Hello...
My name is Larry Bradley and I am an archaeologist in the
Department of Anthropology at the University of South Dakota.
Most people think of Indiana Jones when you mention archaeologists,
but few archaeologists have that much fun or excitement! This does
not mean that archaeology cannot be fun or exciting.
Archaeology is not treasure hunting nor is it seeking out lost civilizations. Instead it is the study of the past by people who have been trained in many fields. My own training includes the usual areas that archaeologists study such as anthropology and geology, but also includes computers, zooarchaeology (the study of animal bones from archaeological sites) and other specialized fields that help to learn more about the past.
We will complete two projects for your expert role activity in the classroom. The first of these is an exercise in identifying the uses of artifacts and animal bones. We will divide things from a site into groups and see what we can say about each groups. Can they tell us anything about how the tools and bones might have been used? Classification (or grouping things together) is one way an archaeologist analyzes materials from a site. You follow a link to see how some archaeologsits classify stone or lithic tools. They classify pottery in similar ways. You won't have time to look at all the pottery links, but this will give you some ideas.
The second project will be a map exercise. Topographic Maps show the hills, valleys and rivers of an area as well as where houses and other buildings are. We will take a topographic map of Vermillion and use it to make a 3D model of the bluff, the Vermillion river and several archaeological sites in the area. This will help you to learn how to read topo maps.
Keep in mind that these exercises involve a certain amount of work, but we hope that they are fun too.
When you are done with this page, please go the a page that tells about Saving the Past for the Future.