extent of human history of the area. That history lives on as the descendants of those ancient peoples continue to utilize the area today.
Event details and contact information
Date: March 23
Time: All day, see website for details
Location: Various, see website
Admission: Free
Contact: Libby Schaaf – 928-638-7641
Submitted by: Grand Canyon National Park
Email: [email protected]
