Jun 14, 2018 2 min read

Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village will host the 21st Annual Meadowcroft Atlatl Competition from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Prehistoric hunters used a spear-thrower called the atlatl, a precursor to the bow and arrow, to hunt for food. Visitors of all ages can learn proper atlatl technique from Meadowcroft staff and try out the prehistoric spear-thrower for themselves, then compete for high score in men’s, women’s and youth divisions.

Presented annually in partnership with the World Atlatl Association, the Meadowcroft Atlatl Competition will feature some of the world’s top atlatl competitors. This year’s event will include a seven-time world champion in the men’s division and his son, a four-time youth division champion who holds the record as youngest atlatl champion – first winning the title at age 10.

Throughout the day, visitors can step inside a wigwam in Meadowcroft’s 16th Century Monongahela Indian Village and watch a blacksmith forge red-hot iron in the 19th Century Meadowcroft Village.

Also included with regular admission are tours of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, a National Historic Landmark and the oldest site of human habitation in North America that features a massive rock overhang used by the region’s earliest inhabitants for shelter 16,000 years ago.

Admission is $15 for adults, $14 for senior citizens, and $7 for students and children ages 6-17. Children age 5 and under and History Center members get in free.

For more information, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/meadowcroft or call 724-587-3412.