Knap-in Event Returns to UA’s Moundville Archaeological Park

MOUNDVILLE, Ala. — The Moundville Knap-in, which celebrates Native American crafts and games, returns from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 13 at the The University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park.

Toolmakers from around the country join others hammering out stone points, throwing spears and shooting bows. Children can have their faces painted, or they may grind corn and play Native American games. The event also features displays of ancient hunting and fishing equipment, cooking demonstrations and net making.

Flintknapping is an ancient technology used by nearly all Stone Age people. Native Americans made most of their weapons and many of their tools from stone before Europeans arrived in the New World. After the arrival of Europeans, native people quickly set aside flint knapping in favor of metal implements to the point where the technology was almost lost.

In the last 20 years, however, many people have revived the process, passing their knowledge down from one person to another in much the same way as the ancients.

Some knappers use tools made out of stone or bone to fashion their points. Others use copper-covered, lead-weighted billets that they call “boppers” to hammer on their stone. Lapidary knappers use rock saws and heavy-duty grinders to preshape their pieces prior to removing flakes.

On Saturday, March 12, Juanita Gardinski of the West Tennessee Choctaws and some of her family members will demonstrate a variety of Choctaw traditions, among them basket making and beadwork. Children attending the Saturday program will also get a chance to make a beaded bracelet.

For more information, phone 205/371-8732 or send an e-mail to ccummings@ua.edu. 

The park grounds are open from 9 a.m. to dusk. Hours for the Jones Archaeological Museum are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors, $6 students and children; free for children younger than 5. University of Alabama Museums members receive free admission.

Moundville Archaeological Park is a division of University of Alabama Museums. The park is 13 miles south of Exit 71A on I-20/59 in Tuscaloosa, off of Alabama 69.