Hands-On Archaeology

Authentic Learning Experiences That Engage Students in STEM (Grades 4-5)

John R. White, Mattie Oveross

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000493252
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Éducation générale

Hands-On Archaeology immerses students in the world of real-life archaeologists. Through engaging authentic learning experiences, students will discover artifacts from the past and participate in archaeological digs while building STEM skills, as well as making connections to geography, history, art, and English language arts. This book is packed with activities that can easily be conducted in the classroom using everyday materials and includes everything teachers need to help students conduct real-life archaeological digs. From participating in digs in the classroom to conducting digs in the community, students will not just learn about archaeology—they will be archaeologists!Grades 4-5

PART 1
INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY

DOI: 10.4324/9781003235439-2

CHAPTER 1
GETTING STARTED

DOI: 10.4324/9781003235439-3

Prior to Part 3, a site must be located, and arrangements must be made to secure transportation and attendance of all students to the site for the day of the dig. Activities in Parts 1 and 2 will help in this process but should not necessarily dictate the search for a viable site location.

Field archaeology—as opposed to in-the-classroom archaeology—can be taught at the elementary, secondary, or university level in one of three ways: digging a genuine archaeological site (either historical or prehistoric), constructing and digging an artificial site or mound, or excavating an empty lot. A few distinctions have to be made. The use of a genuine site is not a choice for preuniversity-level students or, for that matter, anyone not being directed by a trained archaeologist. Genuine sites are unique, nonrenewable resources that, under no circumstances, should ever be excavated with anything but the greatest care and bv individuals whose primary interest is the accurate retrieval of too-easily-lost data.

Although it is true that instructing archaeology students at the university level does necessitate using untrained personnel to dig often-valuable sites, the Society for American Archaeology ethics committee requires that instruction never be the primary reason for digging the site; rather it must always be ancillary to accurate data removal and site preservation. Let's use a parallel from a modern hospital. Interns (doctors-in-training or advanced medical students) are used in the performance of real operations (it is the only way they can learn to do surgery), but their on-the-job training, as important as it may be, always takes a backseat to the welfare of the patient. Trained surgeons move in when and if the need arises. Archaeologists treat their sites with much the same deference. So, the genuine site is out. What then? Well, we can always build our own site.

It has been shown time and again that a site, or "mound," can be constructed from scratch and, thereby, assure that it contains the required range of artifacts and archaeological "problems." Such artificial mounds and the discussion of their construction and instructional effectiveness have been written about elsewhere; not everyone, however, can afford the time and expense of constructing such an elaborate instructional device. Fortunately, there is a viable alternative: Use the empty lot of a recently razed structure.

Choosing the Site

Empty lots abound in both urban and rural areas, and so there is usually one to be found near every school. Urban renewal and expansion of people and businesses into the suburbs assures us of a steady supply of such sites. Okay, so the site is readily available; what next? How do we turn a barren lot into a classroom? Of course, before you do anything else you must get informed permission from the lot owner. Getting informed consent means telling the owner specifically what you intend to do. The clearer you are on this, the more likely you are to get quick support. This usually includes liability guarantees and assurances that you will return the property to essentially the same state it was in before you began work. This means backfilling the holes you have dug and leveling the ground. Such things are not done only for cosmetic purposes but also to remove potential hazards created by ardent diggers. One example of such an agreement was in convincing a very hesitant California cattle rancher that we would leave behind no deep excavations—"tank traps" as he called them—for his prize heifers to fall into. Having convinced the landowner that you will perform such corrective duties—and in the process hinted of the very favorable publicity likely to befall an individual who contributes so generously to the support of public education—you are ready to begin converting your grassy or weed-covered tract into a schoolroom.

A word of caution: Understand that the only difference between the genuine site and the usable empty lot is the perceived significance of one over the other. In truth, both are, by definition, archaeological sites; the difference lies in the fact that in one case there is information below ground that is in need of more careful handling than the other. But this is all relative; both sites must be dug with seriousness and due care. The advantage of the empty lot, and the reason why it is the ideal choice at the preuniversity level, is in its "forgiveness" of error and youthful mishap.

Always check with a professional archaeologist to ensure that the empty lot is not a site whose importance or potential significance would require professional handling. Do not excavate before checking with an archaeologist or other expert.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SITE?

The definition of a "good" site depends on one's goals. If an anthropologist is looking for specific data to help answer some vexatious archaeological question, then the "good" site is one that provides such data. What defines a "good" site for the elementary or secondary school teacher is its accessibility and its potential as an instructional tool.

Accessibility has to do with how easy it is to transport students and tools to and from the site. The ideal location for an experimental site would be immediately contiguous to the school; and, of course, in many cases, especially in rural or suburban settings, such a fortuity is possible. Obviously, however, not everyone will find themselves conveniently situated adjacent to an empty lot, and travel distance may ultimately determine the feasibility of the project.

As an instructional tool, the site should contain all the elements necessary to demonstrate the spectrum of skills and concepts utilized by archaeologists. An ideal site will have discernible stratigraphic levels; a wide range of artifacts and artifact types; subterranean features like foundations, floors, pilings, pits, and so forth; faunal remains; recognizable soil changes; and so forth. A site is user-friendly when its very appearance evokes a positive response in the people called upon to dig it. Surface indications of what might lie below, such as a stone wall or section of floor, will function to hold students' interest. They serve as constant reminders to the hardworking excavators that there really is something under all that dirt. Finding "clues to the past" or just "old stuff"—and to children anything older than themselves is ancient history—is the carrot that drives the enthusiasm along at full throttle.

Building Your Resource Library

Like anyone starting out on a long trip through unfamiliar terrain, you will want to acquaint yourself with certain basic data that you can consider road signs to a successful arrival at your destination. Although it might be an exaggeration to say that resources abound in the area of archaeology in the preuniversity curricula, still there are a fair number of materials available in the form of books, websites, videos, articles, and games. Many of them are free for the asking.

Teachers will want to include in their resource library some things that are of particular interest to them. Such items as a good basic archaeology text, the kind that a university might use as an introduction to an archaeology course, seem logical, as do any reference-type books covering such diverse subjects as bottles, tableware, nails and fasteners, utensils, tools, and other household items. These resou...