Trash Can Archaeology
One of the ways archaeologists learn about the people they study is through
analyzing the artifacts that are left behind. You can study a group of artifacts
in the same way that archaeologists would.
Activity
Get a notebook or piece of paper. The picture on the right is the garbage
from 502 South Main Street. Carefully observe the artifacts deposited in the
trash. What do they tell you about the residents of this house?
Suppose you have been examining this family’s garbage bag each week for a
year and it always contained an average of eight soda cans a week. Suddenly
one week, the cans stop appearing in the garbage. What reasons can you think
of to explain this change?
How many of the items shown would survive if they were buried in the ground
for two hundred years? If you analyzed only those artifacts that still remained,
would you change your conclusions about the residents of 502 South Main Street?
Write down your conclusions.
From Archaeology for Young Explorers: Uncovering History
at Colonial Williamsburg, by Patricia Samford and David L. Ribblett.
Copyright © 1995, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg.
To obtain the book, please call 1-800-446-9240 or go to our Products page.
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