Bringing the Past to Life Archaeology Bringing the Past to Life

What is Archaeology? Archaeology is the study of human history, using material remains to discover information about the people and events of the past. Archaeologists use artifacts - the objects and materials people in the past made and used - and information obtained at sites - the places that people once lived - as evidence to draw conclusions about how people once lived.

Building Evidence of the Past Define your Purpose - what are you investigating? – write in the form of a question Make a Hypothesis – make an educated guess based on what you know What area of the world are you investigating? What kind of people were likely to have lived there? What information has already been uncovered? Uncover the Past – dig your site very carefully, what can the placement of artifacts and the dirt around artifacts tell you about the site? Check your Hypothesis – does the information you uncovered fit with what you thought? Fit with what other scientists think? Is this new information?

Dig Site Go to Virtual Dig Bones & Artifacts Tools & Measurement Stratigraphy Go to Virtual Dig

Stratigraphy Stratigraphy – the study of dirt and rocks as layers in the earth Older objects are found on the bottom layers, newer objects are found at the top Objects that are found in the same layer probably come from the same time period Back to Dig Site

Artifacts & Bones An artifact is any human made object Tools, clothes, and dwellings are all artifacts that can give us a glimpse into the ancient world Bones can provide a great deal of information Bones of humans can tell how old a person was or how they died Bones of animals can tell what people of the time ate Back to Dig Site

Tools & Measurement The length and weight of objects can provide information about how people lived How large were the houses? How close did people live to water? How much did tools weigh? Graphs and plots of artifacts can help scientists organize information Where did people live in relation to each other? How many tools were found? Back to Dig Site

Virtual Dig The Location : Answer each question on the worksheet The Location : What information do you know about this area? Where is this area located? What types of people have lived in this area? What is the rough timeline of this area?

Virtual Dig The Dig Site: Bones What information can you find out from bones? Textiles What kind of information can you find from an artifact like fabric? Petrified Wood What kind of information can you find from an artifact like wood? All of the artifacts listed have been found in the same layer of dirt. Conclusion

Bones Found at the Dig Site: From the clues that bones provide: Hypothesize what the people that once lived here ate. Can you draw any conclusions about what the people wore? Are there any other clues that the bones can give you? Hint: Animal Bones – Buffalo, deer, rabbits and other small game Back to Dig Site

Textiles Found at the Dig Site: From the clues that textiles provide: Hypothesize what the leather was once used for. Draw a picture of a person using the cloth when it was new. Is there another way that this textile could have been used? How? A piece of leather, dyed by tree bark. Handmade beads and feathers of various colors attached. Back to Dig Site

Petrified Wood Found at the Dig Site: From the clues that the wood provides: Hypothesize what the wood was originally used for. Draw a picture of the wood as it was once used. Is there another way that this wood could have been used? How? Pieces of wood of various lengths, not burned Back to Dig Site

Concluding Notes Using the information that you gathered from the dig and research information from your textbook or the Internet, write a 2-3-paragraph concluding-note that draws together your hypotheses about how the people at this site once lived. Include information about what the people once ate, what they wore, and what type of housing they lived in. Draw a conclusion – what culture would these people be categorized as today?