Classes at Forward Into the Past

Saturday March 27, Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario
FITP web site

If I have this correct from the schedule, these are the classes being taught by / or of special interest to, those studying the Viking Age. The ones in *bold type* are by DARC members (those involved in LA 2010)
(Sorry for the ugly format - it does retain the links to the specific class descriptions.)

9 AM
(Keynote) Out on the town in 10th century Reykjavik: a survey of jewelry, dress and textiles in early Iceland

10:30
Intermediate Glass Beads "The fancy stuff"
*Pottery: An experimental early-period Pit Fire *
*Introduction to Tablet Weaving *
*Norse Sagas - the Bloody, Bawdy and Bizarre * (which right now is the single highest registration)

11:30
Viking Navigation Techniques
Introduction to Fibre Prep for Spinning
*Bead Production in Scandinavia: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method *
*Feet firmly in the past – Shoes from the Viking Age 800 – 1050 *
*Meaningful Scratches *

1 PM
Viking Combat Demonstration
Treasure Necklaces
*Warp Weighted loom - a Hands-On Introduction *
*Iron Smelting in Vinland: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method *

2
Building the Coppergate Helm
*Bone Carving *
*Tablet Woven Artefacts *

3
*Iceland - Geography & Museums
*Introduction to Drop Spinning
*Norse Music
*Flint and Steel Fire Striking


Classes on Interpretive method

11:30
Not Just Costume - Reenactors as serious historians
2
Habits of mind; How tools affect thinking
3
The importance of excellence in material culture
4
*Setting the Scene: Interpretive Methods for Living History


I will be offering the following sessions:

Iron Smelting in Vinland: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method [Paper]
The excavations at L'Anse aux Meadows Newfoundland uncovered remains interpreted by the original excavation team as a 'Furnace Hut' and an iron smelting furnace. The remains are fragmentary, and at best only represent the last stages of a complex physical sequence. What might this furnace have looked like, and exactly how might the smelting process have been undertaken by the Norse, 1000 years ago? As well as considering furnace remains from Norway and Iceland, practical experience derived from a long series of experimental iron smelts will be assessed.

Setting the Scene: Interpretive Methods for Living History [Lecture]
There are a number of decision points any re-enactor must make in selecting a historic period of interest, creating a character, then equipping themselves. Museum programs and established living history groups often have authenticity standards which are based on principles that are poorly understood. How do problems with artifact prototypes, maintaining uniform standards, even odd factors like local building codes (!) relate to how you may present yourself to the public? This illustrated and free ranging discussion will attempt to detail some of the underlaying theories, using the upcoming presentation by the Dark Ages Re-creation Company at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC for concrete examples.