Summer SAVY, Session 3 Day 3, “Archeology 101: Unearthing Secrets of the Past” (1st-2nd)
Today was a big day for our young archaeologists. This morning, we had a visit from Ms. Lily. She’s a Bioarcheologist and research assistant in the Bioarcheology and Stable Isotope Research Lab at Vanderbilt. We explored how you can determine a person’s age by analyzing their teeth. You can analyze a pelvis to determine if it belonged to a male or female, and you can gauge someone’s height based on the length of their femur.
In the afternoon, we walked over to Vanderbilt’s main campus to visit Professor Michelle Young’s lab. We learned so much from her and her colleague! We learned about artifacts like food remains and plant remains, and how they inform us about plants and foods native to an area. We learned about the ancient paw paw fruit that is native to this region in TN. Did you know that the Nashville Zoo has an ancient farm featuring the paw paw fruit?
We learned about the preservation of artifacts and that materials are condition-dependent. For example, in a dry cave, you can find artifacts like leather and feathers, skin, hair, clothes, and other textiles. In more tropical environments, it’s harder to find artifacts with materials that decompose.
Professor Young studies vessel remains, such as pottery, to determine what life was like long ago. She works to identify pigments and uses technology like X-rays to determine what the color is made of. Today, we saw pieces of pottery over 3,000 years old from Peru!
Her colleague showed us how he uses technology as an archaeologist, too.
He analyzes microscopic artifacts from Israel by pouring the artifact into a vibration machine that separates the particles. A video camera and the use of AI allow for analyzing and classifying individual particles. What can he learn from the photographs? He’s learned that people from that area in Israel used a process called stone napping to make tools.
We ended our day by analyzing and observing the tools archaeologists often use for excavation. Ask your learner about the advantages and disadvantages of tools like a trowel, a sieve, and a screen box.
We are excited to continue learning in preparation for our big dig!
See you tomorrow!
Warmly,
Ms. Courtney and Ms. Andrea
