North American archeologists generally study two time periods.  "Prehistoric" archeologists focus on the Native American past up to the time of contact with Europeans. "Historical" archeologists work from the time of European and Native American contact to the present. Archeology can be done either on land or under water and it involves a scientific process of removing accumulated layers of sand or soil. In the United States most archeologists are trained in university programs of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of man in all times and in all places. Archeology is a sub-discipline that uses material remains to study people and cultures of the past. By the way, archeologists do not dig up dinosaurs; that is done by paleontologists!

    To begin the process of introducing your students to archeology, become familiar with some of the basics of the field. (use the links provided below). Then look over the definitions in the Helpful Terms section, and activities. Decide what you want your students to learn from an in-class archeological experience. Go to your state or province's resources page and access some of the links. In addition, check with local museums that have archeological collections or are conducting excavations. By visiting those sites you can give your students a tangible connection to the concepts learned in class.  With some preparation time on this web page, you will be able to combine basic concepts, exercises, and links to specific web sites to provide you and your students with as much information and as much of an "archeological adventure" as your time and teaching situation will allow. If you have questions use the contact information below, and we'll help!

Courtesy Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest

Contact information:
By Email: Michael Strutt
Ph: (615)-898-2949
Mail: Center for Historic Preservation,
1421 East Main Street,
Murfreesboro, TN 37132

CONCEPTS:
The Mesa Community College (Arizona) Anthropology department   
maintains a great web page that provides basic information on the
what, why, and how of archeology for individuals not familiar with 
the discipline. This is an excellent start for any teacher who is unfamiliar with the concepts of archeology- and the pictures are good too!

This next link, also provided by Mesa Community College, will take you through a short program on what archeology is, how it is done and what archeologists expect to learn from their work. This is a fun and interesting page and will not take long to view. 

This next link is an overview of archeology from the Archeological Research Center of the South Dakota Historical Society. Click on "About Archeology" on the left hand side of  the page. This is a very informative page!

Another well written introduction to this field is; "About Archeology" From Simon Fraser University, with interesting activities for both adults and kids.

http://www.scanet.org/educate.html
A list of educational resources from the Society for California Archeology

Archeology and Education web page
This is an excellent place to start with links and explanations of what
archeology is and why we do it.

http://www.saa.org/PubEdu/a&pe/index.html
The public archeology newsletter, which is produced by the Society for American Archaeology, Public Education Committee, contains information on upcoming events, educational workshops, new publications, Archaeology Weeks, and other items of interest to archaeologists involved in public education and teachers using the study of archeology in the classroom.

http://www.georgia-archaeology.org/sga/Educational_Resources.html
The Georgia Society for Archeology Educational Resources Page. Download vol 20, no. 1of Early Georgia. It is an entire volume of the state journal dedicated to teaching archeology at different grade levels, and is written by teachers. This is an excellent place to get information by teachers for teachers.