The Scientific Method: Using Archaeology to Explore Scientific Reasoning
By Keith Carlson and James Haley
TIME LINE:
Lesson 1: The Scientific Method and Modern Material Culture (50- 65 minutes)
Lesson 2: Modern Material Culture of Your Home: An Archaeologist’s Look at Your House (60-90
minutes)
Lesson 3: Scientific Method and Prehistoric Archaeology in the Grand Canyon (25-40 minutes)
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be exposed to the scientific method as illustrated through archaeological investigations.
Students will be able to:
Apply the scientific method to a number of investigative contexts: They home material culture and to
prehistoric material culture from prehistoric peoples of the Grand Canyon region.
Students will understand:
How archaeologists, like other scientists, apply scientific reasoning to investigate and comprehend not only
the human past but also the human present.
STANDARDS Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Science Standards
Grade):
SC07-S1C1: Observations, Questions, Hypotheses
SC07-S1C2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)
SC07-S1C3: Analysis and Conclusions
for the Seventh
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Archaeology, as a social science, uses the scientific method to investigate a wide range of questions
regarding human culture. These range from investigations of prehistoric social and political organization,
religion, ecology, subsistence, settlement patterns, and architecture. Additionally, much recent
archaeological work has been focused on what is called “modern material culture studies” or the study of
modern artifacts and what they can tell us about modern society. A famous example of this is William
Rathje’s Garbage Project (Rathje 1992), a multi-year project analyzing fresh waste and landfills in an effort
to learn more about modern waste activities.
All of these investigations are driven by the scientific method, that is, research question, hypotheses, test
implications, methods, results, and interpretations. Archaeologists typically begin a project by proposing a
set of research questions based on some prior knowledge about the region or site. They then propose a set
of hypotheses about those questions that they will then test through field work. Field work can entail
excavation, survey, and laboratory analyses. The methods to test the hypotheses are always written out
ahead of time through a detailed research design which indicates the type of survey or excavation and the
laboratory analyses including artifact descriptions, making maps, and chemical/microscopic analyses to be
performed on the artifacts themselves among other possible tests. From these artifact descriptions, maps,
and laboratory tests, archaeologists then come up with interpretations about the data that either support or
refute their hypotheses.
Lesson 1: The Scientific Method and Modern Material Culture
Objective: Students will apply their understanding of the scientific method to a study of garbology by
developing a hypothesis about what information they should gain from sorting through a garbage bag,
making and recording observations of garbage contents, followed by making and recording inferences
based on those observations, and finally defending how their inferences relate to their hypothesis.
Materials Needed and Prep time.
1. 1 week prior: Collect cut-outs representing typical modern garbage from Teacher Aide ‘list of
garbage’ provided. You may also use actual items. Fill 16 paper sacks with the items as they
pertain to certain household activities. STAPLE SHUT!
2. Day before activity:
a. Photocopy Vocabulary Handout (1 per student)
b. Photocopy Garbology Handout (1 for each pair)
c. Photocopy Artifact Recording Sheet (1 for each pair)
d. Set up 16 stations around the classroom with 1 of the 16 paper sacks holding garbage per
station.
3. Have powerpoint ready:
a. The Scientific Method and Garbology
Activity
Part 1: 30 minutes
1. Before showing students the powerpoint, give each a copy of the vocabulary handout of the
scientific method that they will fill out while watching the Scientific Method PowerPoint.
- Vocabulary to be addressed: Scientific method, Hypothesis, Archaeology, Artifact, Material
Culture, others?
2. Show Scientific Method and Garbology oowerpoint. It will:
a. Introduce students to how scientists think and reason.
b. Introduce students to archaeology and archaeologists and how the study of archaeology
uses the scientific method to investigate research questions.
c. Emphasize to students the connection between archaeology and what can be learned about
the students’ own lives.
3. When done, the teacher is ready to share Activity 1 (Exploring Garbology with the students) to
encourage students to apply what they have learned about the scientific method and scientific logic
to an analysis of household ‘garbage.’ They will now make observations of ‘garbage’
Part 2: 20-45 minutes
4. Have students choose a partner to pair up with. Each pair will go to a station until all stations are
occupied.
5. Explain that at each station there is a large paper sack filled with various types of trash representing
a typical household’s refuse in Tucson. Students are to make observations about the contents of the
bag and make inferences based on their observations about the types of activities this household
engages in.
6. Before they begin their inquiries into the garbage they need to do the following.
a. Give each pair a copy of the Garbology handout.
b. They need to develop a research hypothesis and write it down.
c. Once the hypothesis is developed, they must write down the methods for testing the
hypothesis regarding the household’s activities – i.e. sort bag contents and record
observations.
d. Once they have done this, give each pair a copy of the Artifact Recording Handout sheet.
e. THEY CAN NOW OPEN THEIR BAGS.
f. Student answers and results from sorting should be recorded on the Recording Handout
sheet.
g. Once all observational data has been collected, students can proceed to draw inferences
about behavior via activities illustrated by the bag’s contents.
h.
On their note paper they are to record their inferences followed by a brief explanation of
how their inferences relate to their hypothesis.
Evaluation: Students’ vocabulary handout, recording sheet, and hypothesis notes can be assessed. They
can be assessed on their understanding of the scientific method, the depth of their observations, and the
logic of their conclusions.
Lesson 2: Modern Material Culture of Your Home: An Archaeologist’s Look at Your House
(Take Home Exercise after Garbology Lesson)
Objective: Students will apply the scientific method to an investigation of their own material culture in
their own homes. This exercise connects the methods of the scientist to their own life experiences.
MATERIALS NEEDED and Prep Time
Photocopy Take Home Assignment: An Archaeologist’s Look at Your House (1 per student)
- Handout 1: Part 1: An Archaeologist’s Look at your House (1 page)
- House Recording Sheet, Handout 1, page 2 (1 page)
- Handout 2: Part 2: An Archaeologist’s Look at your House (2 pages)
Activity:
Part 1: Take home assignment (20-30 minutes)
1. Explain to students that this part of the activity will be conducted out of the classroom and in their
own homes.
2. Give the following instructions:
a. Students must choose a room in their home and record observations about its contents.
Students are to approach the recording of the room’s contents as if they are an archaeologist
of the future who is interested in how people lived in our era. They must imagine that they
do not know what the function of the items they record are, but they would like to learn!
b. Students will use the provided assignment sheet, the students will record observations about
the major items in the room, plus draw a map showing what the room looks like and the
locations of the artifacts recorded.
c. Total number of artifacts to be recorded is: 10.
d. Explain to students that the next day they will exchange their observations and map with
another student. That student’s task will be to infer the purpose of each of the artifact that
has been recorded. The investigating student will also need to infer what activities were
taking place and what possible room in a house they took place in.
e. SO PICK YOUR ARTIFACTS CAREFULLY.
Part 2: 30-60 minutes
3. The next day they are to return with their Part 1 handouts filled out.
4. Once every one is seated, have students exchange their form with another student.
5. Students will now be given Handout 2.
6. Instruct students that they must now infer the purpose of each of the artifacts recorded by their
fellow student and the major activities generally performed in that room. They will use the data
provided in Handout 1.
7. Finally, have them try and identify what room in the house these activities are taking place in.
NOTE: The student has to support their inferences based only on the observations recorded by their
exchange partner.
8. Return the form to its original owner.
9. Discuss: Did they get the room right? If yes, what seemed to be the leading artifacts that helped
‘clued’ them in? Are they surprised with any of the inferences made? How varied are the inferences
made by students for different rooms?
Evaluation: Student observations, inferences and discussion participation can be assessed. They can be
assessed on the depth of their observations, and the logic of their conclusions and inferences based on
their understanding of the scientific method.
Lesson 3: The Scientific Method and Archaeological Investigations in the Grand Canyon (Under
construction)
Objective: Through an investigation of a prehistoric settlement in the Grand Canyon region, students will
apply the scientific method and scientific reasoning skills to a set of prehistoric artifacts.
Materials Needed and Prep Time
1. 1 week prior: Assemble and collect:
a. Artifact trays (5)
b. Artifacts representative of different artifacts for a particular archaeological site as
identified on Teacher Aide ‘list of artifacts’ provided.
2. Day before activity:
a. Set up 5 stations around the classroom with 1 of the 5 trays holding artifact assemblages.
b. Photocopy Artifact Description sheets (1 per station)
b. 6 copies of a map and description of the site with the locations of where the different
artifacts came from at the site. (Each artifact has a label and that label can correspond to
a location on the map).
c. Data Sheet handout (2-3 per station)
d. Instruction sheets (1 per station)
4. Have powerpoint ready:
a. Grand Canyon Archaeology
Activity
Part 1:
1. Share the PowerPoint on the history of investigations in the Grand Canyon with the class. The
powerpoint will introduce them to:
a. The history of applications of the scientific method
b. More information about archaeology.
c. Early explorations by Powell.
i. What were his research questions and how did he go about investigating those
questions?
d. Some contemporary research in the Grand Canyon with a focus on one site in particular,
going through the archaeologists’ research questions, hypotheses, methods, results, and
interpretations.
e. The types of artifacts and materials archaeologists use and find, and what they do and how
they interpret these materials.
2. When done with the powerpoint create student groups of 6.
3. Each group is assigned to one of the stations around the room.
a. At each station they will find a tray with different artifacts (and possible count of how many
of the artifacts were found at each station)
b. A map of a site indicating where each artifact was found.
4. At this point share with students the following research question they are to apply to their artifact
assemblage. What were the major activities that took place at this settlement (i.e. cooking,
cleaning of animals, pottery production, weaving, basketry, et cetera).
5. On a clean sheet of paper with the group member names on it they will develop and record a set of
hypotheses. (Ex: At this location, much of the activities were oriented towards cooking and making
pottery.) They should model their hypotheses after the ones used by the archaeologists in the
PowerPoint presentation and from information provided about the site.
6. Student must then define and record the methodology they will follow to analyze the artifacts (ie:
what observations do they need to make and how will they record them). Note: Basic observations
students should make are along the lines of: raw material, shape, designs, feel, and possible use.
7. Students will now record on a provided data sheet their observations and what they think each
artifact was used for (inferences) and make an argument for why they have made those inferences.
8. Using this information, they need to come up with what possible activities took place in each room.
There could be more than one interpretation.
9.
Finally, they must try and infer what activity the overall site was generally oriented towards. Record
this on their hypotheses sheet.
10. When done, pose the following questions: How did these results compare with their hypotheses
above? What other research questions would be interesting based on these results and
interpretations?
11. Have them answer these questions on their hypothesis sheet.
12. Staple two sheets together, make sure all member names are on them, and hand in.