The Troy Anthropology Club is hosting Public Archaeology Day on Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Troy University Arboretum to give the community insight into what it’s like to be an archaeologist.

The event activities include, flint knapping, atlatl spear throwing, rock art, seed sorting, lithics, stratigraphy, soil typologies, building an archaeology tool kit and a pottery demonstration led by TROY students.

Dr. Stephen Carmody, Director of the School of Social Sciences and professor of anthropology, said the goal of the event is to showcase the work they do as archaeologists and here in TROY’s labs and classrooms.

“We’re always trying to combat the narrative of what archaeology is and isn’t,” he said, “and this is another opportunity for us to engage the public, show them what we do, how we do it and the kinds of things we can learn from preserved archaeology sites.”

The event is presented by the Troy University Anthropology Club and the Alabama Archaeological Society. Public Archaeology Day is being held as part of a larger series of national events related to International Archaeology Day on Oct. 17.

International Archaeology Day was launched in 2011 and is held annually on the third Saturday in October as a celebration of archaeology and its contributions to society. Every October, the Archaeological Institute of America and archaeological organizations around the world present archaeological programs and activities for people of all ages and interests.

The free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and open to the public. The arboretum is located at 101 Pell Avenue.