ARCHAEOLOGY JOURNALS
ARCHAEOLOGY (sometimes spelled "ARCHEOLOGY") is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology involves surveying, excavation, and analysis of data collected, to learn more about the human past.
The year is 1939, and you are a young archaeologist who works for Charter University and The Tubach Museum. Your job is to travel the world and help protect human sites and artifacts before they are destroyed, or fall into the wrong hands! Before traveling, you'll need to conduct careful research, and collaborate with other archaeologists in order to prepare for your archaeological adventure.
Once your feet are on the ground, you will start an archaeology journal, with first-person narrative and several diagrams.
THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING ABOUT THE PAST
BEFORE COLUMBUS
THE AMERICANS OF 1491
In this beautifully illustrated and concise adaptation of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (Vintage, 2006), Charles Mann paints a superb picture of pre-Columbian America for middle school students. In the process, he overturns the misconceived image of Natives as simple, widely scattered savages with minimal impact on their surroundings. Well-chosen, vividly colored graphics and photographs of mummies, pyramids, artifacts, and landscapes as well as the author's skillful storytelling will command the attention of even the most reluctant readers. Eye-catching sidebars and oversize chapter headings seem to pop from the pages. Mann constructs the narrative around three crucial questions that continue to confound historians today: Was the New World really new? Why were the Europeans successful? What ecological impact did Natives have on their surroundings? From the pre-Columbian genetic engineering of maize to the existence of pyramids older than the Egyptian variety, Mann's lucid answers to these questions represent current scholarly opinion and point the way toward future exploration and discovery. Students and teachers will benefit greatly from this engaging exploration of America's most overlooked and misunderstood historical periods.
COLUMBIA EXCHANGE
UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY
Students will work in teams to uncover Mayan ruins deep within a cenote and underground river. What do the artifacts tell us?