In 2012 Howard Community College was lucky to receive a very special donation from a Howard County family. This donation was a collection of lithic artifacts of Native American origin, collected from across the United States of America during the 1920's and 1930's, by the family's great grandfather. The wish of the family was for these unprovinenced artifacts to be shared and to be of educational value. The collection is now featured heavily within the ANTH 110 Global Archaeology course and several students have been researching the likely original region and cultural affiliation of specific objects.

 

This project has culminated in a student-organized exhibit of the collection within one of HCC's gallery spaces. Informational content on projectile manufacture, cultural affiliation and use was researched and the final text for the information boards was sent to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian for approval.  Illustrations and the composition and lay out of the exhibit were also the product of student work. The exhibit was a huge success and featured in the Baltimore Sun (link below)

 

'Box of unidentified artifacts leads to educational opportunity at HCC' - article from the Baltimore Sun