The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh presents "Archaeology Days," a new special event that looks at North Carolina's human history dating back 10,000 years.

The event features the Hardaway artifacts recovered from the Hardaway site in Stanly County, North Carolina's oldest excavated settlement and one of the most significant archaeological finds in North America.

The event is free and takes place Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19, from noon to 5 p.m.

Visitors will learn how archaeologists uncover artifacts and see archaeological wonders found in and around the state. There will also be several interpretive educational stations manned by staff from several agencies and organizations around our state including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Morehead Planetarium, the N.C. Office of State Archaeology and the Schiele Museum in Gastonia.

Stations will focus on an array of subjects like pottery and tool making, chronology and typography of artifacts, demonstrations of primitive skills, bone and seed identification and much more. The museum's educational staff will offer additional interactive stations on cordage making, fiber identification, ancient foods and more.

"We are very excited to be hosting the first 'Archaeology Days,' where the people of North Carolina can see artifacts from early Americans at our museum," said Museum Director Betsy Bennett. "What makes this event particularly special is that it will be the first time many of these artifacts, including the Hardaway artifacts, will be available for the public to see."

Several presentations will be held in the museum's auditorium throughout the weekend, including one by George Stuart, Saturday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m.

Stuart is the founder and president of the Center for Maya Research and former vice-president for Research Exploration for the National Geographic Society. He's also a renowned expert on Mesoamerican, Mayan and North American archaeology, as well as hieroglyphic writing and art history. Stuart's talk is Part II of the Joffre Lanning Coe Lecture Series.

Other Saturday presenters include Steve Watts (primitive technology for all ages), Doug Elliott (ancient foods), and the museum's own Bob Alderink (primitive skills).

On Sunday, Nov. 19, presenters include David Meltzer (human migration to this continent) and I. Randolph Daniel (author of "Hardaway Revisited: Early Archaic Settlement in the Southeast").

For more information about Archaeology Days, contact Erin MacEntee at 919-733-7450, ext. 502.

Archaeology Days is sponsored by The Alcoa Foundation and Alcoa Inc. The lecture series is co-sponsored by The Coe Foundation, N.C. Museum of History, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, N.C. State Historic Sites and Properties, N.C. Archives and History, and H.C. Humanities Council. Archaeology Days is also being held in conjunction with the American Indian Heritage Festival (Saturday only) at the N.C. Museum of History.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 West Jones St., Raleigh, documents and interprets natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming.