Designed for grades 4-8.

A group of lessons designed to teach students how archaeologists learn about societies and the past, how they check their reasoning, and what the potential flaws are in archaeological reasoning.

1. What does physical evidence reveal about the nature of a society?

2. How do archaeologists check on the consistency of their reasoning?

3. What are the potential flaws in archaeological reasoning?

4. Postscript to III

Lesson I:
What does physical evidence reveal about the nature of a society?

Objective: Learn what an archaeologist does in his daily routine.
Select 15 objects from home and bring them into class. Teachers should carefully select the artifacts for the specific grade. Suggested artifacts for this lesson: scissors, pens and pencils, CD, cassettes, comb, stamp, train ticket, bus pass, junk mail, tape dispenser, umbrellas, headphones, keys, currency, and a newspaper.

Call each object an artifact and assign each one a number. Break the class into several groups of no more than 3 students. Make sure that one student is assigned the task of secretary for the group. Select 3 artifacts for each group and have them answer the following questions about the artifacts they examine.

• Describe the artifact in precise detail. Ex. The object is gray, cylindrical, 6 in. long with a removable cap. There is a metal piece projecting from the cap and extending down almost to the end of the cap. Upon removing the cap, the end of the inner piece is pointed. (a pen)

• Hypothesize the function of each artifact. Have the secretary record the group’s hypothesis. If the group has more than one hypothesis, record each. A word of caution to the teacher: students enjoy exercising their creative minds and will create fantastical explanations of the object’s purpose, if permitted to do so.

• Extrapolate on the nature of the civilization that created and utilized the object. . This could include where and when this civilization existed.

Once they have recorded their observations, they should exchange the first three artifacts for another three. This should continue until each group has had an opportunity to analyze all fifteen objects.

Each group decides as a group which three artifacts were most representative of the society and they present their findings to the class.

Lesson II:
How do archaeologists check on the consistency of their reasoning?

Teachers should use the same artifacts they selected for Lesson I.

Collect all the hypotheses from the presentations which concluded Lesson I. Put them all together and make copies for the class. Students should be in the same groups from Lesson I.

Students then compare the hypotheses they made about the artifacts to the ones made by their peers. They explain the step-by-step process of their thinking in writing. Have the whole class compare their findings together. Students should evaluate each hypothesis using the following criteria:

1. Does the proposed function follow from the description?
2. Is the function consistent with the type of society they propose generated the object?
3. Are the analyses of each of the three objects consistent with one another?

• Hypothesize the function of each artifact. Have the secretary record the group’s hypothesis. If the group has more than one hypothesis, record each.

• Extrapolate on the nature of the civilization that created and utilized the object.

Lesson III:
What are the potential flaws in archaeological reasoning?

Students should be in the same groups for this lesson. Make copies of the three artifacts (I, II, and II) for each group.

Three new artifacts from an ancient civilization are now introduced to each group. Someone must be assigned the task of recording the group's observations. Students are deliberately kept in the dark about the origin of the civilization.

Use artifact I, II and III and do the same analysis from Lesson I.

• Describe the artifact in precise detail.

• Hypothesize the function of each artifact. Have the secretary record the group’s hypothesis. If the group has more than one hypothesis, record each.

• Extrapolate on the nature of the civilization that created and utilized the object. This could include where and when this civilization existed.

Have students list the new problems posed when the objects are completely unfamiliar to them.

Have the class discuss this question: What are the potential flaws in archaeological reasoning?

1. The importance of context, which is lacking in this entire lesson.
2. Lack of background knowledge about the civilization.
3. The influence of prejudice in analysis of function and purpose.

Lesson IV:
Postscript to Lesson III: What are the potential flaws in archaeological reasoning?

This is either a homework assignment or an in-class reading of David Macaulay’s, Motel of the Mysteries. Students should read this book in light of their recent findings from lessons I, II and III. With emphasis on the following points:

1. The logic of the investigators.
2. The background knowledge of the investigators for the site in the book.
3. The conclusions drawn about the function of the items.