Mitchell, SD—The 35rd annual Archeology Awareness Days will take place at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village on June 30 and July 1, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn more about Native American cultures and the ongoing archaeological excavation at the Village. The event will run from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on both days. This year’s event will be free to the public.

The two-day event showcases primitive technologies used by the original inhabitants of the Village, including flint knapping, hide tanning, pottery experts, and other on-site demonstrations showing how the first people to live in this region survived. Visitors will also have an opportunity to meet the students and archaeologists engaged in the ongoing excavation and to discuss archaeological techniques, discoveries and artifacts.

“Archeology Days is a fun opportunity to learn more about archaeology and the first human inhabitants of the region,” said Cindy Gregg, the executive director of the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village.

The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, located north of Mitchell, South Dakota, is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site that was occupied over 1,000 years ago by Native Americans who lived in earthen lodges. The occupants of the Village were skilled farmers, growing crops such as corn, beans, squashes, sunflower, tobacco and amaranth. There are an estimated 70 to 80 lodges buried on the grounds of the site.

Every summer, archaeology and anthropology students from the University of Exeter, England and Augustana University, Sioux Falls, excavate the site as part of the Village’s Archaeology Summer Field School program. The site includes the Boehnen Memorial Museum, which contains a reproduction earth lodge, and the Thomsen Center Archeodome, which contains the remains of several earth lodges.

An admission fee is charged from April 1st to October 31st to help offset the cost of operating the Village. Adults are just $6, Senior Citizens (60+) are $5, Children (6-18) and Students with valid student I.D.s are $4. Children 5 and under are admitted for free. Bus tours are $75 per bus.