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The following activities are designed as primers to teach the analytical skills archaeologist use in interpreting artifacts at sites. Use these exercises and the additional links that provide others to introduce the basics of archeology, and develop critical thinking skills, teamwork, and writing abilities.
1. Your Artifacts and You
2. Create a Civilization
3. Armchair Archeology
After one or all of these activities have been completed the students should learn about the archeology of their state or the local area. The links page has the web address of all the state archeology offices. Through them the teacher (and students) can find out about archeological excavations being carried out in their area.
For more classroom activities try these sites:
Exploring Oregon's Past (fourth through seventh grades)
URL for state-by-state retailers of a thematic unit on archeology
A classroom exercise from television's Newton's Apple
Decoding The Past: The work of Archeologists, a lesson plan from the Smithsonian Institution.
Gander Academy archeology page for kids
Definitions and activities included!
Some teachers like to make what is known as a "box dig" for their students to learn about archeology. The teacher puts different color soils in a box and hides "artifacts" in the layers. This teaching method can work, but it has the problem of relaying the message that archeology is only about digging and not learning about the past by studying the artifacts. If you choose to do a box dig with your class be sure to talk about what happens to the artifacts after they are recovered. Archeologists generally spend three hours in the lab for every hour they spend in the field. We clean and identify the artifacts, then analyze them to determine what they tell us about people in the past. Students should recognize the fact that archeology is not only about digging, but learning about what the digging tells us about history.
Links to archeological societies with education web pages.
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) has published a classroom archeology manual titled:
Archaeology in the Classroom: A Resource Guide For Teachers and Parents
This is an extensive guide to various state and other agencies that publish classroom manuals and activities. Also available are student kits for various grades from the AIA at the address below:
Archaeological Institute of American
656 Beacon Street
Boston, MA. 02215-2010
The Society for American Archeology has published a book with AltaMira Press titled:
Archaeology Education Handbook.
It can be ordered by phone from 1 800 462-6420 or it can be ordered online from Altamira Press
For more web information try these links
Society for American Archeology educational resources
There is lots here for the teacher!
What is archeology?
From the Society for American Archaeology
Archeological Institute of America educational links.
Society for Historical Archeology, careers in archeology web page
Frequently asked questions about careers
in archeology
More Links on the Next Page
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