Photo by Rylee Lingenfelter
Pull on your cowboy boots and take a walk through Wyoming’s past at the annual Wyoming Archaeology Fair.
The Branding Iron visited the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, where professional archaeologists, students and families gathered Saturday to explore the state’s history through artifacts, demonstrations and hands-on activities.
Visitors received a map of the fair and could move among booths staffed by archaeologists and organizations from across Wyoming. Groups included the Wyoming Archaeological Society, the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation and Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington.
Many of the archaeologists in attendance work in Wyoming, with University of Wyoming students volunteering alongside them.
Displays focused on artifacts, osteology and other areas of Wyoming archaeology. The event also included activities such as pottery-making, flintknapping, blacksmithing and atlatl throwing. An atlatl is a handheld tool that adds force and distance to a thrown spear or dart.
Tables and live music offered attendees a place to take a break between booths.
“This is the 12th annual archaeology fair, which is now run by the State Historic Preservation Office,” said Gwendolyn Kristy, chief of the Planning and Historic Contexts Development Program. “It is entirely volunteer-led and funded through fundraising. The state does not give us any money to support it.”
Keeping the event free is central to its purpose, she said.
“Part of what is important to us with this event is making sure that it is accessible to anyone here, so we want it to stay free.”
The fair brings together professionals, students and community members around a shared goal: making Wyoming’s archaeological history accessible beyond classrooms, museums and excavation sites.
