Find out firsthand by attending a two-day Window on the Past workshop at the Nightengale Archaeological Center at Kingsland on July 24 and 25.

The annual workshop is designed to show educators how to use archaeology in the classroom. Still, anyone -- members of the public, history buffs interested in learning more about the ancient people who lived along Lake LBJ’s shore -- also can attend.

LCRA’s Nightengale Archaeological Center is on 10 acres on the banks of Lake LBJ near Kingsland in Burnet County, about 60 miles northwest of Austin in the Hill Country.

The prehistoric site was discovered in 1988 when looters were caught stealing artifacts from LCRA-owned land. LCRA soon determined this site to be a major archaeological discovery with a time span from the end of the Ice Age to the pioneer times. More than 171,000 recovered flint tools, spear points, arrowheads and other artifacts are evidence that the site has been continuously inhabited for 6,500 years and possibly for as long as 10,000 years.

The Texas Historical Commission declared the site a State Archeological Landmark. LCRA opened a learning center there in 1991 with student tours and teacher workshops. The Llano Uplift Archeological Society helps operate the site and offers public tours the second and fourth Saturdays from February through November. Admission is free.

The workshop will include hands-on activities including using stone tools, learning hunting techniques, exploring archaeological field methods and participating in excavations.

Workshop cost is $35 per day. Participants are not required to attend both days, but the first day is a prerequisite for the second. Educators can earn up to 12 hours credit toward professional certification. Archaeology provides a forum for teachers, who can use the lessons to explore subjects in social studies, language arts, mathematics, geography and other sciences.

For more information and to register, call 1-800-776-5272, Ext. 2753, or e-mail Andy Malof, LCRA staff archaeologist, at andrew.malof@lcra.org. Also visit Nightengale Archaeological Center and www.texasluas.org.

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Students learn hunting techniques.

Workshops include hands-on activities.