Lesson Plan created by: Karen Leslie

Grayling Middle School, Grayling, Michigan

NEH SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS 2009

Daily Life in Ancient Times: Archaeology of Israel and Jordan

UNIT I — 1st semester

A. Overview — Archaeology (12 days)

                                Manufacture of artifacts (12 days)

              A simulated archaeological excavation is used to acquaint the students with archaeological methods and the use of primary source material to reconstruct an ancient civilization.  This experiential introduction to archaeology is also a forum for interdisciplinary education.  It utilizes the scientific method and integrates the disciplines of geology, botany, economics, mathematics, art, computer technology, and archaeology.  The students excavate artifacts, ecofacts, and features, and use this primary source material to reconstruct an ancient culture.  They also learn to appreciate Anasazi culture which is represented by the material remains in the simulated site.  Moreover, this type of project provides an alternative assessment method.  Students work in teams during the excavation and analysis of artifacts, and they cooperate in putting together a site report.  Each student is able to contribute something to the site report, depending on their experience.

              The simulated site was created by building a large sandbox, which measures 6’ x 8’ x 2’ and contains 4 tons of sand.  Art students made Anasazi-style artifacts in the pottery lab and grouped them into behavioral clusters.  They made artifacts from five periods of Anasazi history (i.e., Basketmaker II through Pueblo III), and then later they placed them in the proper stratigraphic order in the sandbox.  They also constructed features in the sandbox, such as sections of kiva walls, made from Belgium blocks, and a sipapu, made with a bulb digger and Sakret mortar mix.

              The 9th grade history students who excavated the site were first acquainted with archaeological terminology and techniques in the classroom, and then given assignments for the day of the dig.  The different jobs included a chief archaeologist, who was in charge of the field notebook; an artist with the site map; a photographer; excavators; bucket carriers; baggers; and sifters.  Other students worked in the processing area.  Adjacent to the site, tables were set up for washing the artifacts, describing and cataloging them, drawing pottery, and finally repairing pottery.  Everything recovered had to be carefully labeled with the proper level and square number.  The provenience of important artifacts and features was carefully measured with a line level, plumb bob, and measuring tape.  After the dig, all of the data from the excavation was assembled, and the students wrote a site report.  They were able to describe the different periods of Anasazi culture using only primary source material.

B. Content Objectives

1.Manufacture of artifacts — Basketmaker II (1500 B.C. - 500 A.D.)

a. Side-notched projectile points
    (1) underglaze — gray
    (2) overglaze — semigloss

b.Animal figurines
    (1) stoneware clay
    (2) underglaze — brown and gray

c. Anthropomorphic pictographs
    (1) handbuilt — hump molded
    (2) underglaze — variety of colors

d. Atlatl and small darts — carved wood

e. Bone
    (1) boiled
    (2) bleached

f. Simple coiled baskets
    (1) coiled weaving method
    (2) rope and raffia

g. Maize
    (1) varieties of Indian corn
    (2) burned for preservation in the sand

h. Gourds
    (1) dried
    (2) carved to make ladles, cups, etc.

2. Manufacture of artifacts — Basketmaker III (500 A.D. - 750 A.D.)

a. Lug handled pots
    (1) underglaze — gray
    (2) coiled method for the body of the pot
    (3) tongue and groove method for the lug handles

b. Human figurines — variety of underglazes

c. Plain gray pottery
    (1) coil built
    (2) underglaze gray to simulate indigenous clay color after firing

d. Two-hand monos
    (1) two pinch pots scored together — leave air holes
    (2) underglaze — grays, blacks, and browns
    (3) sponge for application to simulate stone surface

e. Troughed metates
    (1) hump mold method — drape clay slab over a rounded form
    (2) mold into metate shape after clay has set — leather hard stage

f. Bone awls and arrows
    (1) handbuilt using stoneware clay
    (2) underglaze to simulate stone

g. Wooden bow

h. Shells

i. Gourds

j. Rope or cord
    (1) braided or twisted
    (2) green vegetation — grape vines, grasses, indigenous plants

k. Turkey feathers

l. Beans and maize

m. Woven yucca sandals
    (1) young green yucca — tear into strips and scrape
    (2) weave using warp and weft method into sandal shape

3. Manufacture of artifacts — Pueblo I (750 A.D. - 900 A.D.)

a. Corrugated pottery
    (1) thumb print provides texture and holds coils together
    (2) early thumbprints have been detected in this type of pottery
    (3) underglaze — gray

b. Reduced pottery — blackware
    (1) sawdust fired
    (2) use garbage can instead of open pit
    (3) burnish with polishing stones, gourds, bones

c. Simple black and white pottery
    (1) four coats of white underglaze for an unbroken white surface
    (2) black underglaze for simple designs
    (3) use hand-made yucca brushes for applying black designs

d. Plain and neckbanded gray pottery

e. Obsidian arrowheads and flakes
    (1) underglaze — black
    (2) overglaze — clear

f. Yucca brushes
    (1) young green yucca cut in strips of different length and thickness
    (2) clean yucca, scrape and chew the end to reveal brush-like fibers

g.Woven reed baskets
    (1) soak different size reeds in water
    (2) use warp and weft weaving method

h. Notched pebble axe and tools
    (1) use stone for axe
    (2) use bone for tools

4. Manufacture of artifactes — Pueblo II (900 A.D. - 1150 A. D.)

a. Clay pipe
    (1) small pinch pot for bowl of pipe
    (2) hollowed coil for stem

b.Troughed matate and mono

c. Corrugated pottery

d. Elaborate black and white pottery
    (1) more detailed design than earlier black and white ware
    (2) small bristled yucca brushes for refined designs

e. Traded red and orange pottery
    (1) underglaze — orange
    (2) overglaze for design — combination of maroon and brown

f .Cotton and loom weaving
    (1) spin raw cotton using wooden drop spindle
    (2) weave using simple loom

g. Turquoise — colored beads

h. Peaking stones — found stone with a pointed edge

i. Corn storage pit — feature
    (1) use Sakrete motar mix for floor
    (2) apply mortar with mason’s trowel

5. Manufacture of artifacts — Pueblo III (1150 A.D. - 1300 A.D.)

a. Flat matate and mono
    (1) hump mold metate
    (2) simulate later and flatter design of matate

b. Storage jar
    (1) coiled method of construction — paddled smooth
    (2) burnished with polishing stones, gourds, bones
    (3) tight fitting lid — handbuilt

c. Colored polychrome ware
    (1) coiled method of construction
    (2) underglaze — turquoise, white, black
    (3) use yucca brush

d. Geometric black and white pottery
    (1) same as above
    (2) more intricate design

e. Notched arrowheads and peaking stones
    (1) black glaze to simulate obsidian
    (2) gray glaze to simulate flint

f. Bone awls and needles
    (1) split chicken bones
    (2) boil and bleach

g. Grooved axe
    (1) stone
    (2) molded clay — underglaze to simulate stone

h. Elaborate cotton weaving
    (1) dye natural cotton cloth
    (2) boil natural materials — walnut, mulberry etc.

i. Yucca weaving
    (1) scrape young green yucca
    (2) use warp and weft method to make mats

j. Kiva walls — feature
    (1) use Belgium blocks (limestone)
    (2) use Sakrete mortar mix for adhesive
    (3) apply mortar with mason’s trowel

k. Burned wooden beams
    (1) use rounded log to simulate kiva roof beams
    (2) partially burn in a fireplace or grill

l. Sipapu
    (1) use garden bulb digger
    (2) line hole with Sakrete mortar mix

6. Classroom instruction in archaeology

a. What is archaeology?
    (1) reconstruction of life and culture of past ages using excavated data
    (2) study of artifacts, ecofacts, and features

b. Artifacts — divided into behavioral clusters
    (1) identification of artifacts
    (2) determination of types of behavior taking place
    (3) grouping of artifact clusters — earliest to latest

c. Determinants of archaeological data
    (1) natural agents of transformation — climate, volcanic eruptions, etc.
    (2) reoccupation of an archaeological site
    (3) looting
    (4) matrix — physical medium that surrounds archaeological material
    (5) provenience — a three-dimensional location at which the archaeologist finds data
    (6) association — two or more archaeological remains occurring together
    (7) context — where an artifact is and how it got there
    (8) stratigraphy — the observed layering of matrices and features

d. Skeletal remains
    (1) primary context — undisturbed burials (middens)
    (2) secondary context — disturbed burials
    (3) determination of age, sex, cause of death

e. Data acquisition
    (1) archaeological reconnaissance
    (2) surface survey
    (3) excavation

f. Excavation methodology
    (1) kinds of archaeological excavations
    (2) various techniques used to carry out excavations
    (3) ways to control provenience of excavated data
    (4) recording of excavated data

g. Kinds of excavations
    (1) test pits
    (2) trenching
    (3) tunnels
    (4) area excavations — grid system
    (5) stripping excavations — middens

h. Excavation tools and techniques
    (1) sharpened mason’s pointing trowel
    (2) small brushes of assorted size
    (3) dental pick for fragile materials
    (4) plumb bob and line level for measuring
    (5) string and nails — to define grid and datum
    (6) whisk broom
    (7) screening box — for sifting matrix before discarding

i. Recording data
    (1) standardized forms
    (2) burial forms
    (3) scaled drawings — site map
    (4) perspective drawings
    (5) photography
    (6) site designation — use Smithsonian numerical system for states

j. Data processing — field laboratory procedures

k. Classification of artifacts

l. Writing a site report

m. Anasazi culture — represented on simulated site

n. Research questions

7. Actual excavation of simulated site — procedures

a. Excavation

b. Screening

c. Field notebook

d. Site map

e. Photography

8. Actual excavation — laboratory

a. Pottery washing

b. Recording and description

c. Sorting and identification

d. Drawing pottery

e. Reparing pottery

f. Collection of artifacts

g. Reburial of artifacts

h. Student rotation

9.Completion of site report

a. Students work in teams

b. Consider research questions posed before the excavation

c. reconstruct the culture based on the excavated material

C. Concept Objectives

1. To understand that the primary objective of archaeology is to reconstruct the excavated culture

2. To be able to determine behavior patterns, social structure, and ideology from excavated artifacts, ecofacts and features

3. To realize that archaeology is a serious scientific pursuit, not a treasure hunt

4. To recognize the various approaches to archaeological data acquisition

5. To understand excavation methodology and terminology

6. To distinguish between primary and secondary context and understand the significance of context

7. To understand the importance of human remains in interpreting archaeological data

8. To become familiar with the material culture and history of a Native American civilization (Anasazi)

9. To understand the need to preserve our cultural heritage

D. Skills Objectives

1. For all units:

a. Maintain a well-ordered notebook

b. Outline material and support general ideas with specific examples

c. Volunteer in class: listen to others

d. Use an assignment sheet to plan time

e. Maintain vocabulary lists

f. Learn to write an effective essay

g. Analyze and synthesize materials

2. Specific to this unit:

a. Geographic              Location of various archaeological sites studied

b. Critical thinking     Analysis of primary source material collected on an archaeological site
      Determination of the behavior patterns, social structure, and ideology of the excavated culture

c. Scientific method     Students use their powers of observation
     The excavation encourages students to apply deductive reasoning and other higher-level thinking skills
     Students appreciate the importance of context and association in archaeological investigation

d. Cooperative learning   Students learn to cooperate and work as a team.  They work in groups during the making, investigation, and analysis of artifacts, and they cooperate in putting together a site report

e. Ethnology          Study of the descendants of the Anasazi with reference to their historical development

f. Writing              Writing of a site report including a site description, methodology, excavation finds, and conclusion based on analysis of the data

g. Excavation         Students learn various excavation techniques

h. Form preparation       Preparation of and the reasons for preparing standardized forms

i. Charts            Drawing a site map and placing artifacts accurately in squares

j. Math              Measuring the provenience of archaeological data using a plumb bob and line level
Drawing objects to scale on the site map and in the field notebook

k. Art                Drawing artifacts for future analysis and to include in the site report
Reconstruction of broken artifacts

l. Computer       Analysis of excavated artifacts using a data bas

E. Activities / procedures

1. Teacher directed discussion

2. Map study

3. Videos

4. Slides

5. Group activity - Analysis of data clusters in the classroom to determine artifact use, behavior patterns, social structure , and ideology

6. Group activity - Excavation of simulated archaeological site

F. Student assessment / evaluation

1. Participation in class discussions

2. Participation in classroom group activity — primary source analysis

3. Participation in the excavation — this type of project provides an alternative assessment method

4. Preparation of a site report

5. Quiz — archaeological terminology and methodology

G. Materials

1. Reference Texts — Archaeology:

a. Bahn, Paul. Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1991.

b. Brothwell, D. R. Digging Up Bones. (3rd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.

c. Butzer, Karl W. Archaeology as Human Ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

d. Cornwall, I. W. Bones for the Archaeologist. London: Phoenix House, 1956.

e. Fagan, Brian. Archaeology: A Brief Introduction. (4th ed.), Santa Barbara, CA: Harper Collins, 1991.

f. Fagan, B. In The Beginning: An Introduction to Archaeology. (7th ed.), Santa Barbara, CA: Harper Collins, 1991.

g. Hayden, Brian. Archaeology: The Science of Once and Future Things. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1993.

h. Hole, Frank and Robert F. Heizer. An Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology. (3rd ed.), New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1965.

i. Joukowsky, Martha. Field Archaeology: Tools and Techniques of Field Work for Archaeologists. Englewood, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980.

j. McGregor, John C. Southwestern Archaeology. (2nd ed.), Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965.

k. McIntosh, Jane. The Practical Archaeologist: How We Know What We Know About the Past. New York: The Paul Press Limited, 1986.

l. McMillon, Bill. The Archaeology Handbook: A Field Manual and Resource Guide. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1991.

m. Rathje, Wm L. and Michael B. Schiffer. Archaeology. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1982.

n. Rosen, Arlene Miller. Cities of Clay: The Geoarcheology of Tells. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1986.

o. Sharer, Robert J. and Wendy Ashmore. Archaeology: Discovering our Past. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1987.

p. Snow, Dean R. The Archaeology of North America. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989.

q. Sinopli, Carla M. Approaches to Archaeological Ceramics. New York: Plenum Press, 1991.

r. Taylor, Walter W. A Study of Archeology. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1964.

s. Thomas, David Hurst. Archaeology. (2nd ed.), Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1989.

t. Watson, Patty Jo, Steven A. LeBlanc and Charles L. Redman. Explanation in Archaeology: An Explicitly Scientific Approach. New York: Columbia University, 1971.

u. Wells, Calvin. Bones, Bodies and Disease: Evidence of Disease and Abnormality in Early Man. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publisher, 1964.

v. Wheeler, Mortimer. Archaeology from the Earth. Baltimore: Penguine Books, 1954.

w. Willey, Gordon R. and Jeremy A. Sabloff. A History of American Archaeology. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co., 1974.

x. Wilson, David. The New Archaeology. New York: New American Library, 1974.

y. Woolley, Sir Leonard. Digging Up the Past. Baltimore: Penguine Books, 1954.

z. Yeager, C. G. Arrowheads & Stone Artifacts: A Practical Guide for the Surface Collector and Amateur Archaeologist. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company, 1986.

2. Reference Texts — Anasazi:

a. Dozier, Edward P. The Pueblo Indians of North America. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1970.

b. Frazier, Kendrick. People of Chaco: A Canyon and Its Culture. New York: W. H. Norton & Company, 1986.

c. Goodchild, Peter. Survival Skills of the North American Indians. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1984.

d. Heath, Margaret A. (ed.). Teacher’s Guide To Archaeological Activities. Cortez, CO: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 1989.

e. Kleidon, Jim and Bruce Bradley. Annual Report of the 1988 Excavations at Sand Canyon Pueblo (5MT765). Cortez, CO: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 1989.

f. Lipe, Wm. D. Readings on the Anasazi and Archaeology. Cortez, CO: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 1989.

g. Lister, Robert H. and Florence C. Anasazi Pottery. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1978.

h. Lister, R. H. and F. C. Chaco Canyon: Archaeology and Archaeologists. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1981.

i. McNitt, Frank. Richard Wetherill: Anasazi: Pioneer Explorer of Southwestern Ruins. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1966.

j. Muench, David and Donald G. Pike. Anasazi: Ancient People of the Rock. New York: Crown, 1974.

k. Reid, J. Jefferson and David E. Doyel. Emil W. Haury’s Prehistory of the American Southwest. Tucson: University of Arizona, 1986.

l. Timble, Stephen. Talking with the Clay. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, 1987.

3. Text (summer reading) and Handouts:

a. Michener, James A. The Source. New York: Ballantine Books, 1965. (summer reading)

b. Archaeology Outline — prepared by E. D. Bedell

c. Preparation Of An Archaeological Site Report — prepared by E. D. Bedell

d. Daily Field Archaeology Report Form — prepared by E. D. Bedell

e. Artifact Description Form — prepared by C. S. Leeper

f. Archaeological Excavation Assignments (procedures for each on-site job) — prepared by E. D. Bedell

4. Videos:

a. “Anasazi: Hisatsinon — The Ancient Ones”. A National Park Service Video

b. “Flintknapping” by Bruce Bradley, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

5. Slides:

a. Egyptian Mummies — What can be learned from human remains

b. Tells — Archaeological techniques on a Middle Eastern site (Tell Ashdod)

c. Anasazi Archaeology — Sand Canyon and Castle Rock excavation sites

6. Maps

1