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• National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teachers – participant projects (2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2007)
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Lesson Plans
• Mathematics Activities Related to Archaeology

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teachers – Participant Projects (2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2007)

(Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the projects do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.)

The following projects were created by teachers participating in National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teachers held in 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2007.

A PDF or PowerPoint version of the project can be found by clicking on the project title.

PowerPoint Presentations

The following PowerPoint presentations were created by teachers participating in an ESEA Title II grant-funded project for use in the teachers’ classrooms. They reflect the individual’s experience at a particular site and are not intended to accurately reflect what happens on all archaeological investigations around the country or world.

• The Process of Archaeology (898 KB file size)
• Archeology: The Search for Who We Were and How We Became Who We Are (3,222 KB file size)
• Archaeology Scrapbook (4,530 KB file size)
• Archaeology for Teachers – Field School 2005 (3,530 KB file size)
• Archaeology 2005 (1,075 KB file size)
• The Process of Archaeology (2,704 KB file size)
• At the Archaeology Lab (511 KB file size)
• Archaeology: Excavation Tools (8,247 KB file size)
• The Process of Archaeology (2,356 KB file size)
• Archaeology Scrapbook (10,726 KB file size)

Lesson Plans

The following lessons were created by teachers participating in Eisenhower Professional Development Project and ESEA Title II grants.

A PDF version of the lesson can be found by clicking on the Lesson Title.

Mathematics Activities Related to Archaeology

Following are pdf versions of several activities that employ mathematical concepts and skills to solve archaeological questions.

• Mound Math
• Peopling the New World – An Archaeological Exercise in Excel
• Functions and Graphs – Pattern Detection #1
• Functions and Graphs – Pattern Detection #2

Archaeology is the science that seeks to learn about past humans and their culture from the material remains that were left behind. Archaeology is not “treasure hunting,” and involves much more than just finding and digging up those material remains or artifacts. Archaeologists try to tease out as much information as possible about the past from a small sample of sometimes poorly preserved or fragmentary material objects. Modern archaeologists may spend three or more times longer in the lab than they do in the field-trying to discover the meaning behind the artifacts they have found. Visit The Process of Archaeology web site and learn about the whole process of archaeology, from the initial research and logistics to the final analyses and interpretations that bring the past to life.  The information in The Process of Archaeology web site provides background information to support the mathematics activities above.

The Math/Archaeology Activities and The Process of Archaeology web information were created as part of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Mathematics and Science Program Partnership Grants.