1. Learning about the Past

2. Historians study the past…
Historian: a person who studies or writes about what happened in the past and is considered an authority
History: the study of past events

3. Archaeologists also study the past…
Anthropologist: a person who studies human beings and their culture (the way of life for a group of people)
Archaeologist: an anthropologist who specializes in searching for clues to how human beings lived in the past

4. Using written records to study the past… (more recent… we may also use audio and video recordings)
Primary sources: original documents and objects which were created by someone who witnessed the event
Secondary sources: address or analyze events, people, or topics after the fact by someone who was not there

5. Historians analyze sources and examine the accuracy and trustworthiness of sources
Bias (prejudice for or against someone or something) …
The historian must weigh the truthfulness of all accounts
The historian must take the motives of historical actors into consideration

6. Sources
classroom/primary-sources

7. Examining Prehistory
Prehistory: the period of time before written records

8. We can learn about the past without written records by analyzing evidence from the past …
Artifacts: man-made objects (including tools used for hunting, farming, cooking, craft making, house building or warfare)
Fossils: preserved remains of animal bones and plant remains
Ecofacts: evidence for the local environment and resources being used (snail shells, seeds, and butchered bones)

9. Archeological methods:
Survey
Excavation
Recording
Preservation
Sharing information

10. Survey: Searching for and finding archeological sites
Places where materials (such as artifacts, fossils, or Ecofacts) are found are called archeological sites
Surface collection, research, shovel testing, remote sensing, aerial photography, historical documents

11. Remote Sensing
Archaeologists can locate sites using remote sensing, such as ground- penetrating radar
Remote sensing – tools and techniques that allow archaeologists (and others) to probe a site without physically disturbing it
Remote sensing is non-invasive, saves time, and can cover a lot more surface area than traditional survey methods

12. Accident
Often archaeologists hear about a site from people who came across it accidently.
Farmers
Hikers
Construction crews
Pilots
49:30 – 58:00

13. Excavation: Uncovering ancient settlements
Archaeologists excavate ancient settlements to learn about the past
Excavate – remove earth carefully and systematically from (an area) in order to find buried remains.
An excavation site is often called a “dig”
Archaeologists use specialized techniques
Archaeologists use a variety of tools for excavation, depending on the nature of the excavation area
The most common digging tools are picks, shovels and trowels.
Archaeologists must be careful, many objects have been buried for hundreds of years and may be fragile

14. Excavation involves the recovery of several types of data from a site.
Fossils: preserved remains of animals and plants
Animal bones and plant remains left over from meals can tell us what people ate
Human bones found in ancient cemeteries give us information about health, including diseases and other concerns
Ecofacts: evidence for local environment and resources being used (snail shells, seeds, and butchered bones)
Artifacts: man-made objects
Archeological remains often include tools for hunting, farming, cooking, craft making, building houses or warfare

15. Recording: Artifacts are found, analyzed and interpretations are made
Archaeologists carefully record the location of each find, because the goal is to notice the relationships and connections between the objects
Artifacts uncovered during an excavation are carefully collected, cleaned, labeled, recorded, and photographed, and then taken to a lab where they are analyzed

16. Many known sites have been deliberately left unexcavated
Preservation: Archaeologists preserve the site, findings, and information learned from the site
Archaeologists find ways to preserve both the site (if possible) and the information learned from it
Many known sites have been deliberately left unexcavated
preserve them for future generations
modern communities surround the sites

17. Share: Archaeologists share the information learned from the site
Archaeologists share information through publications, presentations, museum exhibits, and the media

18. Complete the chart in your notes.
Pack!
Go to and complete the chart below as you play the game.
Pack well for the trip to your dig site.
Proper packing for traveling to a dig site is important. If you are out in the wilderness without the right tools or food, you are out of luck. You may have to abandon the dig to get more supplies.
You will choose your supplies for a fictional trip to an excavation site. Pack wisely. Your choices will tell us how good you are at outfitting your expedition.
Complete the chart in your notes.

19. Otzi the Iceman
In 1991, two German tourists found a frozen body while hiking in the Otztal Alps along the Austrian-Italian border. Tourists believed that the body was a recently deceased mountain climber. The body was buried in ice below the torso. The body was removed from the ice and transported to a medical examiner, who estimated that the body was over four and a half thousand years old. Several of the ice man’s belongings were also discovered near the body. The body of the ice man and his belongings were analyzed and interpreted. After hours of observations and testing, the body was scientifically refrozen to preserve him for future analysis and the results of observations and testing were shared.
Answer the following…
Where was the body of the ice man found?
How was the body of the ice man found?
How old did the medical examiner estimate the body was?
What allowed his body and artifacts to be preserved for so long?
Label the following steps taken by archaeologists and historians.
Survey
Excavation
Recording
Preservation
Sharing information

20. Imagine that you part of a team of archaeologists and see how many of these artifacts you can correctly identify

21. A

22. B

23. C

24. D

25. E

26. F

27. G

28. H

29. I

30. J

31. K

32. L

33. Iceman Murder Mystery