Monday, October 25, 2010

Archeology Project

We have been learning about archeology ( in other words, "why daddy does what he does").

We started off by watching a Magic School Bus Video:

http://www.gamequarium.org/cgi-bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=9662

and then read the book, Archeologist Dig for Clues.

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Next we did a project to show how archeologists put broken pots back together.

Before we could put a pot back together, we needed a pot with painted designs. The designs make it much easier to figure out how the pieces fit together (just like a jigsaw puzzle).

We had plenty of help with the painting. As soon as Blaze and I sat down at the picnic table, two of our nicer neighbor boys came over and wanted to help.

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Once the paint was dry, it was time to turn the whole pot into a broken pot.
First, the pot was placed inside a paper bag.

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The top of the bag was folded over several times, to be sure that none of the pottery pieces would fall out and get lost.

Next, Blaze got to hit the bag several times with a hammer.

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The pieces were then removed from the bag and reassembly could begin.

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When archeologist put shards of pottery back together, they always use tape, not glue.

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Blaze was very proud of his finished product.

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As we walked back to the apartment, though, he wanted to make it perfectly clear to me that he does not want to be an archeologist like Daddy when he grows up, he still wants to be a race car driver.

2 comments:

Tammy said...

LOL...he still wants to be a race car driver. ;)

So do they eventually glue the pieces together? The taping the pieces back together really surprised me!

Also, does Blaze occasionally go to work with your hubby?

Crescent Moon said...

DH says that it depends on where they are curating it, what they do after the taping. For the federal facility that they will be using for artifacts from Kingsley, they will just take the tape off after the objects are measured and recorded. The pieces will be stored in bags. Some places use Elmers glue, because it is biodegradable.

Blaze has seen the digs at Kingsley on the one day each field school season, when they have a public archeology day, but that is the only place he's ever seen a dig.

Crafty Crow