Medieval Artefacts Mystery

Create a Who Done It based on an investigation of evidence

More info on new Social Studies Skills being developed for Ontario can be found at

www.oessta.blogspot.com

Scenario

•A skeleton with no visible damage to it was found in a richly decorated grave•A second grave was found with a suspicious skeletal remains and the date on the grave was a week after the first

key questions

• Did the person whose burial place we see in the poor bare grave kill the person whose skeleton we see in the fancy grave?

• Why would the person have done it?

• How do the clues tell us about possible conflicts between the people in the fancy graves and the bare graves?

the people in the fancy graves.

Many skeletons were found like this. The grave sites were bare and unadorned. Most of these skeletons had the same conditions as found in the other modest graves, worn teeth, but no decay, worn joints, deformed bones, short stature…

The skeletons found in these fancy graves were taller than in the bare graves. The teeth were decayed, but less worn. The joints were in fair condition and the bones were not deformed.

Why might there be such differences in the conditions of the bodies of the two groups of people and in the graves themselves?

Aerial photograph of a the village site.

Area of 6 large stone buildings.

The fancy graves were found inside basement of one of the buildings and some in their yards.

Area of many very small wooden buildings. The bare graves were found in unmarked plots in this area.

Artist reconstruction of the village site.

Many of these objects were found in the grounds of the large buildings.

What privileges and luxuries did this group of people have?

Artist’s reconstruction a poorer person’s home

How is the life of these people different from the group before?

Made from bone

Which grave did these come from?

What relationship did the poor have with the rich?

Eventually, there was open conflict between the poor people and the rich. Who painted the illustrations below? Why might the peasants have been depicted as they were?