Hello world!

This is my first blog post on the 500 BC website, though I have been writing about prehistoric Europe on both Schools Prehistory and Richly Adorn’d for a while. My background is archaeology with a focus on prehistoric Europe. This colours my approach to the bushcraft I do and teach.

One of the things about our ancestors is that even when life was hardest, they still found time to make beautiful things, play music, and always looked after their nearest and dearest. That’s why I’m not as into the survival side of bushcraft, because I know that even during the last Ice Age people did much more than just survive alone in the wilderness.

I have felt like a bit of an impostor in the bushcraft world because of this, but a weekend spending time with loads of other bushcrafters recently made me realise that I do have something to bring to the campfire chats, and I wanted to share some of this more widely.

So, over the next few weeks, months, maybe even years, I’ll be bringing you the archaeological evidence behind bushcraft lore, from the bow drill to the birch bark containers, and from tinder fungus to wild food. If there’s anything specific you want to find out more about, just drop me a line in the comments.