Lesson plan based on Cycladic Figure
Simulate an archaeological excavation to determine how archeologists make inferences about various cultures.
Skills and Focus: Geology, Scientific Inquiry
Subject Area: Science
Thematic Connection: Connecting Past and Present
Grade Level: Elementary School
Time Needed: 90 minutes
Objectives
• Gain a general acquaintance with the principles of archaeological excavation.
• Understand how archaeological inferences are made.
Instructional Materials Needed
Story: Who Is This?
Three or four large (at least 3’-4’ square), sturdy cardboard boxes, lined with black plastic bags
Sand, rocks, and dirt
Digging equipment: trowel, whisk broom, paintbrushes, marking pen, gloves, tackle box or similar container, serving spoons, buckets, screen or sifter
Recording equipment: rulers, pencils, papers, notebooks
Simulations of ancient objects made by students following Cleopatra elementary-level Fine Arts Lesson plans: Life After Death (Model Boat), Rulers for a Day (Alexander Coin), Ancient Abstraction (Cycladic Figure), Self-portrait Shields (Fallen Warrior), Modern Mosaics (Mosaic)
An Archaeological Analysis: Pieces of the Past:
Activity
Step 1: Prepare an excavation "site." The site should consist of two levels, a top level (dirt) that was deposited after the site was abandoned and a lower level (sand and rocks) that was associated with the use of the site.
Step 2: Collect ancient—artifacts simulations and place in the lower level. Collect newer items (for example: plastic, aluminum foil, new coins) and place in the upper level.
The following steps should be completed with the students in the classroom:
Step 3: After watching Who is This? and visiting the Archaeological Analysis Web site, discuss with students why it is important to excavate these artifacts in a controlled excavation rather than just digging them up and putting them in a museum.
Step 4: Have students write a job description for an archaeologist and list the needed tools.
Step 5: Divide the class into teams of 4 students and distribute a set of household-object "tools" to each group. One student should be responsible for excavating, a second for taking notes, a third for labeling, and a fourth for storing finds. Students should rotate job responsibilities.
As students dig through the layers, make sure they carefully measure at what depth from the top of the box they encountered the new layers. Students should carefully document whether artifacts come from the upper layer or the lower.
All artifacts should be tagged and bagged using printouts of the tags provided. Each trench should have a full record of the distribution of evidence both vertically and horizontally at the end of the dig.
Step 6: Analysis
Ask students to reconstruct the layers as drawings as if seen through the side of the site box.
Try to establish some kind of date for the upper and lower levels: ancient or 20th century. Discuss what kinds of information came from excavating carefully and making full documentation.
Goals
This activity meets Illinois State Goal 11: Have a working knowledge of the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments and solve problems.
Artifact Control Tag
Date:
Trench #:
Tag #:
Excavators’ initials:
Layer:
Artifact Control Tag
Date:
Trench #:
Tag #:
Excavators’ initials:
Layer:
Artifact Control Tag
Date:
Trench #:
Tag #:
Excavators’ initials:
Layer:
Artifact Control Tag
Date:
Trench #:
Tag #:
Excavators’ initials:
Layer:
Excavation Record Form
Date:
Trench #
Recorder:
Feature #
Layer:
Soil Characteristics
Color:
Texture:
Inclusions:
Finds (tag #s):
Sketch plan of Trench # _____ Layer # _____
Mark elevations on plan.
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