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Hidden Cave
Topic: Hidden Cave Archeology, Churchill County Museum
Author(s): Maxine Emm
Grades level(s): 4th Grade
Time required: There are four activities throughout this lesson plan. You do not have to do all four activities, but account for 15 minutes of video watching and possibly 30 minutes for each activity.
Background:
“Hidden Cave” is a high-‐definition documentary film focusing on a premier archaeological site, Hidden Cave. The film emphasizes the cave’s importance as a unique and valuable link to Nevada’s deep historical past and a site used to better understand American Indian life going back thousands of years in the Carson Sink near Fallon, Nevada. Both the cave and the Nevada landscape come to life as world-‐renowned researchers and Fallon Paiute-‐Shoshone members share their stories.
Formed roughly 21,000 years ago under the waves of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, Hidden Cave was sealed from access until the indigenous people who lived in the Carson Sink in western Nevada discovered it 3,800-‐3,500 years ago. Rediscovered in the 20th century by archaeological excavators in the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s. By the late 1970s, ground breaking research performed by renowned archaeologist Dr. David Hurst Thomas and his esteemed field team from the American Museum of Natural History from New York City uncovered a plethora of items stored or “cached” within the depths of Hidden Cave. Tools, weaponry, basketry and food caches were some of the items found and provided archaeologists with vital clues about desert lifeway’s in the Hidden Cave area. Since then, Hidden Cave has become an important cultural site within the Fallon, Nevada community and around the world.
Today visitors can experience a unique tour of Hidden Cave managed by the Churchill County Museum and Archives.
Nevada Essential Understanding 6: History is a story most often related through the subjective experiences of the teller. With the inclusion of more and varied voices, histories are being rediscovered and revised. History told from an American Indian perspective frequently conflicts with the stories mainstream historians tell.
Nevada State Social Studies Standards:
H2.4.1 Discuss examples of compromise and conflict with Nevada, i.e., Pyramid Lake Wars, water allocation, Sagebrush Rebellion.
H2.4.3 Identify explorers and settlers in pre-‐territorial Nevada. H2.4.4 Identify the diverse population of Nevada’s early settlers and discuss their unique experiences.
Common Core State Standards:
RL. 4.9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g. opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g. the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
RI. 4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to the understanding of the text to which it appears.
Objectives: after watching the Hidden Cave film, students will discuss the connection between the cave and the historical relevance that Native People have for their land.
Key Vocabulary:
Archaeology: A method of studying past cultures and the artifacts of those cultures.
Artifact: Any object made or used by humans
Archaeological Site: A place where human activity occurred and material remains were left.
Anthropology: The study of human behavior
Culture: The way the members of groups think, believe, and live; the tools they use and the way they do things.
Basic Needs:
Hypothesis: A supported Explanation
Inference: A belief based on what you have seen.
Observation: What you have actually seen.
Context: The connection or relationship that objects have to one another.
Data: Information
Stratigraphy: The layering of deposits in an archaeological site
Timeline: A visual representation of events in chronological order
Materials: print activity sheets. Show the Hidden Cave video. Video can be shown from http://hiddencave.wordpress.com
Setting the Stage: students will watch the video Hidden Cave and discuss how the Hidden Cave film is told from both an American Indian and scientific points of view.
Activities/Strategies: There are four activities; these activities are in the attachment. Each activity has its own description. Before starting any of the activities please watch the Hidden Cave video in its entirety. Some activities will ask that you start at specific times. The specified times can be found on the http://hiddencave.wordpress.com website; click on the link Education to watch specific video locations.
Evaluation/Assessment: TBD
Grading Rubric:
4. Students have a clear understanding that Nevada Indians made use of nature (plants and animals) that was native to the Great Basin to provide for their basic needs based on the archaeological evidence.
3. Students understand that Nevada Indians made use of nature (plants and animals) that came from the Great Basin to provide for their basic needs based on the archaeological evidence.
2. Students are aware that the Nevada Indians live in the Great Basin desert and made use of plants and animals.
1. Students know that Nevada Indians lived in the desert.
Bibliography:
Churchill County Museum Hidden Cave Tours. (2010). Retrieved June 2013, from http://ccmuseum.org/programs/cave.php#top
Emm, M., Brady, L., Dale, D., Servilican, B., & Dunn, Y. (1992). Celebrating Nevada Indians (p. Add Page). Reno, NV: Add Publisher.
Hidden Cave. (2013). Retrieved June 2013, from http://hiddencave.wordpress.com
Thomas, D. H. (1993). Part One: The World As It Was, The Long Span of Time. In The Native Americans: An illustrated history (pp. 25-‐26). Atlanta: Turner Pub.
Thomas, D. H. (1985). Vo. 61: Part 1. In The archaeology of Hidden Cave, Nevada. New York: American Museum of Natural History.
Weiss, S. (1984). Hidden Cave: The Public Meets the Past. Your Public Lands, Corp in Resource Management.
ATTACHMENT 1:
Activity One: Students will use poetry to express an appreciation for nature and the land. The following 2 sample poems come from the Celebrating Nevada Curriculum. Students will relate back to how these two poems and the student poem are connected to Hidden Cave. Reference 7 minutes into the documentary Hidden Cave.
Ask students how the land and marsh, in the video, provide a Native American Indian perspective, as well as a scientific perspective. Students can share their sense of belonging by working on the “Where I am from” poem, provide in the poem template.
Sample Poem 1
CRY OF AN EAGLE
I stand on a cliff overlooking an unknown valley. Trying to realize who I am. I see an eagle flying above.
It soars so smooth, so beautiful. This eagle brings good-‐luck and good spirit.
Why does an eagle bring this to me?
Now I realize who I am. An Indian.
That is my answer. As I turn to leave,
The eagle lets out a cry and flies away from the tall, beautiful pine tree That it was perched upon.
I watch it fly away . . .
High over the beautiful valley, Over the trees and clear blue streams.
Soon it is nothing but a speck.
A small black speck, in the clear blue sky. My answer.
-‐ Nicole Jones, 10th Grade, Owyhee Combined School, Mrs. Reeve, 1987
Sample Poem 2
BETRAYAL OF THE HEART An old man stands alone, looking across the land;
Feeling deep inside his spirit die. Once a proud chief, he looks in his empty hands: In one he sees death, in the other a warrior’s cry.
Years ago, the warrior cry is what he would choose: But now he holds in his hands his people’s fate. His decision is a difficult one, with much to lose: His feelings towards is that of anger and hate.
He asks of the Great Fathers, the right choice:
The one he will follow until his death. His heart is crying for battle, the wrong choice; He will give in to the whites with a dying breath.
Saying this to the Great Fathers, tore his heart apart:
And in that was the betrayal of the heart. -‐ By Regina Stevens, 12th Grade, Mrs. Harris, Elko High School, 1987.
NAME: ____________________________________
Directions: To help gain that sense of belonging; students will write a poem telling about where they are from.
POEM TEMPLATE
Where I am from
I am from ___________________(city) , ____________(state).
It has ___________________________________________________________and makes me
feel _____________________________________________________.
I am from a home that has _____________________ and ________________the smells of
__________________________________________________________ remind me
________________________________________________________.
I am from a family that ___________________ and ________________________.
They help me ____________________________________________________and
give me ___________________________________________________________.
I have learned that I need to __________________ and ___________________to
show others that I ________________________________________________and am willing to
__________________________________________________.
ATTACHMENT 2:
Activity Two:
To help students gain an appreciation of the Native American pictograph writing from an Archaeological Perspective, students will be creating a pictograph writing using symbols and crumpled paper that has been reflattened to simulate writing on rock or boulder. Students can use brown or colored construction paper or brown paper bags that has been crumpled and flattened again to write on.
1. Show the two pictographs that are near the Hidden Cave and show other examples from other areas of Nevada. Below are a few examples to show.
2. After students are provided background information on Nevada’s pictographs, students can either write their own pictograph story or make reference to the pictographs below.
Activity: Pictograph Story
Students will create a pictograph using symbols to represent a simple story.
Materials: 9X12 brown or tan construction paper; or a brown paper lunch bag. Crayons. Students will wad the constructions paper or brown paper bag in a tight ball to crinkle the paper. After the paper is crinkled, un-‐wad the paper and spread the paper out flat to write the story. The paper bag will have to be cut to flatten. The edges of the construction paper and the edges of the paper bag can be torn to give a rustic look. Students will choose symbols to write their story and draw their symbols on their paper in a story form of some kind (lines or rows).
Students will write their story on lined paper and attach (glue) the story to the crinkled paper below the pictograph story. The following pictures and rabbit maze are possible ideas for students to use as symbols. Students may think of other symbols that would be appropriate for a Nevada Indian pictograph.
Student Example of Pictograph story:
Grading Rubric:
4: Students have a clear understanding that Nevada Indians made use of nature (animals, plants) that were native to the Great Basin by using symbols that represent the Great Basin ecosystem and the is able to use the symbols to write a short story.
3: Students are able to create a pictograph using symbols that represent the Great Basin ecosystem, but the story may not represent the symbols used.
2: Students are able to create a pictograph using symbols, but the symbols may not represent the Great Basin ecosystem, and the story is minimal.
1: Students are not able to create a story from the symbols and writing is minimal.
Hidden Cave Example
Example of pictographs, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Close up shot of pictograph at Hidden Cave
ATTACHMENT 3:
Activity Three:
Hidden Cave Chronology Timeline:
Task One: Students will use the Strategic Section sheet from an archaeological dig to determine approximately when the items from the Archaeological Dig were deposited in the earth.
Task Two: Students will use the Chronology of Hidden Cave to describe the events that were occurring at the same time that the items in the archaeological dig were deposited.
Hidden Cave Facts
In the mid-‐1920's, the cave was visited by four schoolboys, the first 20th century humans to do so. The cave has since been excavated three times: once in 1940, again in 1951, and finally in 1979-‐1980.
A high proportion of the artifacts found in Hidden cave were unbroken and arranged in concentrations. That led to the conclusion that 3,500 to 3,800 years ago people used Hidden Cave more for a cache site than for their own shelter.
Use Chronology of Hidden Cave, Stratigraphic Section, and worksheet about artifacts found.
Chronology of Hidden Cave (Timeline)
Approximate Years Before Present
Event of Period
Present to 3,500 BC Dramatic reduction in sedimentation and human usage. Entrance to cave nearly closed.
1,100 BCE Volcanic ash layer from Mono Craters eruption. 3,500 to 3,600 BCE Midden indicates second episode of intensive human usage. 3,600 to 3,700 BCE Accelerated siltation indicates period of greatly increased
precipitation 3,700 to 3,800 BCE Midden layer caused by intensive human use of the cave. 4,000 to 10,000 BCE Dramatic change in deposits -‐ windblown silts from dry
lakebed washed in from hillside. 6,900 BCE Mount Mazama erupts, creating Crater Lake in Oregon and
leaving a distinct layer of volcanic ash in the cave. 6,500 to 7,500 BCE Transition from mesic flora and fauna to present
composition of desert species. This indicates change from a moderately moist to a much drier climate.
7,500 to 10,000 BCE Cave still moist inside from marsh environment and receding lake.
10,000 to 21,000 BCE Cave alternately submerged beneath and exposed above fluctuating Lake Lahontan.
21,000 BCE Completion of cave formation by wave action from Ice Age (Pleistocene) Lake Lahontan.
1. 8,000 to 12,000 years ago; 2. 800 to 1,500 years ago; 3. 5,000 years ago (internet research); 4. Projectile point 8,000 to 12,000 years ago.
ATTACHMENT 4:
Activity Four: Archaeological Review and Assessment
Students will use the review sheet to better understand the archaeological concepts in the activities and then the assessment will be used to measure students’ understanding of the archaeological concepts.
Archaeology Review Sheet
Student Name: ____________________________
Archaeology – a method of study past cultures and the artifacts of those cultures.
Artifact – any object made or used by humans.
Archaeological sites – A place where human activity occurred and material remains were left.
What can we learn from the Past? We can learn how people lived in the past and how and why things have changed.
Anthropology – the study of human behavior.
Culture – The way members of a group think, believe, and live; the tools they use and the way they do things.
Name 4 basic needs of all people:
1. Food and Water 2. Clothing and Shelter 3. Family and Community 4. Religion and Education
Explain how the basic needs are met today, and were met by settlers, and Native Americans:
Today Settlers Native Americans Food Buy at grocer store Grow food, and
hunt Hunt and gather food
Water Faucet or buy in a bottle Wells or spring water
Spring and river
Shelter Buy or rent house or apartment
Built Built
Clothing Buy Made Made Education Public or Private Homeschool or
One Room Parents Grandparents
Hypothesis – a supported explanation
Inference – a Belief based on what you have seen.
Observation – What you have actually seen.
Student Name: ___________________________________ Date: _____________________
Archaeology Test:
1. Archaeology _____ A. What you have actually seen.
2. Artifact _____ B. A supported Explanation
3. Archeological Site _____ C. The way the members of a group think, believe, and live; the tools they use and the way they do things.
4. Anthropology _____ D. Any object made or used by humans
5. Culture _____ E. Information
6. Hypothesis _____ F. The Connection or relationship that objects have to one another.
7. Inference _____ G. The layering of deposits in an archaeological site. The layer on the bottom is the oldest, and the layer on the top is the youngest or newest.
8. Observation _____ H. A visual representation of events in chronological order.
9. Context ______ I. A method of studying past cultures and the artifacts of those cultures.
10. Data _____ J. A place where human activity occurred and material remains were left.
11. Stratigraphy ______ K. The study of human behavior.
12. Timeline ______ L. A belief based on what you have seen.
13. What can we learn from the past?
14. Name 4 basic needs of all people:
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
15. Choose one of the BASIC NEEDS and compare how those needs were met by:
Basic Needs Us Today Settlers American Indians
16. Indicate whether the statement is an (I) Inference or (O) observation
A: _________ There is a representation of a face on one side of the coin.
B: _________ The coin tells us that these people were deeply religious
17. Name five objects that would be part of a “classroom” context.
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
18. Name five objects that would be part of a “janitorial closet” context.
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. _________________________
Archaeology Test Answer Key
Match the Definition:
1. I 2. D 3. J 4. K 5. C 6. B 7. L 8. A 9. F 10. E 11. G 12. H 13. We can learn how people lived in the past and how and why things have changed. 14. A. Food and water; B. Clothing and Shelter; C. Family and Community; D. Education and
Religion 15. Basic Needs: Food and Water; Us Today: We purchase at the store; Settlers: Grew
Crops, raised animals, water from wells; Native Americans: Hunted, fished, gathered plants
16. A. Observation; B. Inference 17. Pencil, book, eraser, desk, hall pass 18. Mop, broom, vacuum, dust pan, bucket
ATTACHMENT 5:
Additional Materials
Aboriginal Lands of the United States of America: (Archaeologist, David Hurst Thomas).
Where did these people originate? How were their civilizations formed? Nobody knows for sure when this happened, or exactly where. Nobody knows for sure what these first Americans—often called Paleo-‐Indians-‐-‐-‐wore, spoke, or thought. We do not know when they left their ancient homelands, what conditions they experienced along the way, or even why people first came to America.
But whenever and however, come they did. Without doubt, the first Americans arrived as fully developed, modern human beings. They were most definitely not “primordial” or “primitive, “ not stooped and shambling, and had no heavily ridged brows. They walked upright and looked much the way American Indians look today. They brought with them an Ice Age patrimony, including many basic human skills: fire making, flint knapping, and effective ways to feed, shelter and clothe themselves. As early immigrants, they lived in close-‐knit groups, enjoyed social interactions, and shared beliefs about magic and the supernatural. They spoke a fully human language. As they dispersed throughout the Western Hemisphere, they lived in diverse and sometimes unstable environments. But they continued to feed their families and to safeguard their homeland. Over the generations, distinctive languages and cultures evolved, each adapted to its individual environments.
From their arrival a thousand generations ago to the time of Columbus—a scant twenty-‐five generations ago—Native Americans domesticated dozens of kinds of plant foods. They charted their farming cycles through complicated cosmologies involving solar calendars, astronomical observatories, prayerful rites, and celebrations. Indian people learned to use wild plants for healing, strengthening, and restoring health. Native American architecture matched anything Columbus had seen in his travels.
The native people of America modified their traditions and ideas to suit changing conditions. They crafted efficient, down-‐to-‐earth solutions to the unforeseeable. Their struggle for survival-‐-‐-‐the countless individual agreements and compromises, solutions and inventions-‐-‐-‐gave rise to the thousands of American Indian traditions and beliefs that so amazed the European explorers.
Hidden Cave, Churchill County Nevada Hidden Cave Tours
The Churchill County Museum, Carson City District and the Bureau of Land Management welcome you to a tour of Hidden Cave. "Hidden Cave" was named because of the difficulty in finding its small opening.
Hidden Cave Tours are offered to the public on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. The Churchill County Museum opens at 9am on these Saturdays, and the tour starts here where you can enjoy the Hidden Cave display at the museum. Meet the BLM guide at the museum at 9:30am, and watch a short video on the history of Hidden Cave. At 10am, caravan out to the cave site for your tour. No reservations are needed, and the tour is FREE!
Dress appropriately for the weather, and wear sturdy walking shoes. The trip up the hill is about 1/4 mile, and the trail is not handicapped accessible. This tour is not suitable for young children because of its length and the climb up the hill. There are restrooms and picnic sites available at Grimes Point, 1.5 miles from the cave area parking lot.
Special tours of twelve or more people may be arranged by contacting the museum at 775-‐423-‐3677.
There is a charge of $1 per person (or a minimum of $20) for special tours.
