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2025 TAS Field School         

The TAS Field School is coming back to
Central Texas!

We welcome you to join us in
Milam and Robertson Counties

June 14 - 21, 2025

Register for Field School

​

Location
The 2025 TAS Field School will focus primarily on the archeological survey of Red Mountain (also known as Sugarloaf Mountain) and the surrounding areas. Red Mountain is a significant place for the Tonkawa Tribe, who recently reclaimed this ancestral land and will maintain it with the help of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association. Additional field survey and testing will be conducted on the El Camino Real de los Tejas at Rancheria Grande.

Red Mountain

El Camino Real de los Tejas

Click the link below for lots of great general information about the TAS field school, including what to expect in camp.

General Field School Information


Registration, Camping, and Meals
Registration and camping will be at the Robertson County Fairgrounds in Hearne TX, on FM 485, west of Highway 6

  • Meals and evening programs will also be at the Fairgrounds

Archeology
2025 TAS Field School Principal Investigators:


 Dr. Tamra Walter, Ruth Mathews, and Steven Sarich


Registrants can participate in survey or work in the lab.  

  • During survey, you will have the opportunity to discover new archeological sites and learn proper recording techniques.  Some small-scale excavations and metal detecting will also be conducted.
  • Lab participants will help process the artifacts as they come in from the field.  You will wash and catalog artifacts, take photographs, enter data into a computer database, and more.  New this year! -- we will work on the 2025 collection AND a legacy collection from a past TAS field school. It will be a great opportunity to work on multiple and diverse collections. The Lab will be at the Robertson County Fairgrounds and the Lab Director is Aina Dodge.

Nearby Lodging
We encourage TAS members to camp at the fairgrounds. But if you decide to stay in a motel in nearby Hearne or Bryan, you should plan on spending time at camp for fellowship and meals. It truly is a part of the Field School experience!​

Field School Activities

  • Daily field and lab work
  • Evening lectures and workshops
  • Wally margarita party with live music
  • CPE credit hours for teachers
  • Artifact identification and public presentation for the local community
  • Archeolympics competition...scroll down for more!

Scholarships
The TAS offers Field School scholarships for Native Americans, students, and diverse communities. Click the link below for the application and deadline information.

TAS Scholarship Program









Archeolympics

All are invited to compete in the eighth annual Archeolympics on Wednesday.  Archeolympics are a series of games and activities based on the same skills that prehistoric people relied on for daily survival. This event is all about having fun and learning about ancient lifeways such as primitive hunting and fire starting. If you don't participate in the event, you should definitely come out to cheer for the competitors!

This year, we will have three skill events:  Friction Fire Starting, Atlatl, and Rabbit Stick throwing. We may also have Cordage Making and 1-x-1 m Unit Layout. 

During Fire Starting, hand and bow drills will be used to create a spark and the first person to produce a visible flame will be the winner. Rabbit Stick throwing will have two categories, youth 12 and under and adult 13 and over. Soccer balls will be used as targets, simulating small game, and scoring will be for accuracy.   The Atlatl competition will be divided into novice and skilled classes.  There will also be a team contest with 2-5 person teams. Targets will be set up on hay bales and accuracy will determine the winners.  

For Fire Starting, we will have a limited number of fire starting kits including a spindle, hearth board, and kindling. Rabbit  sticks will be provided and we will have some atlatls and darts.  If you have any of these tools, please consider bringing them. 

Sign-up for Archeolympics will be available at the field school registration desk. Several instructors will be available to help you practice to win!   


Texas Archeological Society

tasoffice@txarch.org


Texas Archeological Society, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666-4684


©2024 by Texas Archeological Society.


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