Archeology Merit Badge Requirements: Updated requirements as of January 1, 2009 1. Tell what archaeology is and explain how it differs from anthropology, geology, paleontology, and history. 2. Describe each of the following steps of the archaeological process: site location, site excavation, artifact identification and examination, interpretation, preservation, and information sharing. 3. Describe at least two ways in which archaeologists determine the age of sites, structures, or artifacts. Explain what relative dating is. 4. Do TWO of the following: a. Learn about three archaeological sites located outside the United States. b. Learn about three archaeological sites located within the United States. c. Visit an archaeological site and learn about it. For EACH site you research for options a, b, or c, point it out on a map and explain how it was discovered. Describe some of the information about the past that has been found at each site. Explain how the information gained from the study of these sites answers questions that archaeologists are asking and how the information may be important to modern people. Compare the relative ages of the sites you research. 5. Choose ONE of the sites you completed for Requirement 4 and give a short presentation about your findings to a Cub Scout pack, your Scout troop, your school class, or another group. 6. Do the following: a. Explain why it is important to protect archaeological sites. b. Explain what people should do if they think they have found an artifact. c. Describe the ways in which you can be a protector of the past. 7. Do ONE of the following: a. Make a list of items you would include in a time capsule. Discuss with your merit badge counselor what archaeologists a thousand years from now might learn from the contents of your capsule about you and the culture in which you live. b. Make a list of the trash your family throws out during one week. Discuss with your counselor what archaeologists finding that trash a thousand years from now might learn from it about you and your family. 8. Do ONE of the following: a. Under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist, spend at least eight hours helping to excavate an archaeological site. b. Under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist, spend at least eight hours in an archaeological laboratory helping to prepare artifacts for analysis, storage, or display. c. If you are unable to work in the field or in a laboratory under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist, you may substitute a mock dig. To find out how to make a mock dig, talk with a professional archaeologist, trained avocational archaeologist, museum school instructor, junior high or high school science teacher, adviser from a local archaeology society, or other qualified instructor. Plan what you will bury in your artificial site to show use of your "site" during two time periods. 9. Under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist or instructor, do ONE of the following: a. Help prepare an archaeological exhibit for display in a museum, visitor center, school, or other public area. b. Use the methods of experimental archaeology to re‐create an item or to practice a skill from the past. Write a brief report explaining the experiment and its results. 10. Do ONE of the following: a. Research American Indians who live or once lived in your area. Find out about traditional lifeways, dwellings, clothing styles, arts and crafts, and methods of food gathering, preparation, and storage. Describe what you would expect to find at an archaeological site for these people. b. Research settlers or soldiers who were in your area at least one hundred years ago. Find out about the houses or forts, ways of life, clothing styles, arts and crafts, and dietary habits of the early settlers, farmers, ranchers, soldiers, or townspeople who once lived in the area where your community now stands. Describe what you would expect to find at an archaeological site for these people. 11. Identify three career opportunities in archaeology. Pick one and explain how to prepare for such a career. Discuss with your counselor what education and training are required, and explain why this profession might interest you. Syllabus and Breakdown of Requirements‐ Prepared Summer 2010 MONDAY Requirement 1 – INSTRUCTION Tell what archaeology is and explain how it differs from anthropology, geology, paleontology, and history. Archaeology is the study of how people lived in that past. Archaeologists try and figure out the who, what, when, where, why, and how all of these past peoples lived. Through their studies they try and figure out how human culture has changed through time. Anthropology‐ The study of human beings in general. Archeology is a subfield of anthropology. Geology‐ The study of the earth, and it’s rocks and minerals. Archeology is related in the sense that the terrain of an area strongly effects a people’s lifestyle, and therefore the artifacts that archeologists dig up. Paleontology‐ The study of past animal life. Archeology is related because the animal life of the area can affect a people’s diet, clothing, and hunting methods. History‐ The study of the past. Archeology enriches this field because it focuses on gathering information from past human cultures. Requirement 2 – INSTRUCTION Describe each of the following steps of the archaeological process: site location, site excavation, artifact identification and examination, interpretation, preservation, and information sharing. Site location‐ The actual finding of an archeological site, and the preliminary survey of the site. When a potential site is located, archeologists determine if the site is worth further excavation. Site Excavation‐ The actual digging and removal of artifacts. Artifact identification and examination‐ Archeologists identify what an artifact is, and study it further. They attempt to find out more about the item, and its potential uses. Interpretation‐ Archeologists determine the significance of an artifact or a site. For example, a spear might suggest that a past people were hunters or warriors. Preservation‐ The protection of sites and artifacts to ensure that they are not damaged. Information sharing‐ The sharing of archeological discoveries with other archeologists and the general public. Examples can include direct expert‐to‐expert communication, museums, books, scholarly journals, the internet, and college courses. Requirement 6a, 6b, 6c‐ INSTRUCTION a. Explain why it is important to protect archaeological sites. b. Explain what people should do if they think they have found an artifact. c. Describe the ways in which you can be a protector of the past. Every artifact and site has the potential to have lots of new information inside it. If an archeological site is destroyed or damaged, one‐of‐a kind information can be lost forever. The site or artifact may be the only clue or answer to an important archeological question, so they need to be protected. If someone finds an artifact, they should leave it alone. Find a way to remember the location (mark it on a map, leave a marker near the artifact, use a GPS), and report it to a qualified archeologist. Good places to look are large museums, universities, and the State Preservation Office. Someone can be a protector of the past by spreading interest and knowledge of archeology, as well as telling people what they should do if they find an artifact. Scouts can also volunteer at dig sites to help archeologists uncover the past, or at museums to help educate people on the importance of preserving our past. Requirement 7a‐ INSTRUCTION/EVALUATION Make a list of items you would include in a time capsule. Discuss with your merit badge counselor what archaeologists a thousand years from now might learn from the contents of your capsule about you and the culture in which you live. Have the scouts make a list of items to put in their time capsule (I would suggest drawing it on a marker board) to show people how Tesomas 2010 was. Requirement 3‐ INSTRUCTION Describe at least two ways in which archaeologists determine the age of sites, structures, or artifacts. Explain what relative dating is Documentation‐ The dates of a site’s existence are recorded somewhere. Usually very accurate. Layers‐ The age of a site/artifact is determined by how deep they are buried, and examining the soil layers around it. Dendrochronology‐ Using the rings on trees found in the site to determine age. Carbon dating‐ The ratio of carbon 14 to carbon 12 is measured, and scientists can determine the approximate age of a site by figuring out how much carbon has decayed. Archeomagnitism‐ Using metal objects and the way their particles are lined up, scientist can figure out where the location of magnetic north was at the time of the object’s creation, and therefore the age of the object. Relative dating‐ Using other sites or artifacts of similar nature whose ages are known, archeologists examine the similarities and differences of the artifacts, and using logic and lab tools, the age of the artifact in question can be determined. TUESDAY Requirement 4a, 4b‐ INSTRUCTION/EVALUATION a. Learn about three archaeological sites located outside the United States. b. Learn about three archeological sties located within the United States. For each site you research for options a, b, or c, point it out on a map and explain how it was discovered. Describe some of the information about the past that has been found at each site. Explain how the information gained from the study of these sites answers questions that archaeologists are asking and how the information may be important to modern people. Compare the relative ages of the sites you research. Bring in information about a wide variety of sites from different areas of the world as well as different time periods. Make sure that the sites you bring information about are correct and up to date. As well as making sure that all of the questions asked in the requirement are answered. another possibility is to spend this day in the computer lab allowing the scouts to research on their own and find more information than you would otherwise bring them in the area. Requirement 10a‐ INSTRUCTION/EVALUATION Research soldiers/settlers OR Native Americans who lived in your area. (Refer to the pamphlet for more information) Basically this is the same deal as the 6 sites, just about a group of people instead of an archeological site. Requirement 11‐ INSTUCTION/EVALUATION Identify three career opportunities in archaeology. Pick one and explain how to prepare for such a career. Discuss with your counselor what education and training are required, and tell why this profession might interest you. Use the career section of the Archeology pamphlet to look over careers beforehand. Good examples are field archeologist, professor, museum guide or researcher, government archeologist, ect. Make sure you cover proper training (college instruction/field work) and things they can do now to prepare (high school classes, clubs, volunteering, ect) for a career in archeology. In addition if you REMINDERS: Make sure the scouts know that they must give their presentation (Requirement 5), about one of the sites they did for requirement 4 on Friday. Also, they should be ready for the mock dig Thursday. WEDNESDAY Requirement 9b‐ INSTRUCTION/EVALUATION Use methods of experimental archaeology to re‐create an item or to practice a skill from the past. Write a brief report explaining the experiment and its results. Experimental archeology is the re‐creation of a skill or artifact from the past. It is used when there is sufficient evidence that such an object/skill existed, but there is no actual artifact to test on. A replica is created and tested to see how the object/skill may have worked. You can really do almost anything here‐ but an easy way to do this is to practice spear‐throwing skills. Have the scouts gather several different sizes of sticks that can be used as spears. Have them test the different attributes of each one (accuracy, speed, ease of throwing, ect) by rolling hula hoops and having them throw the spear through them, an/or using targets and the vertical tire swing to test out different targets. In their reports, have the scouts explain the results of the test, and their thoughts on the intended use of the spears. Another option is to help do a portion of sand painting, allow scouts to try different ways of laying down lines and filling evenly as well as allowing them to determine what looks good. With proper guidance the scouts can place a small sand painting near the entrance to the GCR THURSDAY Requirement 8c‐ INSTRUCTION/EVALUATION If you are unable to work in the field or in a laboratory under the supervision of a qualified archaeologist, you may substitute a mock dig. To find out how to make a mock dig, talk with a…qualified instructor. Do a mock dig in Eco/Con or by Cherokee. Have the scouts do a shallow surface dig (probably no more than 8 inches deep), and let them keep any objects they find (if appropriate) Requirement 1‐ EVALUATION Tell what archaeology is and explain how it differs from anthropology, geology, paleontology, and history. Requirement 2‐ EVALUATION Describe each of the following steps of the archaeological process: site location, site excavation, artifact identification and examination, interpretation, preservation, and information sharing. Requirement 6a, 6b, 6c‐ EVALUATION a. Explain why it is important to protect archaeological sites. b. Explain what people should do if they think they have found an artifact. c. Describe the ways in which you can be a protector of the past. Requirement 3‐ EVALUATION Describe at least two ways in which archaeologists determine the age of sites, structures, or artifacts. Explain what relative dating is. Requirements 1,2, 3, and 6 can be evaluated during the mock dig by simply pulling scouts aside one at a time to question them and then allowing them to go back to digging FRIDAY Requirement 11‐ INSTUCTION/EVALUATION Identify three career opportunities in archaeology. Pick one and explain how to prepare for such a career. Discuss with your counselor what education and training are required, and tell why this profession might interest you. Use the career section of the Archeology pamphlet to look over careers beforehand. Good examples are field archeologist, professor, museum guide or researcher, government archeologist, ect. Make sure you cover proper training (college instruction/field work) and things they can do now to prepare (high school classes, clubs, volunteering, ect) for a career in archeology. Requirement 4c‐ INSTRUCTION/EVALUATION Give a brief presentation on one of the sites used in 4a or 4b. The scouts should give a brief presentation on their chosen site. This should outline the basic facts of the site, like who lived there, what they ate, what they lived in, family life, interesting facts, ect. It should only require a few minutes per scout‐ it doesn’t need to be long at all.