An archaeologist tries to learn about ancient life by examining remains and artifacts. They must know the difference between fossils, which are remains of living things, and artifacts, which are remains of human-made objects. Archaeologists carefully excavate sites where ancient civilizations lived, digging in a grid to find remains. They use simple tools like trowels and brushes. Each find is recorded and taken to a lab for analysis. It requires extensive education, training, patience and attention to detail to work as an archaeologist.

1. Teacher: Mauricio Torres Student: ……………………………..
Grade: 8thE.G.B. Section: ……………………………………
Subject: Social Studies Date: ....................... 2012
Activity: Classwork
ARCHAEOLOGY WORKSHEET
General Instructions:Youmustcarefullyreadalltheinstructionsgiven. Afterwards,
answerthequestionsontheotherside of the page. Afterthis, findthemeaning of
theunderlinedwords in a dictionary, and writethemeaningon a differentsheet of
paper.
Anarchaeologistissomeonewho tries to figure
outwhatlifewaslike in theancientpastbylooking at theremains
of ancientpeople - theirfossils and
theirartifacts.Anarchaeologistmustknowthedifferentbetweena
nartifact and a fossil.
Fossilsare theremains of living things (plants, animals, people), not of
thingsthatweremade.
Artifacts are theremains of thingsthatweremade, nottheremains of
living things.
A "site" is a place archaeologistswishto explore. At
thesite, archaeologistsliterallydig,
lookingfortheremains of anancientcivilization.
Thatiswhytheycallthesite at whichthey are
working a "dig".
Beforetheybegindigging, archaeologistsdesign
agridontheground, usingrope and string. Eachsquare in
thegridmust be carefullysearched. A record must be
kept of anythingfound,
includingwhatwasfoundnexttoit.
Thetoolsthey use are sometimesvery simple. Tools can
includetrowels, brushes, spoons, dental picks, saws,
dustpans, and wheelbarrows.
Digging at a siteisslow and carefulwork. Eachgridmust be searchedverycarefully.
Once objects are labeled and removed from a site, they are takento a lab,
relabeled, and placed in a database. Archaeologists use
thisinformationtoputtogetherpieces of thepast.
Ittakes a greatdeal of education, training, patience, and attentiontodetailtowork
as anarchaeologist.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Km. 14 ½ Vía Perimetral – PBX: 2145614 – Mobile:080869990 – 080869888
http://www.torremar.edu.ec
e-mail: torremar@torremar.edu.ec

2. I- Reading comprehension. Answer the following questions. Be
brief and concise!
1. What is an archaeologist?
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2. What kind of tools do archaeologists use?
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3. What does it take to work as an archaeologist?
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4. Why do you think it is important to know the difference between a
fossil and an artifact?
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5. What is a site?
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6. Why is digging a site a slow process?
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II- Vocabulary.Search for the meaning of the following words. Write
this on a different sheet of paper and use to study for your next
test!
Grid
Dustpan
Wheelbarrow
Labeled
Database
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Km. 14 ½ Vía Perimetral – PBX: 2145614 – Mobile:080869990 – 080869888
http://www.torremar.edu.ec
e-mail: torremar@torremar.edu.ec