A brief introduction to archaeology, used in the Year 7 History course "Investigating the Ancient Past"

1. What Is Archaeology?

2. Fossils and Artefacts
An archaeologist is someone
who tries to find out about the
ancient past by looking at the
remains of ancient people -
their fossils and artefacts
A fossil is the remains of a
living thing (plants, animals,
people), NOT man-made
things
An artefact is the remains of
a man-made thing

3. What is a site?
A site is a place that
archaeologists want to
explore
At the site, archaeologists dig
to find artefacts and fossils
that can give them
information about ancient
cultures
This is why they call the site
a “dig”

4. Finding a Site
How do archaeologists know
where to dig?
First, archaeologists think
about what people needed to
stay alive - including access to
drinking water, protection, and
access to trade routes
With this in mind, where do you
think they often look first?
Along the banks of rivers and
streams

5. Finding a Site
Then, they check out reports
of artefacts that have already
been discovered by other
archaeologists, farmers or
construction companies
Next, they check the area from
the air, looking for large
depressions that could
indicate the ruins of an ancient
living area
They use instruments like
radar and sonar

6. Permission to Dig
Archaeologists must get permission to
dig at a site from the owners of the
land, or sometimes from the
government
Once permission is received,
archaeologists work together in teams
to explore the area
They look for evidence that people
once lived there
What kind of evidence are they looking
for?
Fossils, artefacts, disturbed ground

7. Grids and Labelling
Before they start to dig, archaeologists
set out a grid on the ground using rope
and string
Each square on the grid is marked and
labelled, on the ground and on maps of
the site
They search each square of the grid
carefully and keep a record of anything
that is found, including what is found
next to it
What is the value of the grid system?
It allows them to mark precisely where
each fossil or artefact is found on their
maps

8. Strata
Archaeologists uncover artefacts in layers called strata
Older artefacts are found in the lowest strata and newer ones in the
upper strata - explain this please
Artefacts found in the same strata were probably deposited around
the same time, perhaps by the same group of people
Looking at strata allows archaeologists to understand how a site has
been used over time

9. How has this site been used over time?

10. Tools of the Trade
Some tools archaeologists
use are very simple - trowels,
brushes, spoons, dental
picks, sieves, saws, dustpans
and wheelbarrows
Others are more high-tech,
including radar and sonar
equipment, or surveying
equipment

12. Back in the Lab
Once artefacts and fossils
are located, labelled and
removed from a site, they are
taken back to a lab
Here they are photographed,
re-labelled and placed into a
database
Archaeologists can then
further investigate these
items to learn about the
people who made, used or
encountered them

13. 1. Stonehenge
2. The Antikythera
Mechanism
3. Canopic jars

14. What is it?
1. While working in your backyard, you
find a 1m-long bone made out of
stone. Is this a fossil or an artefact?
A fossil
2. While walking in the bush near your
house, you find an old arrowhead. Is
this a fossil or an artefact?
An artefact