SUBJECT: History/Anthropology
GRADE: High School
TECHNOLOGY: Internet

“Excavating” a late 20th-century archaeological site

Target Grade/Subject:

Most appropriate for 11th- and 12th- grade history or anthropology students

Objectives:

This lesson will allow students to:

Plan, write and edit a fictitious archaeological report (from a futuristic perspective) describing the excavation of a late 20th-century site. It should focus on a certain location and objects, and should be written as if the student were the archaeologist who “excavated” the site and found the objects.

Use both conventional resources and the Internet (if possible or desired) to research a current-day location and several objects associated with that location to be included on the report.

Examine the location and objects and imagine how they might be interpreted from a perspective 1,000 years in the future.

Consider his or her own time and surroundings from an “outsider’s” point-of-view, demonstrating to better imaginative and objective thinking.

Experience a challenging, enjoyable and memorable excursion into the field of archaeology.

Materials:

A list of possible “excavation sites” from which the student may choose one. The list may include locations such as The U.S. Capitol Building, The Student’s School, The Student’s Home, A Shopping Mall, A Restaurant, A Museum, and so on.

Access to the World Wide Web and other Internet resources, again if possible and desirable. This will allow for easier and faster research, as well as for the inclusion of easily integrated pictures.

Non-internet resources regarding subject material including maps, encyclopedias, books, photographs, etc.

Access to a word processing program on which the final report can be written and edited. The use of such software will simplify the compilation and editing of a student’s research information and materials (including pictures).

Instructions as provided by teacher (as per description, below).

Description of Lesson:

Students will begin by receiving a list of sites from which to choose the subject of their “excavation.” Again, these sites may include places such as The U.S. Capitol Building, The Student’s School, The Student’s Home, A Shopping Mall, A Restaurant, A Museum, and so forth.

Once each student has chosen a site, he/she will research that site for any information that may be useful to the final report. Examples of such data include the site’s geographical location, its physical description (including pictures when possible), its function/use, and so on.

The student will choose between 5 and 10 “objects” commonly associated with, or found in, the chosen site. If, for example, a student chooses to “excavate” his home, he may select as his objects a television set, a washer/dryer, a child’s toy, a videocassette and an ironing board. The best objects to choose will be those whose function is not necessarily indicated by their shape and whose potential longevity is uncertain; they will (supposedly) then be open to interpretation in the future. A chair, for example, might not be the best of choices: we can assume that chairs will probably continue to be used for quite some time, as people will always need something on which to sit.

If further research is necessary on the chosen items (even if only to obtain a photograph), that will be done as well.

The student will spend time considering how the location and the chosen objects might be interpreted in the future, given the assumption that the “archaeologist” who unearths them knows nothing about them. This is an opportunity to think both imaginatively and objectively, as students must mentally place themselves outside of their present time and understanding of things.

The student will then write a short report (at least five pages) describing a fictitious archaeological excavation of the chosen site which “uncovers” the chosen items. The report will be from the point-of-view of the archaeologist who performs the “dig.” The paper should include an objective description of the site and objects, and speculation as to their purpose and function in the late 20th-century. Photographs and “field notes” may be included; the student’s imagination is really the limit as to content.

Evaluation Procedure:

If the lesson is completed successfully, students will:

Produce a written and edited fictitious archaeological report (from a futuristic perspective) describing the excavation of a late 20th-century site. The report should focus on a certain location and objects, and should be written as if the student were the archaeologist who “excavated” the site and found the objects.

Demonstrate having researched the location and objects by including on the report such information about them as physical attributes (including dimensions), geographic location (e.g., exact latitude and longitude), composition, weight, etc. Photographs may be included whenever possible.

Demonstrate objective and imaginative thinking by describing the sites and objects as if he/she knows nothing about them and thereby “guessing” about them. Various “theories” may be presented as to the function/purpose of the sites and objects and may be based on objects’ physical description, shape, location and context.