Lithic refers to sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic rocks, eroded down to sand-sized grains combined to mold and create different shapes. The casting process uses the lithic grains to make 3-D\u00a0replicas of various artifacts, giving archeology students a hands-on experience that may\u00a0otherwise be unavailable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original artifacts are locked away in museums or private collections that are almost entirely inaccessible to students,\u201d Smiley explains. \u201cThe lithic casting process gives students and researchers hands-on experience with exact, museum-quality replicas of artifacts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graduate and undergraduate students regularly use the stone casts\u00a0to investigate research, complete class assignments and learn about the history of human technological development.<\/p>\n The artifacts, which come from North America, Europe, South America and North Africa, date back two million years. Smiley\u2019s primary focus is replicating relics\u00a0from the Clovis people, the earliest inhabitants of the Americas dating back 13,000 years.<\/p>\n Tim Murphy<\/strong>, a graduate student who studies ancient trails in the Mohave Desert, said the cast collection and experience working in the lithic lab is invaluable. \u201cYou get to experience how to make things, how difficult it is and it really gives you a firm perspective of the challenges of ancient living,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cHere, we get to experience all lithic technologies from every time period from around the world. Not only that, but we get to see actual data preserved in the casted stone. It\u2019s pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n The artifacts that Smiley has casted at NAU\u00a0are displayed in museums and universities around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"guy\"](\"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/guy.jpg\")
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