During one of the many events that volunteer Robert Erb worked at Fort Verde Historical Park on Thursday, Nov. 6, he had the room filled with pre-Columbian American Indian tools, weapons, clothing and animal skulls.
While these tribes were not at the location where the fort was built in 1871, they were in the region and played an important role in the history of the Verde Valley.
Because the fort is owned and operated by Arizona State Parks & Trail, it is unaffected by the federal shutdown, unlike Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot national monuments.
Most of what was in Erb’s collection are replicas or things he made during his career as an amateur historian.
Erb used pitch glue and glue made out of sinew to recreate atlatls, spears and cutting tools out of obsidian and flint.
“So we have this,” he said holding up an atlatl. “Which is an extension of the arm, and I’ve put a rock on here to give it some way a little bit more thrust, and then what we have, what we call is an atlatl dart,” adding historians don’t know what word local tribes would have called the objects.
Erb offers events about pre-Columbian artifacts and recreations regularly throughout the year, with the next likely Thursday, Dec. 4, where he will demonstrate early American medicine, although he hasn’t got it set in stone yet.
Erb said learned from a mountain man he called Yellowhand, about who he’s written about in several books about primitive and frontier skills and wilderness living under the name Robert G. Erb, which are available on Amazon.
“I have the knowledge of this history of the country, and particularly, we’re in the 250th anniversary of the country, so we’ll be doing a lot of programs that … may not pertain to the fort, but it does pertain to the people who lived here before the fort,” he said.
The next event at the fort is Verde Living History Day on Saturday, Nov. 15, which is the first of its kind.
During this event, Fort volunteers will reenact at the fort to show its active days as a military outpost, including demonstrations of weapons and cannons as well as what else may have been going on during its heyday.
“Take a step back in time and see what an army camp would have looked like here from 1871-1891,” the Fort Verde website states. The event is free with park admission.
