Archaeology Lab

In this social studies lab, students get to truly explore the field of archaeology!

The teacher needs to provide a number of items buried in tubs of dirt or sand. Students use toothbrushes to uncover these items. They then "think like a historian" by analyzing the purpose and symbolic meaning of the items.

Past items I have used include:

Broken ceramic animals

Halloween decoration skelletons

Picture frames with old photos

Out-dated electronics

Really anything at all can be used for this lab. I like to break or take apart the items and mix them up into different bins, so different lab groups find different parts of the same item.