Biologist Expert Role

Hello. If you chose the biologist expert role, you will be one of the most important members of the team of scientists who study archaeology sites. You are the ones who help reconstruct what the ancient environment was like at the site. Excavators find all kinds of evidence of the ancient environment. Charred seeds from hearths can tell us what people ate, but can also tell us what the climate was like in the area. Some biologists can actually find pollen in sites that can tell us many things about the environment. For example, only certain kinds of plants can grow in certain climates. The seeds and pollen can tell us how the weather changed. Animal bones can give us similar information.

For your activity, you will look at many kinds of animals bones and seeds. You will get a chance to use magnifying lenses and microscopes.

For this web unit, you might want to take a look at some drawings about plants used by Native Americans for textiles or an exhibit on what the environment was like in the Midwest at about the same time the Bliss Hill site was being lived on.

When you are done here, find out preserving sites.