Second edition is out!
I am so happy to see that my work is being appreciated. Within three years the first printing of my book on natural leather craft (fat and smoke tanning) has sold out.
In the meantime it is running sucessfully in Romania and was also just translated into English to be published by renowned Schiffer Publishing company, Pennsylvania (USA). @schifferpublishing
Thanks to all my readers, my austrian publisher @stockerverlag and my english translator David Johnston from Canada.
I sure hope it will inspire a lot more people to take up the wonderful craft of natural tanning.
#markusklek #stockerverlag #schifferpublishing #braintan #ledergerben #bushcraft #leatherworking #leathercraft #hirschjagd #jagderleben
Bison robes.
For all those interested in traditional tanning, historic Native American material culture and for all Bison lovers.
My book on the role of buffalo robes within Plains cultures of the 19th century.
Including a practical guide to tanning techniques.
152 pages, english, 2008
Available through Amazon if you like or your book store around the corner.
#bison #bisonrobe #plainsindians #traditionalskills #hidetanning #americanhistory #nativeamerican #buffalorobe #etnography #fell #bueffel #indianer #plains #animalart #traditionalskills #americanheritage
#ushistory #firstnations #bisonlove
Book release.
Starting today the english version of my german tanning book is on the market. Yeah!
I am very thankful for the successful translation and this wonderful hardcover edition.
Many thanks to my publisher in Austria @stockerverlag and @schifferpublishing in the USA, as well as @gazelleartbooks in the UK for their awesome cooperation to make this project come true.
I sure hope this work will be a welcome addition to the ancient skills literature and a helpful guide to all aspiring traditional tanners of the english speaking parts of the world.
It is available through online retailers or your bookstore around the corner.
#traditionaltanning #leatherwork #ancienttechnology #doityourself #ancientcraft #stockerverlag #schifferpublishing #traditionalleather #howto #primitivetechnology #furandleather #selfsufficientliving #palaeotechnik #braintanning #fattanning
Presenting Upper Paleolothic material culture at the beautiful archeological museum @arcomuseumfreiburg in Freiburg.
It was a wonderful event with many different stations spanning from bone jewelry by @zeitsache and twining by @alexandra_namira , archerie for children to bone flute showcasing by Frank Tromma and many more.
Even a family of Mammuts were present by @Mammutpoa
Special shout out to all the interested visitors who made the event a great experience.
Next weekend you can see us in Weimar at the „Lange Museumsnacht“ at the Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Thüringens @museeninthueringen
Photograph of picture 1, 3& 5: Marc Doradzillo
#arcomuseum #steinzeitexperte #palaeotechnik
Reindeer Tanning Workshop.
Reindeer hides are wonderful. Their ancient appeal has not lost its magic.
In this three day class, participants learned a simple yet effective method of how to naturally tan their own skins. Using a traditional combination tan method of applying bark tannins and fats, they all created soft and beautiful hides.
Reindeer skins were of major importance for the production of winter clothing during the Upper Paleolithic and are still being used in northern latitudes today.
We had a great time working, sharing knowledge, and enjoying healthy food together.
It feels good to raise awareness for nature based skills and keep historic crafts alive.
#naturaltanning
#reindeer #ancientskills #traditionalcraft #palaeolithic
Ten days of Experimental Stone Age Living in Sweden organised by @markusklek
Recognizing the importance of furthering expertise in prehistoric heritage interpretation, Nordic Winter Camp offers a truly immersive opportunity for archaeologists, reenactors, museum staff or anybody associated with prehistoric interpretation, to take their involvement to a new level.
As a small, dedicated group, a winter base camp will be set up in a traditional Sámi earth lodges in the remote boreal forest landscapes of central Sweden.
Attendees will experience many aspects of late Pleistocene to early Holocene mid-winter living within a subarctic climate zone, based on archaeological data, ethnographic analogies and traditional Nordic crafts.
This immersive format requires wearing period-accurate clothing, working with authentic tools and eating unprocessed foods free of grains, sugar, alcohol or coffee.
👉Apply via the link in our stories! #EXARC #experimentalarchaeology #EXARCcommunity
Tanning Workshop last weekend.
We had another wonderful group at my place for a traditional tanning workshop.
Turning skins from chamois, red deer and fallow deer into soft and beautiful buckskin.
Three days of working and living together. Lots of sharing information and good stories.
Thanks to all of you dedicated crafts people for making this such a fun weekend.
Thank you also to my wife for the tasty cooking😉
Check out all our classes and events on my website in bio. @tinekromer@pfadlaeufer.de@andenwurzeln@torwald_65
#palaeotechnik #traditionaltanning #braintanning #buckskin #markusklek
@markusklek macht die Eiszeit lebendig! Als Eiszeitjäger wanderte er schon bei eisiger Kälte durch den tiefsten Winter.❄ Und stellt euch vor: Beim Colombischlösslefest am 10.5. schlägt er mit seiner Familie bei uns sein Lager auf.🤩 Hier bekommt ihr hautnah und zum Anfassen alle Infos, die ihr zum Überleben in der Steinzeit braucht!
ℹ️ Colombischlösslefest
📆 Sonntag, 10. Mai, 11-17:30 Uhr
📍 Archäologisches Museum Colombischlössle und Colombipark
🎫 8€/mit Museumspass 6€/unter 18 Jahren 3€/ Eintritt frei im Steinzeitkostüm
📷 Markus Klek #arcomuseum #archäologischesmuseumfreiburg #museenfreiburg #freiburg #museumsfest #steinzeit #eiszeit #livinghistory
Outdoor Magazin, Germany asked me to write another article about our recent Alpine Stone Age Treks, which I conducted together with three friends in October 2024 and 2025.
In a two prong approach we ascended to the Tisenjoch in the Tyrolean Alps (Italy) at 3200m elevation, the location where the Iceman mummy was discovered in 1991.
During this Living History experiment we spent a total of seven days,equipped with stone age gear covering the periods from the Upper Palaeolithic to the late neolithic. We only ate period-appropriate food, testing reconstructed clothing and equipment.
When writing for a popular magazine focussing on modern outdoor experiences, trekking and mountaineering, archaeological details are not the main focus.
In such a context, other aspects are at the forefront, like the comparison between ancient and modern gear in terms of weight, performance and materials. How to sleep without a tent and no modern sleeping bag? Questions of safety and the sense of adventure are interesting to readers as well as the fact that stone age equipment is naturally 100% recyclable and sustainable, an aspect that high tech gear is still struggling with very much.
A documentation including our terk will be aired by Italian television soon.
Thanks to @phillipschraut
and @democh
and @andreschnellmann
and the team at @outdoor for the opportunity of sharing my experience with their readers.
#stoneage #alpinetrekking #prehistory ##experimentalarchaeology ##livinghistory
Durch Eis und Schnee, wie in der Steinzeit. Mit selbstgemachter Urzeit-Ausrüstung unterwegs im Schwarzwald und in Lappland.
Der neue Erlebnis-Vortrag von MARKUS KLEK.
Der Steinzeitspezialist und Autor Markus Klek sus Schramberg liebt es kalt und abenteuerlich. Kann man mit selbstgefertigter Ausrüstung, wie in der Steinzeit im Winter überleben, fragte er sich einst. Daraufhin durchquerte er, in Form eines Selbstexperimentes, vor drei Jahren zu Fuß den heimischen Schwarzwald und war dann wochenlang auf Wintertouren in der Wildnis Lapplands unterwegs.
Über sein Erlebnis berichtet er am Freitag, 10. April 2026 um 20 Uhr im Schwarzwälder Skimuseum Hinterzarten.
Bekannt sind Klek's Abenteuer aus verschiedenen Medien: TerraX History, sowie Dokumentationsbeiträge im ZDF und SWR.
Nach dem tollen Erfolg im letzten Jahr, freut sich das Skimuseum, Markus Klek mit seinem neuen Vortrag im Museum begrüßen zu können.
Eintritt frei. Spenden willkommen.
📸 Foto 2: Daniel Geiger
#Hinterzarten #markusklek #Lappland
#Kultur #naturerlebnis
Mesolithic Bone Point.
Replica of a large Mesolithic bone artifact, housed at Jamtli Museum (Östersund, Sweden)
The raw material for its production is a moose metatarsus.
With a flint burin, two longitudinal grooves are made along the long axis of the bone. The two joints are removed.
Then, the bone is split in two halves using a flint wedge.
Final shaping is done with flint burins and scrapers.
Striations on the surface are removed with sandstone.
Then comes the engraving of the design and finally the application of red ochre.
This was definitely a large amount of work of many hours, speaking for the special value this piece must have had.
Judging by its morphology, one would assume it to be a point for a lance.
The original is completely intact, beautifully balanced, and very impressive to behold. A true masterpiece of Mesolithic bone work.
#mesolithic #prehistory #archaeology #bonetools #experimentalarchaeology
