INFUSING ARCHAEOLOGY INTO THE TEACHING OF HISTORY

Archaeology in Educational Programs

• to teach about archaeological methods and preservation

• to understand history through archaeological research and reports

• to increase appreciation for other cultures

Archaeologists have at least four reasons for working with educators to include archaeology in schools:

An Archaeological Local Sequence

Woodland Period

Archaic Hunters and Gatherers

Circa 2000 BP

Circa 1000 BP

Cultivating Grasses, Bow and Arrow

Raising Corn, Beans and Squash

An Archaeological Local Sequence

Circa 3000 BP Pottery

Circa 8000 BP

Paleo Indians Nomadic Herd Hunters

Circa 12000 BP

Semi Nomadic

Archaeological Field Work

Weeks 2-5: Work in teams and each team will excavate within a specific quadrant. Work is based on historical research and the results of the geophysical survey. • Prepare the site for excavation• Excavate according to stratigraphy or "arbitrary" levels• Describe the sediments and soils, collect archaeobotanical samples• Perform detailed note taking• Take accurate measurement and create scale drawings• Use field photography• Do mapping with a computerized laser transit and a highly accurate GPS locational device.

Week 1:Historical and cultural orientation followed by fieldwork at the site. Conduct a survey of the site.Remote sensing: Ground Penetrating Radar, Metal Detectors, Satellite Imagery

Research and Lab Work

Weeks 6-10:Processing of archaeological information. • Identify and catalog artifacts, faunal material, seeds and pollen• Create an associated research catalog and database to be used in analyzing the significance of the evidence uncovered• Write a Site Report

Site Report via Computer and Laser Transit

To Improve Awareness of Archaeological Methods and To Communicate Results of

Archaeological Research

• Site Reports and Artifact Typologyhttp://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/ElecFieldTrip_CRP/index.asp

http://www.phillyarchaeology.org/reports/index.htm

http://www.comp-archaeology.org/CA_Web_Reports.htm

Google Archaeological Site Reports for

Other Research Reports and Web Quests

http://webhost.bridgew.edu/c1hoffman/an410a.htmAn excellent site to type the points and visualize what the points

look like. Works for New England and New Jersey as well.

http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/pubsforsale/detail.cfm?pubID=4864

A Typology for New York Projectile Points. Works for New Jersey as well.

http://www.arrowheads.com/index.php/artifact-resources/index.phpA site to research further descriptions of projectile points once you have the name

Typology and Nomenclature:

Types and NamesIdentifying Artifacts: Prehistoric and Historical Artifacts.

This point was named by Ripley P. Bullen and Edward M. Dolan (1959:77) for Alachua

County, Florida.

PRE F ORM: Broad and triangular, having convex sides and a straight to slightly convex basal edge.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A thick medium t o large point with a nearly straight to

contracting stem and a straight to slightly concave basal edge. The blade is

broad and triangular and may have straight to slightly convex edges.

Shoulders ace broad and angular. The junc ture between stem and blade is

usually well rounded.

AGE AND CULTURE: This type begins in late Middle Archaic and continues into the

Late Archaic period. Dates suggested range from 5000 B.C. to 2000 B.C.

DISTRIBUTION: The type is found from Florida to southern Georgia.

COMMENTS: This type has been divided into four variants. The earliest, the Putnam

point, has a contracting stem with a rounded base. The other three points, the

Alachua (Figui -e A), the Levy (Figure B), and the Marion (Figure 0, seem to be

variants of the same po int. Their major difference is a minor variation in the

stem, which ranges from nearly straight to c ontracting and has a straight

to slightly concave or c onvex basal edge.

Bullen, Ripley P. and Edward M. Dolan 1959 The Johnson Lake Site, Marion Cou nty, Florida. The Florida

Anthropologi st 12(4).

ALACHUA

Artifact Typology

An Alachua Point

Range 5000-2000 BP

The Evolution of Projectile Point Typology

Flint Knapping

Michigan Flintknappers: Terms and Methods http://www.onagocag.com/knapping.html

Flintknapping supply houses

http://www.flintknappingtools.com/

http://www.neolithics.com/knaptoolands.html

To purchase reproductions and further classroom application materials http://www.nativewayonline.com/

Flintknapper’s Photogallery https://www.msu.edu/~doneycar/fkpg/fkpg01.html

Flintknapping How to Guide

http://www.uiowa.edu/~osa/learn/ancient/flint.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyuzh1uaSf4 Video source for demonstrations of flintknapping

Bottle Manufacture and Typology

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/science/glass.htm

Ancient Glass

Identifying BottlesOne of the best sites for learning about and

typing bottles from the historic period. http://www.sha.org/bottle/typing.htm

Amazing Site for Use as a Student Resource in Archaeology http://www.archaeolink.com/

Teaching the Appreciation of Other Cultures

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0VBnrIkAtA

The Nuer

The Nuer (also known as the Nei Ti Naath) are a confederation of tribes located in Southern Sudan and western Ethiopia. Collectively, the Nuer form one of the largest ethnic groups in East Africa. They are a pastoral people who rely on cattle products for almost every aspect of their daily lives.

What is Anthropology?

Physical Anthropology

• Primatology: The study of primates.

• Paleoanthropology: The study of human evolution

• Human Variation Studies: The study of the physical differences in humans.

Cultural Anthropology: A.K.A.

Ethnology

• Ethnography: A.K.A. Participant Observation

• Linguistics

• Archaeology

What is Culture?

The Culture Concept: Culture is understood as the learned body of knowledge, beliefs, and

customs that people use to organize their natural and social environments.

Material Traits

• Tools

• Clothing

• Housing

• ETC.

Non-Material Traits

• Attitudes

• Behaviors

• Beliefs

• ETC.

Culture: No overall consensus as to its meaning…over 300 definitions.

• An Autonomous Population Unit• Distinct Cultural Characteristics• Shared Traditions

Problems:

• Cannot Define Cultural Boundaries

• Cultures are Not Closed and Self-Contained

• Cultures are in Constant Contact and Change

• Cultures are Provisional and Transitory

• Many are Extinct

Culture is a Survival Mechanism

• An infinite variation in cultural expression, but each meets a certain need – Food, Shelter, Resolve Conflict, Solace, etc.

• A blueprint of our customs and ideas for living. • It is packaged and delivered by symbols. • It is pervasive - we are often unaware but it surrounds and envelops us. • Items and ideas meld together and make sense.

Fine ArtsStorytelling

Subsistence PatternDancing-Games-Cooking-DressObservable Material Elements

May Include Behavioral Characteristics,i.e. Religion, Handshakes, etc.

Surface Culture

Deep CultureConception of Beauty – Ideals of Governing – Patterns of Raising ChildrenNotions of Modesty – Cosmology – Relationship to Animals

Patterns of Superior/Subordinate Relations – Courtship Practices Conception of Justice – Incentives to Work – Notions of Leadership

Tempo of Work – Patterns of Group Decision MakingConception of Status Mobility (Class, Caste, etc.) – Eye Behavior

Roles in Relation to Status by Age, Sex, Class, Occupation, Kinship, etc.Conversational Patterns in Various Social Contexts – Conception of Past and Future

Nature of Friendship – Conception of Self – Preference for Competition or CooperationPatterns of Handling Emotions

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE…

Cultural Anthropology-Ethnology

Ethnography-Participant Observation

• Social Organization

• Subsistence Pattern

• Economic Pattern

• Political Organization

• Religion

• ETC.

Do these concepts inherently reinforce bias when we teach history?

PRIMITIVE

UNDEVELOPED/DEVELOPED

RACE

ETHNOCENTRISM/CULTURAL BIAS

Archaeology Sites are Non-renewable Resources.

Excavation Destroys the Site.

New Technologies are Being Developed to Allow for Preserving Sites Without Excavation.

The Sustainable Preservation Initiative http://sites.google.com/site/sustainablepreservation/

Preservation of Jamestownhttp://www.preservationvirginia.org/rediscovery/

page.php?page_id=1

To Increase Site Preservations