Antiquity: Staging an Archaeological Dig

Peter Bjornson, Governor General's Award Recipient (2003)

INTENDED AGE / SUBJECT

Grade 11 (Senior 3) History, Social Studies

CONCEPTS

The role of antiquity in understanding history; the processes involved in an archaeological dig; reconstructing history and the challenges of historic inquiry.

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES

Students will:

• understand the basic concepts of archaeology
• apply a number of those basic concepts to field research and discovery
• recognize the challenges of constructing an image of the people, time and place
• develop historic inquiry
• recognize the importance of antiquity as a key to our past
• recognize the relevance of antiquity to understanding contemporary First Nations issues
• understand the dynamics of group organization, cooperation and outcomes
• explore Manitoba and Canadian pre-contact history

TEACHER PREPARATION

Consult the nearest university,museum or archeological society for resources and or a resource person(s). There are number of “How-To” publications to understand the archaeological dig process.

The Gimli High School (GHS) dig lucked into a partnership with Archeventures, a couple of archeologists who do classes for all levels of learners. These archeologists provided the replicas, helped stage the site, conducted a lesson in Manitoba pre-contact history and in the archaeological dig process, as well as supervised the dig.

The cost for their assistance over three days was a bargain at $375. Archeventures also worked with a Grade 5/6 split class and conducted a workshop identifying artifacts and creating “cave art” storytelling cloths. As such, splitting the costs for the day between these two classes saved funds.

SITE PREPARATION

In a site no less than half an acre, dig five square holes, 18-30 cm deep by 1 m, in a grid pattern. Cut away large roots where necessary and proceed to stock each hole with an identifying characteristic. For example, a large quantity of bones would reflect a primary kill site. This would indicate the site might have been chosen because of the access to big game. A second site should include a hearth with pottery shards, bones, and perhaps some tools. The third, fourth and fifth site should reflect a work station, a dwelling, and a waste site. These sites may be determined more by the available artifacts than by your desired campsite.

Each grid should not necessarily be stocked to the same degree; to do so would thwart the legitimacy of the process. Large quantities of bones at a primary kill site for one grid is quite an exciting find for a group whereas a point, a scraper, a knife and a few small bones will require a more tedious approach, a lot more patience, and a group very committed to the process. Both experiences, however, are part and parcel of archaeology.

ACTIVITIES

Part One –
Provide the necessary background information on pre-contact history-the overview of the Beringia Land Bridge Theory through to a regionally specific pre-contact history. In the case of the GHS dig, we looked at the black duck rainy river era, approximately 1500 BC.

Part Two –
With a rudimentary understanding of pre-contact history students are taught the basic techniques of the archeological dig:

• Excavating in increments of five centimetres per quadrant;
• Marking and photographing each incremental layer;
• Recording the depth of the artifacts as uncovered and the distance from the northeast peg which marks the quadrant;
• Filling out the field reports including soil profiles, and mapping the quadrant for the location of artifacts;
• Recording field observations and other variables that might impact the integrity of the site;
• Reconstructing the campsite, creating a picture or overhead view of what the campsite may have looked like.

Part Three –
Once the dig and lab are complete, the students organize the materials and create a display known as a "Story Box" – refer to Appendix A – to provide a means to present the information to the school or community at large. The story box will be taken to the Grade 5/6 class as a follow up to their participation and subsequently used in presentations to organizations that have provided funding in the past, and future sponsors. An agreement has been made for the story box to be on display in the local museum, the divisional board office and likely in the municipal offices.

EVALUATION

Students are assessed on their field journals (their detail and completion thereof) and a test question regarding the archeological process [example: “Give a detailed account of the science of archeology in terms of the recording process, the digging methods, and sight inventories and assessment.”] The test results for this activity were that 22 out of 24 students scored 10/10. The remaining two students scored 8/10. The hands-on experience was indeed very meaningful and one the students will not forget.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS

The GHS dig used a number of replica plaster artifacts: points, a knife, a scraper, flakes, intrusive points, and pottery. The number of items isn't necessarily as important as the variety of items as the student will be excavating areas where they can determine the type of activity found in their particular section of the camp. The materials should try to reflect whether the camp was a temporary camp, how many people may have been at the camp, whether it was seasonal, etc. Local archaeological societies can assist in finding the people who produce replicas. These replicas range in price from $2 – $15. Manitoba Conservation (formerly Natural Resources) was contacted eight months prior to the dig to collect road-kill skeletal remains that would be most appropriate for the dig site. Big game is preferred and, as luck would have it, a moose had been killed in a provincial park in our jurisdiction. Conservation gave us both moose and deer bones for the dig.

As our tools Archeventures provided the necessary work packs. Each backpack contained a dust pan, a towel, a pick, 2 to 4 inch paint brush, plastic bags, lunch bags, and a toothbrush. They also provided two sifters.

Additional materials included: a canopy and large round banquet table for a field lab, folding chairs for all participants, four wooden stakes for each dig grid, four wooden stakes for reference points, yellow string to mark and measure each quadrant, a four litre bucket for each student, and vinyl tarps to cover the site leading up to the dig, or during the dig if raining.

ADMINISTATIVE CONSIDERATIONS

The total cost of the archeological dig was in excess of $750.00 not including the monetary and valuein- kind donations. The total cost, without donations would have been in excess of $1200. The funding for this activity was entirely through grants and sponsorship from local businesses. Check local museums and community service clubs for funding assistance.

Ideally lunch can be provided through local restaurants. The GHS dig received six cases of drinks donated by Pepsi; three dozen donuts and three dozen cookies donated by Gimli IGA; chicken, ribs and salad donated by Seagull's Restaurant; and chicken and subs donated by Gimli Junction/Chester Chicken. Having the lunch on-site and catered eliminates the need for refrigeration for student bagged lunches. If local restaurants don't donate foods, you could order in and charge the students accordingly.

Preparation of the site is very intensive. The GHS dig had the benefit of access to a backhoe at no cost and volunteer (family) labor to cover the quadrants after the artifacts had been seeded. Local municipal public works may provide this service as it is good public relations and the cost is negligible for them. Be prepared to invest 15-20 hours for the exercise. It's a long preparation period, but worth every hour.

About the Educator

Peter Bjornson uses cross-curricular projects and community partnerships to get his students thinking “out of the books.” His classes take ownership of local heritage, learning the importance of history as they explore national and global connections to their own local stories. Heritage Mural has students delve into local Icelandic and Ukrainian heritage. For the Pageant Wagon project students create heritage dioramas. In Staging an Archaeological Dig professionals are invited to teach their craft to the students who in turn conduct their own dig and create a Story Box with their findings.

APPENDIX A - Story Box

The Precis
The Story Box project is an effort to preserve the histories of the small communities in the Interlake area. These communities were, at one time, the centre of commerce for agriculture (with a store or post office at the very least), a station or stop for the rail lines, or the social hub of the surrounding agricultural area (often with a community hall). Several of these hamlets have come and gone with little more than a marker and personal memories to commemorate their existence. The Story Box project will combine the memories of people who were born in these communities, raised their families in these communities, worked the farms or for the railroad, ran the stores and danced in the dance halls. The intent is to interview people who still live in the area, collect pictures from the residents or past residents, and where possible, collect artifacts to be displayed in the Story Box container.

The Box
The Story Box will be a wood cabinet, 24 inches wide by 18 inches deep and 36 inches high. The bottom 8 inches will be a drawer which will contain binders of photographs, posters from community events, minutes from meetings, personal interviews, letters, business receipts and other such artifacts, or the cassette/video tapes of the interviews. The top of the cabinet will be enclosed in plexiglass and contain photos and/or artifacts.

The Contents
Once the communities have been selected the group roles will be divided up as follows:
Interviewers: Ten members of the group will be required to arrange an interview with area residents to create an oral history of the community. The interviewers will also be required to request photos, artifacts, and/or memorabilia which we will duplicate and return to the donors. When allowed to do so, the interviewers will be required to take a photograph of the person being interviewed.
Researchers: Ten members of the group will be required to research the history of the area, contacting the Provincial Archives for photos and maps of the region, exploring local history books, exploring the local newspapers archives, etc.
Project Captains: The Project Captains will oversee the interviews, research and collected artifacts. They will coordinate the final design and layout of the Store Box. They will oversee the organization of all materials and provide a summary of the contents of the Story Box. Project Captains will be involved in the interview and research process.

EVALUATION

Standard group project evaluation applies. Each interview and research contribution will account for 20 marks; each interviewer and researcher will be required to include two submissions. The parameters of each will be discussed in individual handouts as per interview and research guidelines. The Project Captains will be assessed on a Project Log for tracking their activities overseeing the groups.

Group Mark / 60
Individual Mark / 20 5