Do you dig?

By: Emily Toothman

Science Indicator

4.4.8: Know and explain that artifacts and preserved remains provide some evidence of the physical characteristics and possible behavior of human beings who lived a very long time ago.

http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/StandardSearch.aspx

http://www.history.org/kids/games/dirtDetective.cfm

An interactive game for students to play

Material

SlidesBox Paint brushesPaperPencilsTrash bagArtifactsSand

Words You Need To Know

Archaeology: The scientific study of material remains (fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities

Artifacts: Something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially: an object remaining from a particular period

Society: The manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit.

Surveyance: inspection Excavation: the act of digging Analysis: examine in detail

Archaeology

Often archaeology provides the only way to learn of the existence and behaviors of people of the past.

Humans have been alive for 200,000 years and writing wasn’t always known. By finding the materials you can get a feel for what their society was like.

Archaeology involves surveyance, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected in order to learn more about the past.

Native Americans

Fun Facts

There are about 150 Native American languages in Canada and the United States, and another 600-700 languages in Central and South America.

Native American tradition says that Indians were always here. Most of the scientific evidence suggests that Indian ancestors came from Asia in prehistoric times, either by foot over a land bridge or using ancient boats. This would have happened more than 20,000 years ago, and no human culture has good records of what it was doing 20,000 years ago, so perhaps we're both right.

A division of boy scouts relies on Delaware traditions for its ceremonies. This is the order of the arrow.

Cherokees, Chickasaws, Creeks, Choctaws and Seminoles were only tribes that were willing to co-exist peacefully with their settler neighbors and take on some of their customs.

Types of artifacts Native Americans used

Utensils

Today we can only respect the high level of development in which stone, bone, clay, wood, and leather were artfully and skillfully shaped by hand and applied to satisfying the needs of their cuisine.

Stone knives and scrapers with wooden handles, bone awls and needles, freshwater mussel shell spoons ere some of their utensils.

Utensils

Clothing

In most tribes, Native American men wore breechcloths (a long rectangular piece of hide or cloth tucked over a belt, so that the flaps fell down in front and behind), sometimes with leather leggings attached in colder climates

Men did not wear shirts except for war Most Native American women wore skirts and leggings,

though the length, design, and material of the skirts varied from tribe to tribe. And in other tribes women usually wore one-piece dresses.

Nearly all Native Americans had some form of moccasin (a sturdy leather shoe) or mukluk (heavier boot).

Clothing

War shirts

Women dresses

Clothing

Moccasins Men leggings

Beadwork

Originally, Native American beads were carved from natural materials like shells, coral, turquoise and other stones, copper and silver, wood, amber, ivory, and animal bones, horns, and teeth.

Glass beads were not used until the colonists brought them from Europe 500 years ago, but like horses, they quickly became part of American Indian culture.

Today glass beads, particularly fine seed beads, are the primary materials for traditional beaders of many tribes.

Beadwork

Transportation

CanoesSledsSnow shoesBoatHorses

Transportation

Do you Dig?

Now it is time for the activity. There is a box of sand or dirt. Use the paintbrushes and find the artifacts. The artifacts you find are the artifacts of people today. Compare and contrast the artifacts of today to the ones in the slides.

Write your answers down on the pieces of papers I have given you.

After you write about them you can draw on the back what their artifact looked like.

Assessment

How do artifacts show evidence of how people

lived in the past?

Sources

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/People/Native-Americans-14167.htmlhttp://www.native-languages.org/kidfaq.htmhttp://www.journalofantiques.com/Aug02/hearthaug02.htmhttp://www.native-languages.org/clothing.htm