Topic: Archaeology
Lesson Plan: How to Think Like an Archaeologist (Elementary, Middle and High School)
Students will practice identifying and interpreting material culture (artifacts and other human-made objects).
“In Small Things Forgotten”
Over many years, different teams of archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of thousands of
artifacts from tiny sherds to entire objects. (The discovery of an intact object is by far, the
exception rather than the rule!) The artifacts shown here represent a minuscule but
representative sample of the entire collection.
Read more about "In Small Things Forgotten."
An Artifact That Changed Everything
The discovery of an unusual crystal revealed an African American story hiding in plain sight in the
collection. Our entire worldview of Carroll’s Hundred was refocused in that instant.
Read more about A Startling Discovery.
The Orangery Dig
In 1998, archaeologists completed the excavation of the Carrolls’ “orangery”, a building used to cultivate not only oranges, but also other plants. Their findings will be studied to learn about work that took place outside of the iron furnace, as well as the kind of plants and food that the Carrolls and their workers grew and used.