Archaeology Thematic Unit: Eighth Grade Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies and Art for Ashe Middle School Fall 2001

Christina Pennington Mary Ellen Horine

Heather McCurry Janet Bloodgood

Archaeology Blast Off Day One

Archaeology Resource Person (Thomas Whyte ?) Todd site (Katie Griffith Site)

I. Share with students aspects of this particular dig and what has been discovered

A. How site was located

B. Artifacts

C. Inferences and conjectures being made

II. Discussion of archaeological processes and procedures

A. How a dig is begun—charting, setting grids

B. Mapping the site

C. Recording location of artifacts found

D. Examining, classifying artifacts and forming hypotheses

III. Examining several artifacts

A. How do we know what these things are

B. How were they originally used

C. How were they made

D. Tools and technology

IV. Connecting artifacts to Native Americans

A. What time period

B. What did this town look like

C. Did people live on this site continuously—how can you tell

D. How did these people live, work, play

E. What happened to these people

Field Trip to the Todd Site Day Two

I. Guidelines for observation

A. Interacting with maps of the site

B. How site was laid out

C. How grids are established

D. Basic dig procedures

1. Horizontal digging through Plowzone

2. Screening dirt to sort out any artifacts

3. Trowel scraping once at the subsoil level

4. Methods of separating artifacts (stone shards, pottery, charcoal/vegetative matter) from soil (e.g., screening, water wash)

5. Photographing finds

6. Charting where objects found

II. Observing and participating in the dig

A. Procedures for safety and maintaining integrity of the site

B. Participation in the dig—division of tasks

III. Discussion of what found and what learned

A. Observations students make

B. Connections to geography, history

C. Implications about the time and culture

IV. Extension activity

A. Draw an artifact discovered on this site and create a map for where it was found

B. Write a narrative based on one of the artifacts—who might have used this and how; how did this artifact get lost

C. Write a narrative putting yourself back in time: what was this society/culture like—what would your life be like if you lived in this time and place

Culminating Activity: Excavating a Simulated Site Days

I. Using information from article “Sifting through the Sands of Time:A Simulated Archaeological Dig” (Hightshoe, 1997, Social Studies and the Young Learner), prepare a simulated dig site. Seed the site with artifacts from the colonial period in North Carolina (e.g., clay pipes, buttons, china plate remnants), since this will be the initiating activity for the following unit on the colonial period.

II. Students will use information they have learned throughout this unit to create a grid for the site, excavate through the “time” layers, locate and chart artifacts (See Grid Lesson, Dating Lesson, Penny Observation Lesson)

III. Explanation of excavation process used and examination of grids and map of the site, including location of artifacts

IV. Once artifacts have been collected and classified, students will work in small groups to develop hypotheses about the “culture” they have uncovered

A. What time period (approximately) is involved

B. Group or individual

C. How did these people make their living (e.g., hunter gatherer, agriculture, fishing, trade, manufacturing, settlement)

D. What interactions with other peoples; how do you know

E. What changes occurred over time (e.g., sickness, warfare, influx of people, climate)

V. Sharing and explaining conclusions

A. Discuss within group the artifacts found and inferences made

B. Write a group report of students’ best guess about the culture that has been revealed at this site

C. Share with other groups