Lansing - Bob Love squinted his eyes as he examined the piece of stone he had been chipping.
“There’s a definite sequence to this,” he explained as a group of onlookers moved forward to see his work. “You don’t just pick it up and beat the hell out of the rock.”
Love, a Pinckney resident, has been a flintknapper for 15 years and uses the arrowheads he makes for hunting.
“If you’re going to kill an animal, you have to earn the right to do it,” he said.
Love demonstrated his craft for dozens of children and adults at Saturday’s Michigan Archaeology Day at the Michigan Historical Museum, 702 W. Kalamazoo St.
“I’m trying to show people what is common to all people’s ancestry,” he said, as he picked up a finished arrow and tested the point. “Somewhere we’ve all come from Stone Age technology.”
The museum featured displays from many Michigan archaeologists and two lectures from Michael Nassaney of the Western Michigan University’s Anthropology Department.
Don Simons stood near his display of Michigan arrowheads and pointed to a map that located where the different stone weapons originated.
“Today, I met many people that have artifacts,” the Grand Blanc archaeologist said. “I could show them where they’re from - a lot of people have had things for decades without knowing what it meant.”
He said the purpose of archaeology is to understand other people and cultures and share the findings with the rest of the world. “What it’s really about is an interest in people of the past,” he said. “And you can tell about them through the physical remains of a culture.”
Archaeology Day coordinator Mary Ploor said the volunteers were found through the Michigan Archaeological Society and all of them want to help the public understand the importance of archaeology.
“The only way to find out about so much of history is through archaeological means,” she said. “People didn’t write down what they did from day to day.”
Ploor said several displays were designed specifically for children, including Sanilac petroglyph rubbings and a book reading.
“Children are the keepers of history and the future,” she said. “We want to get them interested in history now.”
