The Archeology Team

Definitions

Archaeology is the scientific study of the material evidence of past human societies. Archaeologists not only attempt to discover and describe past cultures, but also to formulate explanations for the development of cultures.

Team Challenge:

You will investigate: Who lived in your locale long ago? What did they leave behind?

Questions you can consider:

• Are there any mounds, ancient foundations or ancient statuary in your area?
• Where is the nearest archaeological excavation to you being conducted? What society are they unearthing?
• How do Archaeologists conduct their investigations? What makes their work systematic, scientific?
• How far back can you go? When do historians believe humans first lived in your area? How old is the earliest evidence of human settlement in your area?
• How has the discovery of certain artifacts contributed to the understanding of the history of your area?
• How does Archaeology rely on other sciences?
• What sense will people 100 years from now make of the material you leave behind?

Examples of artifacts:

Arrowheads

pottery shards

bones

Examples of inference process – making sense of data

Reconstructing buildings, towns

TO DO:

1.) Share on class and GL time line: What is the oldest artifact in your area? Locate, draw or photograph and describe a few of the oldest artifacts from your area. (These should not include written documents, which are the "turf" of historians.)

Where they were found?

Who dug them up?

From when do they date?

What story do they tell about the history of the area?

2.) Build a model of an old building, a house or even a village as it was in your region long ago (e.g. 1500-500 BC). Pick a time period, build, and support your ideas with evidence. Take digital pictures and submit annotated pictures in the GL timeline.

Locations of possible local experts and artifacts (e.g. institutions)

Museums – college or university museums, historical museums, national and international art museums and natural history museums.

College or university archeology, ancient history or ancient language departments.

Historical societies.

Additional projects for sharing could include:

Make a date with other classes in time; pick a shared date (e.g. 500 BC) and compare what was occurring at their area at that time, perhaps making entries in the time line.

Internet search words: archaeology - [your town/ region] - artifacts – era in history - education - time line

Internet links (English and Russian)

Russian

Moscow Museum of Archeology

http://museum.ru/M1650

English

Dirt detective

http://www.history.org/kids/games/dirtDetective.cfm

A cute and simple interactive exploration of an archeological dig.

The Lost City of Arabia

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ubar/index.html

This is a rich site that focuses on the discovery through remote sensing of the earlier landscape of the Sahara. Called The Lost City of Arabia, it begins, “Imagine you’re an archaeologist seeking the fabled legendary lost city of Arabia.” It includes maps, artifacts, interviews and the full transcript of the Nova program.

The Five Points Site

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ubar/hotscienceubar/index.html

This section of the Nova UBar site presents an interactive trip to find a lost city, introducing the need for ancient and modern mapping.

http://r2.gsa.gov/fivept/fphome.htm

Fantastic site about the excavations at a famous 19th century New York city neighborhood. Browse around and see the artifacts, maps and photos of the excavation and learn about urban archaeology. The artifact collection is extensive, and one gets a good feel for a local archeological effort. The attention to lives of the poor is unusual and worthwhile!

Idaho Public Television

http://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season7/archaeology/facts.cfm

Good question and answer on archeology; includes a show.

Think Quest

http://library.thinkquest.org/5751/

This site is particularly useful describing the process of archeology.

Enviro Explorer's Kids Club

http://www.enviro-explorers.com/archlearning.html

Good age-appropriate explanation of the archaeological field and process.