Hands-on history: Middle School students explore the past in archaeology unit

Arthur Anderson, Ph.D., an associate teaching professor of archaeology from the University of New England, recently visited Waynflete to help grade 6 history students kick off their mock archaeological dig. Student groups were given a bin of soil (or layers of sand and dirt) filled with artifacts from a specific time and place. Using the layers (stratigraphy) and other clues, students determined the era and origin of their artifacts. They used their collected data and recorded observations to present their findings. The goal of this unit was to show students how artifacts help tell a story and can give us valuable insight into how people lived in the past.