Archeological Resources for Educators

Books

Supplemental Resources

Internet Connections

Archeology Trunk

Resources Basics

Archeologists and educators are realizing that the study of archeology has great potential for motivating young people, instructing them in a wide variety of skills, and inspiring in them an appreciation for the importance of preserving our nonrenewable cultural heritage. Fortunately, an increasing number of good materials are being produced for teachers who want to incorporate archeology into multidisciplinary studies.

This is the beginning of a list that the Public Archeologist is compiling. At present it includes a small selection of learning guides and supplementary resources that have been examined first-hand. Most of the works cited contain references to numerous additional sources. While some of the entries deal with archeological sites in other parts of the United States and the world, with a little effort and creativity, many of the suggested activities can be adapted to local situations.

If you have used materials that were helpful in your classroom or group, please share this information with the Public Archeologist (Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6^th Ave., Topeka, KS 66615-1099, 785-272-8681 ext. 268; vwulfkuhle@kshs.org. Be sure to include contacts for obtaining the materials and, if possible, brief comments about them. As your contributions are added to the list, more comprehensive updates can be distributed.

Books

Boy Scouts of America

1997 Archaeology. Merit Badge Series. Boy Scouts of America, Irving, Texas.

Audience: Grades 6 - 12

Available from: Boy Scouts of America, Supply Division, Direct Mail Center, P.O. Box 909, Pineville, NC 28134-0909; 800-323-0732; ISBN 0-8395-5000-6; $3

Description: Although intended as an aid to Boy Scouts in meeting merit badge requirements, this 92-page pamphlet is of general interest. Chapters are: Who Are Archaeologists?, Archaeology and Responsibility, The Development of Archaeology, How Archaeology Happens, Going on a Dig, Careers in Archaeology, Archaeology in the Future, and Archaeology Resources.

Bureau of Land Management

1994 Intrigue of the Past: Discovering Archaeology in Arizona. Bureau of Land Management, US Department of the Interior, Dolores, Colorado.

Audience: Grades 4 - 7

Available from: The Imagination Team, BLM Heritage Education Program, PO Box 758, Dolores, CO 81323; 303-882-4811; price varies

Description: This is a part of the BLM's Project Archaeology program, along with Intrigue of the Past: A Teacher's Activity Guide. The book contains student materials and state-specific information. The eight lessons are broad-based and interdisciplinary and can be used to supplement other curricula or as separate curricular units. Kansas is mentioned in Unit 7, "When Coronado Hit the Trail."

 

Coan, Julie
1999 Digging into Archaeology. Hands-On - Minds-on Unit Study. Critical Thinking Books & Software, Pacific Grove, California.

Audience: Elementary through secondary school teachers

Description: This book provides activities that help students develop critical thinking skills of synthesizing, analyzing, evaluating, hypothesizing, application, and deductive and inductive reasoning. The five concept-oriented units are The Archaeological Record, Interpreting the Artifacts, A Look at Culture, What is a Civilization?, and Archaeological Dating Methods. Extension activities are included.

David, Nicholas, and Jonathan Driver

1982 The Archaeology Workbook. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.

ISBN 0-8122-1125-1

1989 The Next Archaeology Workbook. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.

ISBN 0-8122-1293-2

Audience: Adult

Available from: University of Pennsylvania Press, PO Box 4836, Hampden Station, Baltimore, MD 21211; 800-445-9880; $19.95 each

Description: These books are designed for students with a basic knowledge of archeological theory and method. Both volumes present exercises that challenge students to deal with fictitious scenarios and data sets that are sometimes scanty, poorly reported, and misinterpreted. Problems are set in North and South America, the Near East, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. Diverse topics include culture history, trade and warfare, stratigraphy, ritual behavior, site formation processes, paleoenvironments, the origins of agriculture, research design, ethnoarchaeology, and the ethics of archeological research.

Graves, Ginny, Dean W. Graves, Karen Dell Schauber, and Punky Beasley

1992 Walk Around the Block . . . using our communities in the present to learn about the past and plan for the future. Center for Understanding the Built Environment (CUBE), Prairie Village, Kansas.

Audience: Teachers of grades 3 - 7; adaptable for all ages

Available from: CUBE, 5328 W. 67^th St., Prairie Village, KS 66208; 913-262-0691; ISBN 0-9632033-0-4; $35

Description: This self-discovery curriculum and program for students and teachers is not archeological in focus, but it teaches related skills. Students utilize their homes, school neighborhoods, and their communities to learn local history, map-making, architecture, and land use.

Laubenstein, Karen J.

1997 Archaeology Smart Junior: Discovering History's Buried Treasure. Princeton Review Publishing, Random House, New York.

Audience: Grades 6 - 8

Available from: Random House, Inc., 201 E. 50^th St., New York, NY 10022; 800-733-3000; ISBN 0-679-77537-4; $10

Description: This entertaining learning guide for kids presents its subject through the mystery-solving adventures of three children and a talking cat. In a quest to return stolen artifacts to their proper places, the characters travel to the American Southwest, Africa, and Europe. Story episodes are alternated with quizzes, activities, and experiments to keep readers challenged and involved. A glossary and bibliography are included.

McNutt, Nan

1992 Project Archeology: Saving Traditions. Archeology for the Classroom. Sopris West, Inc., Longmont, Colorado.

Audience: Intermediate (middle school and gifted elementary school) teachers

Available from: Sopris West, Inc., 1140 Boston Ave., Longmont, CO 80501; 303-651-2829; ISBN 0-944584-56-X; $30

Description: This curriculum kit includes a Teacher's Guide, three student Field Notebooks (The Artifact, The Site, The Culture), a game (Archeology: Can You Dig It?), and a filmstrip/cassette tape presentation. The project combines the disciplines of social studies, science, mathematics, and language arts. Special emphasis is given to the development of high level thinking skills through problem-solving and questioning activities. A suggested field project involves conducting an inventory of a historic site without excavation.

Moyar, Joanna T.

1993 Archaeologists at Work: A Teacher's Guide to Classroom Archaeology. Alexandria Archaeology Publications No. 48. Alexandria Archaeology, Office of Historic Alexandria, City of Alexandria, Virginia.

Audience: Elementary and secondary teachers

Available from: Alexandria Archaeology, 105 N. Union St., #327, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703-838-4399

Description: The goal of this guide is to promote in young people a sense of appreciation for the heritage that shaped a multicultural community and of stewardship for the urban landscape and physical environment. Presented in loose-leaf notebook form, sections cover the steps of archeology: archival research, field and laboratory techniques, analysis and interpretation, and archeological issues of ethics, law, and safety.

Rhoades, Roxanne

1991 Diaries in the Dirt: Archeology and the Plains Village People. Oklahoma Museums Association, Oklahoma City.

Audience: Teachers of grades 4 - 6

Available from: Oklahoma Museums Association, Kirkpatrick Center, 2100 NE 52^nd St., Oklahoma City, OK 73111; 405-424-7757; $37.50

Description: This educational program, packaged in loose-leaf notebook format, is an overview of the prehistory of the south-central region of the United States and an introduction to archeological concepts and methods. Examples are drawn from Paleoindian, Plains Village, and historic Wichita cultures. Activities include trash can archeology, using logic, Oklahoma excavation game, and Wichita naming traditions.

Schermer, Shirley J.

1992 Discovering Archaeology: An Activity Guide for Educators. Special Publication. Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City.

Audience: Teachers of grades 5 - 8

Available from: Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, 700 Clinton St. Bldg., Iowa City, IA 55242; 319-384-0732; ISBN 0-87414-087-0; $6.95

Description: This 54-page book contains 10 activities, involving artifact identification, pottery making, and use of natural resources. Several simulated field activities are incorporated, balanced by a section on archeological ethics and law. There is a general section on the definition of archeology, a glossary, and reference list. Appendices give information about the culture history and specific sites and museums in Iowa.

Selig, Ruth Osterweis, and Marilyn R. London, Editors

1998 Anthropology Explored: The Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Audience: Upper level high school, community college, university undergraduate students.

Available from: Smithsonian Institution Press, PO Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172; 800-782-4612;

ISBN 1-56098-790-1; $17.95.

Description: The 29 clearly written essays in this introductory text/reader in anthropology are organized into three sections: primatology and human evolution, archeology, and cultural anthropology. Ten articles focus on how and why archeologists study the past, what can be learned through such study, and why it is relevant to the contemporary world. The cartoon-illustrated book introduces the major concepts and ideas in anthropology and includes chapter updates that illuminate the process of research and discovery in the field. The publication has received good reviews in both American Anthropologist and American Antiquity.

Smith, Shelley J., Jeanne M. Moe, Kelly A. Letts, and Danielle M. Paterson

1993 Intrigue of the Past: A Teacher's Activity Guide for Fourth through Seventh Grades. Utah Interagency Task Force on Cultural Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Audience: Teachers of grades 4 - 7

Available from: Cultural Heritage Education Program, Bureau of Land Management, Anasazi Heritage Center, PO Box 758, Dolores, CO 81323; 303-882-4811

Description: This 146-page curriculum includes sections on archeological theory, methods, and ethics. Activities are associated with each lesson and contain material and vocabulary lists, background information for the teacher, evaluation exercises, and ways to extend the lesson. The guide also suggests ways to integrate archeology into social studies, science, languages, mathematics, and art.

Society for American Archaeology, Public Education Committee

1995 Teaching Archaeology: A Sampler for Grades 3 to 12. Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC

Audience: Teachers of grades 3 - 12

Available from: Society for American Archaeology, 900 Second St., NE, Ste. 12, Washington, DC 2002-3557; 202-789-8200; free

Description: This 24-page workbook describes the benefits of using archeology in instruction and offers four broad-based, teacher-tested lesson plans on scientific methods, local culture history, archeology as a multidisciplinary science, and conservation.

Wheat, Pam, and Brenda Whorton

1990 Clues from the Past: A Resource Book on Archeology. Texas Archeological Society and Hendrick-Long Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas.

Audience: Teachers of grades 3 - 8 and above

Available from: Hendrick-Long Publishing Company, PO Box 25123, Dallas, TX 75225-1123; 800-544-3770;

ISBN 0-937460-65-6; $17.95

Description: This 196-page book discusses the basic principles of archeology while delivering a constantly strong preservation message. It provides information about teaching archeology as history and science and presents lesson plans about early cultures with activities that parallel the processes used by archeologists. A large section surveys the cultural time periods, artifacts, and archeological sites in the seven regions of Texas. Resource lists for juvenile fiction, magazines, articles, teaching units, exhibits, and audiovisual materials are included.

White, John R.

1998 Hands-On Archaeology: Explore the Mysteries of History through Science. Prufrock Press, Waco, Texas.

Audience: Elementary through secondary school teachers

Available from: Prufrock Press, PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76710; 817-756-3337; ISBN 1-882664-34-5; $21.95

Description: This 200-page book is intended as a how-to for teaching archeology, both as a simulated activity in the classroom and as field archeology in an empty lot in the community. Although the author includes admonitions about consulting with professional archeologists and avoiding disturbance of actual archeological sites, the excavation parts of this guide must be used with extreme caution. However, the pre- and post-excavation chapters offer a wealth of information and exercises: assembling a tool kit, keeping a journal, practicing the scientific method, conducting map and other documents research, maintaining field records, photographing, artifact processing, producing a site report, and preparing a museum display. Forty-three activities are suggested with reproducible activity pages, work sheets, and handouts.

Willits, Ramona J.

1997 A Place to Call Home. Archeology Popular Report No. 3. Archeology Office, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.

Audience: Middle school teachers; easily adaptable up or down

Available from: Cultural Resources Division, Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6^th Ave., Topeka, KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681 ext. 255; kshs.org/resource/archepubs.htm#reports

Description: This 241-page, loose-leaf anthropological curriculum was created over four years, each unit serving as a companion study guide to a poster promoting Kansas Archeology Week. A Place to Call Home introduces cultural building traditions within an environmental context. Concepts and activities are presented by featuring different styles of Kansas farmhouses -- the grass houses of the Great Bend aspect and Wichita, the earthlodges of the Central Plains tradition and Pawnee, and the American farmhouses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The chapters are arranged as five-day teaching units with student worksheets; glossary and resources sections follow. Materials are designed to strengthen the connections between prehistoric and historic cultures and modern Kansas life, emphasizing stewardship of cultural resources and respect for diversity.

Wolf, Dennie Palmer, Dana Balick, Julie Craven, Editors

1997 Digging Deep: Teaching Social Studies through the Study of Archaeology. Heinemann, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Audience: Middle school teachers

Available from: Reed Elsevier, Inc., 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH 03801-3912; 603-431-7894; ISBN 0-435-07218-8; $19.50

Description: This third volume in the Moving Middle Schools series has contributions from a network of teachers who transformed their social studies courses by incorporating the questions and tools of archeology. Their approaches for turning information into evidence not only helped students explore data and make inferences but also aroused curiosity about new cultures. For example, one unit was based on a study of Mayan civilization and contemporary Central America, and another combined a computer simulation of an excavation in Greece with intensive investigation of Greek writers, philosophers, and scientists.

Supplemental Resources

The Archaeological Conservancy began publishing American Archaeology (ISSN 1093-8400) in 1997. This popular magazine presents new archeological discoveries, research, and activities and raises public awareness concerning the destruction of America's cultural heritage. The quarterly magazine is a benefit of Conservancy membership.

Archaeological Institute of America publishes many items written for non-specialists, including Archaeology magazine (ISSN 0003-8113), AIA Newsletter, Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin, and Archaeology on Film (1995 by Downs, Allen, Meister, and Lazio; ISBN 0-8493-9016-5). AIA also sells many archeological books and project kits for use in several grades. Of particular interest is Archaeology in the Classroom: A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents (1995 by O'Brien and Cullen; ISBN 0-7872-1875-8), which contains information about books, magazines, curriculum and resource packets, films, videos, kits of simulated artifacts, computer programs, and games.

Dig (ISSN 1524-4458) is AIA's colorful bi-monthly magazine for kids. The first issue in April/May 1999 declared, "Archaeology is history, mystery, adventure, and fun." This magazine also includes paleontology (dinosaurs). The editors publish a Parents' Guide that is included with six issues of the magazine for $23.95.

The National Geographic Society is a source of information about North American Indians. In addition to its well-known magazine (ISSN 0027-9358), the Society produces films, publications, and the map "Indians of North America." The 1996 booklet by George E. Stuart and Francis P. McManamon, Archaeology and You, was a joint project with the US Department of the Interior and the Society for American Archaeology. Written for the general public, it describes the what, how, and why of archeology and how both professionals and non-professionals can participate and work to preserve the archeological record.

The Public Education Committee (PEC) of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) exists to promote awareness about and concern for the study of past cultures and to engage people in the preservation and protection of heritage resources. Publications aim to aid educators, interpreters, archeologists, and others who teach the public about the value of archeological research and resources. Two short but helpful items are Guidelines for the Evaluation of Archaeology Education Materials (1995) and Classroom Sources for Archaeology Education: A Resource Guide. From 1990 through 1998 Archaeology and Public Education was published three or four times each year. It shared information, resources, activities, and lesson plans for elementary and secondary school teachers. A victim of its own popularity, the bulletin will no longer appear in printed form, but previous issues will be available on the SAA web site at http://www.saa.org. The monographs will be sold individually.

For more information about the SAA PEC:

Although the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History does not prepare curriculum units, it does have free information, including leaflets, bibliographies, and a newsletter, about North American Indians suitable for elementary and secondary school levels. The publication, AnthroNotes: National Museum of Natural History Bulletin for Teachers, aims to help those teaching anthropology to utilize new materials, approaches, and community resources, as well as integrate anthropology into a wide variety of curriculum subjects. Each bulletin features an assortment of anthropological topics, including archeology, and contains illustrations and activities that may be reproduced and distributed for educational purposes. The bulletin is published three times a year (fall, winter, and spring) at no charge. Teachers may be added to the mailing list by writing to:

Formed in 1967, the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is the largest scholarly group concerned with the archeology of the modern world since the beginning of European exploration (A.D. 1400-present). SHA promotes scholarly research and the dissemination of knowledge concerning historical archeology. The society is specifically concerned with the identification, excavation, interpretation, and conservation of sites and materials on land and underwater. Geographically the society emphasizes the New World, but also includes European exploration and settlement in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The organization's web site provides many useful links to information about careers in historic archeology, research tools, publications, new and announcements in historical archeology, and underwater archeology.