Ancestral Farmer’s Digging Stick

The Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum’s “New to the Edge” exhibit features an Ancestral digging stick.
The hardwood stick (which is about three feet in length) includes a blade, handle, and knob. They have all been polished through repeated handling and use.
The shape of the blade and length of the handle reveal its age. It is likely from the late AD 1100s to 1200s (Pueblo III period). This well-preserved artifact was found in the Canyonlands area in the late 1960s and generously donated by the Christensen family.
Digging sticks and similar tools have been used by people in the Four Corners region since before the advent of agriculture, when they were used to gather wild plants.
Today, Native farmers continue to use wooden tools such as this to aid in planting, cultivating, and caring for their crops.
The artifact will be on display through the end of the summer.