Palaeotechnik: Search for our Roots

Hello,

My name is Markus Klek from Palaeotechnik, based in the Blackforest, Germany.

As a professional, working in the field of experimantal archaeology it is my passion to offer insights into the lifes and realities of our ancestors living during the stone age. A period which has strongly characterized us as human beings.

My three decades of experience in the archaeotechnical field have shown, that there is a broad public interest of all ages in the different aspects connected to prehistory.

Engagement with history and cultural development is in general taking place in closed spaces and has the character of intellectual-theoretical discourse. To bring human cultural history and nature to life it is also important to gain insight and knowledge during realitic conditions, which immersive reenactment and living history formats offer. Through an immersion into the living conditions of our ancestors it is possible to gain very unique and multi-layered knowledge, which then enables me to transport these experiences in vivid and thrilling first hand accounts to the public.

That is why I started this gofundme.

Since I am a freelancer your financial support will directly fund my current and coming projects.

It will help to cover expenses for travel, food, production of gear and clothing, as well as research and logistics. Your support will be a great help for me.

Examples of my projects:

On my quest to find out more about our ancestors I was travelling soley with stone age gear through the remote Swedish backcountry for two weeks in March of 2024. Travelling in winter can be a real challenge. This is true even today, but how was it for our ancestors during the last ice age? To find out, I was taking on this special trekking challenge., called the "Nordic Walkabout".

The "Nordic WalkAbout" aims to bring to life the living and travelling conditions of early hunter-gatherer groups during the end of the ice age.
This entails to be travelling with authentically fashioned equipment for 14 days through Jämtland, Sweden.

The goal of the project is to simulate and document winter travelling conditions during the end of the palaeolithic period. Clothing and equipment, which I fashioned following ethnographical and archaeological examples, were tested and its functuality analysed.

The results are shared with an international audience through my professional network, museum presentations, lectures, publications and other channels to the general public.

The "Nordic Walkabout" was a unique undertaking, which bundles my thirty years of experience in traditional crafts, experimental archaeology and living history. It provided a real chance to gain unique insights into the lives of our ancestor, which less immersive approaches can not offer. My goal during this projects and my work is that we will get a little bit closer to understanding our roots as human beings.

Organizer and executive of the "Nordic WalkAbout" project is me, Markus Klek, Paläotechnik, Germany.

Of course, nothing can be achieved without assistance.

The photographer Daniel Geiger (danielgeiger.net) who is shooting for Outdoor Magazin, Germany is accompanying me to guarantee for stunning photo and video material.

The european association for experimental archaeology, interpretation, living history and museology ( EXARC.net) is supporting the project through its international network.

Furthermore, I can rely on my network of friends and colleagues from the fields of traditional crafts and ancient technology to stand by my side with their advice and support.