Lesson plan based on Cycladic Figure
Simulate an archeological excavation to understand how archeologists identify, date, and make inferences about their findings.
Skills and Focus: Earth Sciences, Scientific Inquiry
Subject Area: Science
Thematic Connection: Connecting Past and Present
Grade Level: Middle School
Time Needed: 120-200 minutes
Objectives
• Gain a general acquaintance with the principles of archaeological excavation.
• Understand how archaeological inferences are made.
• Understand the importance of spatial and stratigraphic contexts in archaeology.
Instructional Materials Needed
Story: Who Is This?
4 large (at least 2’-3’ square), sturdy cardboard boxes.
Bricks
Ashes, charred wood, and bones (boil to clean and sterilize)
Soil (preferably 2 different kinds)
Digging equipment: serving spoons, buckets, dustpans, and brushes
Recording equipment: rulers, pencils papers, notebooks
Masking tape
Suggested Print Resource:
• M. S. Joukowsky. A Complete Manual of Field Archaeology.
Activity
Steps 1-4 should be completed in preparation for classroom activities.
Step 1: Trim the four boxes to the same height so that the top of each box can be used as a standard beginning elevation for the excavation. Elevations will be measured from the top down rather than from the bottom up.
Step 2: Prepare an excavation site using or adapting the plan provided. Your site should consist of two levels: a top level that was deposited after the site was abandoned and a lower level that was associated with the use of the site. If possible, use two different soil types to distinguish between the layers. Remember, the students will not be able to excavate the entire site, so be sure that the remains in the excavation trenches conform to the master plan.
Step 3: Use bricks to outline the walls of the building. It is alright if the walls protrude into the upper (post abandonment) level in places. In the lower (occupation) layer, distinguish the interior of the building from the exterior. You may wish to mix ashes into the soil (suggesting the building burned down) and artifacts that suggest what the building was used for. Place artifacts in different contexts (within the building, outside the building, in the hearth, and so on) that suggest distinct activities. Also, place newer items (plastic, aluminum, new coins) in the upper level and older items in the lower level.
Step 4: In order to define the hearth, mix ashes with burnt wood and food debris (e.g., bones).
The following steps should be completed with the students in the classroom:
Step 5: After watching Who is This?, discuss why it is important to remove these artifacts in a controlled excavation rather than just digging them up and putting them in a museum.
Step 6: Divide the class into teams of 3 or 4 students and distribute a set of tools to each group. One student should be responsible for excavating, a second for measuring and taking notes, and a third for helping to measure, labeling, and storing finds. Students should rotate job responsibilities. The trenches should start out in place within the 5 x 5 m site (marked in advance with masking tape). The position of each trench can be marked in masking tape and then the boxes moved to make room for each group to work.
As students dig through layers, make sure they carefully measure at what depth from the top of the box they encountered the new layers. They should carefully note whether artifacts come from the upper layer or the lower, and whether they come from inside the building/hearth or outside.
All artifacts should be tagged and bagged using printouts of the tags provided. All archaeological features (e.g., pits, structures) and layers should be recorded and drawn on the forms provided. Bricks, artifacts, and other features should be carefully measured and drawn to scale on the forms. Finds from different sides of an architectural feature (e.g., a wall) or in distinctly different contexts (hearth versus ordinary soil) should be labeled and stored separately. Each trench should have a full record of the distribution of evidence both vertically and horizontally at the end of the dig.
Step 7: Analysis
Ask each team to draw a master plan of the excavation, trying to distinguish the interior and exterior of the building.
Reconstruct the layers (stratigraphy) on the site and construct a section (cut-away) diagram using information from the various trenches.
Try to establish a date for the upper and lower levels. The most recent item found in a level establishes the date after which the level was deposited.
Interpret the results for the whole site, synthesizing the evidence from the different trenches.
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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