European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                T i 1 1." e in n set deckhand and trained him. This encouraged the use of a system with As Lew symbols or tellers As possible 1 Herodotus the greek historian of the ii Fly Century ., wrote that the knowledge of writing was brought to Greece by the phoenicians by a legendary person known Assad mos archaeologists had concluded that this. Must have occurred in the ninth Century because the earliest extant greek inscriptions though dated As eighth Century employed an alphabet resembling phoenician letters in use the Century before. Linking pre tech with High tech by Stefan Fatsis associated Pressi n a Boston University science Laboratory a student trims the lop of a Clay pot with a razor Sharp Chip of volcanic Glass obtained by striking a Rock with a Deer Antler. At the other end of a Long table another undergraduate struggles with a length of sinew to reinforce his Beer can Holder made of Rafea. A kind of Vine. Another student is making a Spear throwing device called an Flat which was used by prehistoric Man to obtain dinner it s All part of Curtis Runnels archaeology class prehistoric technology and  where few concessions to modern Man Are permitted. The general idea is to make today s High tech students understand that the evolution from lint knapping to computer processing was t As simple As it May scorn. We re More or less learning How it  says David Cowan a 19 year old psychology major irom los Angeles. It takes a lot More thinking to understand the Basic Soufl than it takes to understand the modern technology he says. Runnels an assistant professor of archaeology developed the class Lour years ago when he was at Stanford University. Students fashion arrowheads and Clay pots Start fires and speculate on How 3 million years ago primitive Man figured out How to my a Deer to get the Antler to Chip the volcanic Glass to make the cutting tool. On the nest Day of class. Runnels tells his charges something they probably already knew but never really. Dweller on that they Are slaves to talc enology. A you were to be thrust Down on some desert Island somewhere he says Wilh considerable exaggeration. You Guys would be dead in a Day. We re so dependent on this division of labor and other people doing our technology Tor us that most of us cannot manipulate our technology he adds. You can use a computer but you can t make one. In fact you can t even make your dinnerware. Metal or  the course s Basic premise is to show How modern technology is derived from ancient technology the connection Between pre tech and  Runnels starts with Slon working skills developed millions of years ago in Africa. Metallurgy is studied next followed by pollen basketry and monumental architecture such As so Onehunga and the pyramids. There s a logic to this progression because what happens is. As technology changes society changes Runnels says. There s a Complex feedback relationship Between these two things As an example Runnels cites what tie Calls the. Prehistoric arms race some historians believe developed about 5,000 years ago when someone discovered that weapons Mode of Metal were More effective than ones of Wood and Stone. All of a sudden there Aro new offensive and defensive weapons in the world Runnels says sitting in an office decorated with a Bronze sword a Basket tilled with Curt a Runnels left handle part of a dear Antler As he teaches students to worst with materials used by their Remote ancestor. Spears and Sticks and a tray holding fossilized acorns from 2800  Greece now new fortification Walls Are necessary. No you be got to have those weapons if those Guys have Gol them Runnels says. A whole new Ball game opens up because the pc civics of the technology make it possible to control it.". Runnels approaches technological advances such As metallurgy which was developed 8.000 to 9.000 years ago by comparing the techniques of prehistory with those of today. He grabs a Lump of multicoloured Rock sitting on the Edge of his desk. You know what that is Ona of the most fundamental building blocks of our whole electric civilization is Copper and that s Iho source of Copper Runnels says. All of our metallurgy including  alloys have Arisen out of essentially lha same metallurgical techniques that were used in prehistory. The Iron beams that support this building that technique was invented in prehistory. The Glass in the windows and in the computer screen Are right out of the Glass technology. All of this was done. Without any record. People did t come Down from their Mountain where they were recording the great deeds of political and military history to talk about what was going on Down Al the  since Runnels students Aren t aware of any of this he has them build a fire and make their own culling tools so they can appreciate How ancient skills led to More sophisticated ones end also fell out of use. It really gives you a sense that they were not idiots they were not Nincompoop says Joseph Bloch 21. A senior from Norristown n.j., majoring in ancient and medieval history. He made an Arrowhead to is quite proud of. It really look like something you d dig up he says. It s amazing that you can make something that was made millions of years ago.".". Most of Tho dozen or so students who Lake Runnels class each semester major in Fields outside archaeology but wore attracted by the hands on nature and the. Professor s animated style. The class first Aid kit is used often when students Nick their fingers with Antlers and Obsidian the deep Maroon coloured volcanic Glass that la used to Cut. Everything from Clay to twine. One of the few High Lech materials used is a Kiln to. Fire Ciao pots to up to 1,200 degrees fahrenheit. Runnels says a natural Blaze would do just As Well but for some reason they won t let us build a fire in the parking  when he taught the class in slightly More bucolic Palo Alto cafil., Runnels did in fad have the class build a fire in the Woods. They roasted weenies and marshmallows just like in prehistory. Making ire is a Tot harder to do Ihan you d think says Lara Prihodko 20, a Sophomore archaeology major with a new found appreciation for matches ii look like live people to do it Vembert 19b8 the stars and stripes Page 15