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Getting Ready for the Big Game:
A Program of Study of the First Americans

 Richard S. Sleeter

Academic Setting

Course

This curriculum will be taught in an archaeology class for 10 – 12 grades at Rio Rancho High School in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. This class draws students from across the spectrum of the entire student population. The typical class size is thirty students.

The class has been designed as an introduction to archaeology. Southwestern prehistory serves as the backdrop to present topics of study in archaeology. The course culminates in a succession of labs that includes artifact analysis, mapping skills, survey, and excavation.

School System

Rio Rancho High School incorporates innovations such as career academies, block scheduling, and the integration of technology into every curriculum. RRHS has organized into five career academies that include Humanities, Science, Business and Technology, Fine Arts, and one, yet to be determined. An accelerated block schedule format is used that incorporates four 90-minute classes each day. Ninety days equals one semester and students receive one full credit for each course passed in each semester. A fiber-optic computer network controls 12 computer labs and five computers in every classroom and allows for high speed Internet connection from each site.

Demographics

Rio Rancho High School is the largest high school in New Mexico with a current enrollment of 3056 students. The campus ethnic distribution is 63% Caucasian, 29% Hispanic, 3% Native American, 3% African-American, and 3% Asian. The drop out rate for 2000-2001 was 1.94%. In order to meet the needs of the most at risk students as well as the regular students, Rio Rancho has created the opportunity for every child to take at least four elective classes each year. The expectations are that students will go to school all day if there are classes they really want to attend. Students have the option of advancing their studies or making up courses failed by enrolling in summer school, concurrent enrollment, or virtual school courses in the evening. Tutoring in math, science, and humanities is provided daily. Students participate in numerous clubs, extracurricular activities, and various service learning opportunities. Nearly one fifth of the total population of students is enrolled in special education programs. Special education students (remedial and gifted) receive instruction in both small group and inclusion classes.

Context and Background

Southwestern prehistory serves as the foundation for the Introduction to Archaeology class that I teach to high school students. This will require a unit on the first Americans. It is my intention to create this unit during this seminar. I have the unique opportunity in the high school classroom to mix the study of archaeology with potentially profound life lessons that can truly enrich a life. Using the subject of “The First Americans” as a backdrop, it is possible to study the human factor in everyday life and important factors behind decision-making. I will highlight the importance of the human factor in everyday life and the implication for life lessons within the scientific study of the peopling of the New World.

Research Overview

One of the goals of my archaeology class with respect to this particular curriculum will be to present the students with up-to-date knowledge about the Paleo-Indian time period. This particular topic is very dynamic and subject to on-going and rigorous research. It will be necessary to update the information on the newest discoveries as often as possible.

            Words describing the Paleo-Indian time period paint a very dramatic story. Huge glaciers two miles thick cover the top of the North American Continent. One can almost picture a small band of people struggling against cold, wearing animal skins for warmth. Large animals like mammoth, mastodon, and bison are constantly moving in the search for food and water. A group of hunters armed with a deadly spear and powerful spear thrower cautiously approach a huge mammoth. Another well-organized group successfully execute a plan to stampede a herd of bison off a cliff. Camp is set up nearby and the animals are butchered on the spot. Enough food is processed to last the group for the next few weeks. Then they will need to hunt again. This is always a dangerous proposition because the prey is almost as deadly as they are themselves.

            These hunters not only survived, they prospered. In fact, the Paleo-Indians “killed so efficiently that their depredations may have caused the extinction of the creatures they stalked” (Canby 330). The following topics summarize the major up-to-date archaeological finds, thoughts, and theory concerning the peopling of the New World as of June 2002. Go to top of page.

Environment During the Ice Age

Geologists lead the way in discovering what the environment was like in the age of the Paleo-Indians. By studying the sediments deposited by glaciers, these scientists have uncovered a history that indicates waves of cold and warm periods. During the time of the first Americans, the Wisconsin glaciation period was just wrapping up. The period was the latest of at least twenty glacial advances and retreats in the last 100,000 years. The glaciers covered the area between the Old World and the New World, known as Beringia. As the temperatures began to warm, glaciers began to retreat, and sea levels rose higher and higher. Opportunities for humans and animals to cross over between the continents came and went as corridors opened during glacial retreats and closed during advances. The best explanation for this pattern of glaciations is Milankovitch Cycles.

                 Milankovitch Cycles are periods of climate changes that “follow a complex cycle governed by three aspects of Earth’s (sic) orbital position” (Lundelius Jr. & Graham 51). First proposed by the Yugoslavian astronomer who shares the name, this theory combines the study of the earth’s rotation and its cycle around the sun. The first important concept is that there are cycles every 41,000 years in which the rotation on the earth’s axis changes up to 4 degrees. In addition, the earth actually wobbles on its axis, similar to a top. This wobbling cycle makes a complete revolution every 26,000 years. The final variable is the cycle of change in the orbit of the earth around the sun. Every 100,000 years, the earth’s orbit changes from circular to elliptical. When these cycles align the earth in such a fashion that the northern continent is farthest from the sun, temperatures drop, causing glacial advances. As the cycles change and the northern continent turns closer to the sun, the temperatures warm.  

Archaeological Theory

There are many terms used to describe this time period in history in the New World. Paleo-Indian, First Americans, early and late Holocene, Quaternary, Ice Age, Wisconsin glaciations, and Clovis complex just to name a few. The label not withstanding, three major questions have consumed researchers in search of Paleo-Indian lore. When did humans come to this continent? How did they come? Who were they? In the history of human research, since Charles Darwin wrote “I will Here (sic) give a brief sketch of the progress of opinion on the Origin of Species”(17), few theories have been more hotly debated.

When did Humans Come To This Continent?

Today, most archaeologists have agreed that human activity on this continent can be traced back to 11,500 BP. There have been theories that attempt to extend this date. The archaeological community as a whole, however, has been hesitant to embrace any theory that attempts to push back this time line. There is a long tradition of skepticism within the discipline going back to Ales Hrdlicka. He was a physical anthropologist in the early 1900s working at the Smithsonian who spent considerable time debunking any early dated sites. Hrdlicka successfully “discouraged consideration of the possibility that humans had settled in the Americas any earlier than his own estimate of 4,000 years ago” (Fagan 49). Suddenly, in 1908 George McJunkin made a discovery that would change everything. By now, a chance discovery by McJunkin in an arroyo in New Mexico after a rain is legendary. He found human made tools embedded in animals with undisputed antiquity. There was now undeniable proof that early man had come to the New World.

Chronology of Important Paleo-Indian Sites

Controversy surrounds the dating of archaeological sites pertaining to the Paleo-Indian era. Everything from contaminated layers to questionable archaeological work has put many of the claims for oldest site dates into question. In order to set a standard for dating, Vance Haynes (714) developed criteria to evaluate Paleo-Indian sites. 

1.      Are the artifacts clearly the product of human manufacture?

2.      Is the recovered material within clear stratigraphic context?

3.      Are there reliable, concordant, and stratigraphically consistent radiocarbon dates from the deposit?

4.      Are paleoenvironmental studies consistent with ages assigned to the site?Go to top of page.

5.      Are there human remains that are reliably dated older than 11,500 BP?

      The most common type of artifacts in archeological sites from this time period are the rock tools left behind by their human makers. Most of the other types of human artifacts one would expect to find in a human activity site had long since decomposed. On a recent field trip to a local Paleo-Indian site in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, our ATI class learned that the archaeologists who were excavating had found fewer than 300 artifacts throughout the whole site. All of these were stone and most of these were the residue left during the manufacture of scrapers and projectile points. The majority of these artifacts were smaller then a fingernail.

      When studying the rock tools from different sites throughout the New World, archaeologists began to find distinct artifact complexes. There were sites that seemed to represent an early tradition (Pre-Clovis). This was followed by a continent wide homogeneous time period (Clovis). The Clovis complex evolved into a later tradition (Folsom). Finally, different environmental areas created more specific artifact assemblages. In the Great Plains, the late complex is called Plano. Different tool assemblages and projectile point styles characterized each of these complexes.

Pre-Clovis Sites - ? to 11,500 BP

Archaeologists have theorized that there may have been modern humans that occupied the New World before the emergence of the “Clovis Tradition.” These people may be represented in the archaeological record by sites with reputable early dates that contain a micro blade assemblage. These sites do not contain any of the Clovis projectile points. This line of thinking is very theoretical because there are very few undisputed sites in the New World that indicate this type of assemblage. The following sites are the best indicators of a Pre-Clovis occupation:

1. Monte Verde Chile – Tom Dillehay excavated the remains of several activity centers and dwellings. Of special interest are the remains of 12 dwellings and a wishbone shaped structure (Dillehay). Rock tools, mastodon bone, and wooden artifacts have been recovered from the site. “Several concordant 14C determinations indicate that the occupation at Monte Verde occurred about 12,500 BP” (Dixon 102).

2. Meadowcroft Rockshelter Pennsylvania – Wonderfully preserved stratigraphic layers in this rockshelter contain evidence of human occupation. Lithic tools and flakes were found in some of the earliest dated levels (Adovasio et al.). Taken from the deepest levels of the rockshelter, 14C dates reveal an age of 19,600 years ago. “While everyone agrees that Meadowcroft was occupied after 12,000 years ago, controversy surrounds the dates from the middle and lowest units” (Fagan 151).

Clovis Sites – 11,500 to 10,900 BP

The Clovis complex is named after the area in which the first distinctive projectile point of this type was found. When modern humans in skins, armed with spears, chasing huge mammoths are envisioned, then the reference tradition is the Clovis complex. In fact, according to Dixon, Clovis “is the only firmly documented New World archaeological complex positively associated with mammoth procurement” (216). The following are Clovis complex sites:

1. Blackwater Draw New Mexico – Extinct Ice Age animal bones and human artifacts were discovered together in a barrow pit (Hester 3). The artifacts found on this site serve as a model for the standard Clovis period tool kit. Along with the standard Clovis style projectile point, there were long stone blades, lithic debitage, beveled bone tools, and scrapers. 14C dating from this site indicates a Clovis occupation between 11,500 and 11,000 years ago.

2. Gault Texas – Engraved stone artifacts make this Clovis site significant (Collins & Hester). Creating pictures on stone indicate the aesthetic and possibly the spiritual side of the Clovis people. Thus far, engraved stone artifacts are unique to the Gault site.

Folsom – 10,900 to 10,000 BP

During this time period, a new tradition of tool making took place. In North America, the assemblages on sites of this tradition contain a new type of projectile point called Folsom. The assumption is that the Folsom complex quickly replaced Clovis throughout the continent (Dixon 223). This time period is characterized by a change in the type of animals that were hunted by the modern humans. Mammoths had died out and now the hunting focus became bison. The following are typical sites from this time period:

1. Wild Horse Arroyo (also known as the Folsom site) New Mexico – As mentioned earlier, Wild Horse Arroyo is the site that George McJunken discovered. Subsequent excavation revealed the first Folsom projectile point ever found (Folsom & Agogino). The discovery of bison bones together with Folsom points revolutionized research in the Paleo-Indian period.

2. Lindenmeier Colorado - Excavated by Frank Roberts, this site contained the remains of a campsite (Roberts). “As a result, work at Lindenmeier greatly expanded knowledge of the types of artifacts and lifeways of Folsom people” (Dixon 6). The site is dated to 10,700 B.P.

Plano Tradition 10,000 to 8,000 BP

For the two thousand years that make up the Plano tradition, local environment seems to have played a major role in cultural development. Human groups adapted to their individual area by creating more distinctive traditions. Tool assemblages were different, depending on local subsistence strategy. “The Plano projectile points styles exhibit greater regional and temporal variation, and there appear to be greater regional economic differences (Dixon 228). Interesting sites from this timeGo to top of page. period are as follows:

1. Hell Gap Wyoming – Excavation at this site revealed the postholes for the beams of wood that held up structures. These habitations were likely covered in animal hide. Research at this site indicated that the Paleo-Indians probably camped next to their kill sites in order to conveniently collect all the meat.

2. Jones-Miller Colorado – This site contained thousands of bones associated with a massive bison kill site. Hundreds of bison were forced into a low area and then dispatched. The local topography indicates that the trap was entirely man made (Stanford).

How Did They Come?

Archaeologists in Europe have had a long history of finding human sites with great antiquity. The same cannot be said about archaeologists working in the New World. There have been some claims of mammoth bones with what looks like human made scratches that date back to 300,000 years ago, but most of this evidence is under dispute. With the absence of reputable evidence for human origins on this continent, archaeologists have opted for research on human migrations. Migration of the Paleo-Indians over the Bering Straits is the most popular theory. During the Paleo-Indian period, sea levels dropped up to 200 feet as water evaporated and fell as snow on landmasses. Dixon estimated that the land bridge could have had a width of 1,000 km (27). At times, this land mass was covered in glacier. During other times, the shelf was dry land. Archaeological theories place the time period for crossing the bridge anywhere from 150,000 to 14,000 years ago. Two major routes across have been proposed. One is an ice-free corridor between to major glaciers (Antevs). The other route was along the northwest coast in North America (Fladmark).

Transatlantic and transpacific routes have been proposed with the possibility of long voyage, sea-going vessels. However, these theories have been met with much skepticism due to the fact that travelers would have faced “enormous bodies of water, offering a terrifying variety of weather conditions” (Fagan 75). One Australian archaeologist, Mike Morwood suggested that the technology for sailing may have been available all the way back to the time period in which Homo erectus lived. He describes rock tools that he found as containing “clear evidence of the sharp edges, cracks, and microscopic striations that stone acquires only from being smacked around by a hominid” (Kunzig 78). The interesting part is Morwood found these “tools” on layers dated to 800,000 years ago. The eye opener was that these tools were found on Flores Island. This island is several hundred miles from the mainland of Java. Like most claims for early sailors, the archaeological evidence from Flores Island is hotly debated. What is not a matter of dispute is that early sea travelers did reach Australia. Evidence puts modern humans in Australia sometime between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. To date, no conclusive evidence from any site in the New World indicates a sea migration. 

Who Were the Paleo-Indians?

Recent researchers in the fields of linguistics and biology have attempted to aid in the study of who the people were that came to this continent. The linguistical theories attempt to trace major roots of the known native languages. Sapir Greenberg theorizes that there are three language families and these languages have a common ancestor in prehistory. These three language clusters are Eskimo Aleut, Na-Dene-Athabaskan, and Amerind. He goes further suggesting that these languages may represent different migrations through time to the New World.

         On the other hand, Christy Turner used the biological approach with his study on shovel shaped incisors to propose multiple migrations (Turner). He compares two different sets of dental patterns. People from north China, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia share the pattern called Sinodonty. Southeast Asians and all Europeans share the trait called Sundadonty. In this study, Turner came up with the same group clusters as that found by Greenberg in his linguistical study. However, he disagrees with Greenberg’s order of migration and unlike his linguistical counterpart Turner “argues their ancestors (sic) in Siberia rather than here” (Meltzer 163).

             Both of these linguistical and biological studies have come under recent attack. Critics raise the argument that there is too much overlap in race categories to actually plot different genetic migrations. In addition, it is not clear if the traits found in the studies have roots based on regional differences versus migration time period differences. Finally, the base data has been called into question because the traits used to categorize the Paleo-Indian component come from very small sample group. In fact, the sample size of the Paleo-Indian time period consists of two skeletons. Another type of biological study uses DNA markers to research Paleo-Indian roots. 

Early research focused primarily on the identification of human DNA in mummified or skeletal remains and investigated the circumstances of DNA preservation.  Subsequent research has examined mtDNA haplogroups and HVI sequences. These studies have begun to address questions concerning the initial colonization of the New World as well as population movement on a regional scale. In addition, the within site patterning of these data has been used to examine the genetic diversity of the population, to evaluate the relatedness of particular individuals through the maternal line, and to investigate the social organization of the society (Stone 34). 

            Specific to the Paleo-Indian migrations, Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies could help to determine the time period when groups split from common ancestors. Schurr and Wallace used mtDNA data to “indicate that nearly all Native Americans mtDNAs belong to one of four haplotype groups…which originated in Asia” (41). They also discovered a fifth group related to Eurasian origins. Wallace et al. used mtDNA tests on Native Americans and found Asian origins. In addition, these studies indicated that Amerinds and Na-Dene groups came from distinct groups with the possibility that Amerinds migrated earlier. Many archaeologists contest the findings, however, that the Amerind population migrated between 21,000 to 42,000 years ago. The problem, as pointed out by Ward et al., is that it is unclear where divergence between groups may have begun. Migrations may not have correlated with mtDNA divergences, thus making the DNA clock an unreliable tool in dating the entry into the New World.  Go to top of page.

Summary of Oldest Skeletons Found in the New World 

Advances in the science of dating skeletal material has allowed archaeologist the use of numerous tools to accurately date the oldest person found in the Americas. It is of interest that a composite of features from these ancient skeletons do not match any modern New World group. This would indicate that body structure has change greatly in the last 10,000 years. This has also caused some confusion and debate because this makes it very difficult for modern Native Americans to figure out who their ancestors were. The following are examples of dated skeletons. 

1. Spirit Cave Man – Excavated in 1940 in Nevada and then promptly forgotten, Spirit Cave Man was later dated to 9,300 years ago. Because of the state of preservation in the dry cave in which he was found, this adult male was, at first, thought to be a more recent burial. Later re-examination indicated the skeleton’s antiquity. Wrapped in a mat in a flexed position, Spirit Cave Man was thought to be in his early forties when he died (Jantz & Owsley). Cranial morphology indicated similarities to European features and the Ainu of Japan.  

2. Kennewick Man – This skeleton was found in 1996 washed up on a beach on the Columbia River in Washington. “The skeleton was that of an adult male between 40-55 years old” (Dixon 126). Radiocarbon dating places the remains between 9,600 and 9,300 BP. Kennewick Man has caused a recent uproar, especially with local modern Native American groups, due to the finding that the cranium exhibits many Caucasoid features. 

3. Luzia – This is the skeleton of a young woman found in a cave in Serra Da Capivara, Brazil. Radiocarbon analysis dates of the skeleton are unavailable because Luzia does not contain enough collagen to do the test. Charcoal found nearby was dated to just over 10,000 years old. Walter Neves believes that the skull features indicate a Southeast Asia origin (Rohter). Dr. Neves suggests that these people “migrated from there in two directions, south to Australia, where today’s aboriginal peoples may be their descendants, and navigating northward along the coast and across the Bering Straits until they reached the Americas” (Rohter 2). 

Other Issues 

Archaeologists have not been restricted to the three main questions addressed. Other subjects of interest and requiring further archaeological research include the following: 

·         How did the human population spread throughout the New World?

·         What was the time period for human migration throughout the continent?

·         Was there a progenitor to the Clovis complex in the New World?

·         Were the Paleo-Indian hunters responsible or partially to blame for the extinction of some 70 mega fauna species such as mammoth, mastodon, and horse (Martin)?

·         How do you explain animal mass extinctions worldwide during this time period?

·         Did humans carry a microbe creating a hyper-disease that caused mass extinctions of animals (MacPhee & Marx)? Go to top of page.

Implementation 

Science and Human Behavior

The study of archaeology actually throws those who work in the field into the category of scientific misfits or (tongue-in-cheek) they suffer from multiple personalities (I can comfortably say this because I work in the field of archaeology). The reason for this dual persona is the nature of the subject of study. Archaeologists study people. People act both scientifically and irrationally. The latter, I refer to as the human factor. In a way, in order to do the job well, a good archaeologist must be a good scientist and a good “humanist”. What is needed is a good mix because either extreme leaves out part of the real picture. Edward Abbey put it best: 

The orthodox scientific view reduces the world to measurable and predictable units. To that which can be charted, graphed, statistically analyzed; the traditional religious or mystical view reduces the world to a reflection of human anthropomorphic desires and intuitions. Both have in common the psychological compulsion to scale down the world to humanly comprehensible limits, and both have in common, also, at their most profound level, the tendency to think of the world as essentially (and only) a process that lies beyond direct sensory perception (128).

         It is necessary to enhance the curriculum by building on the foundation of scientific information with important hands-on projects. Many in the field of archaeology conduct research in the same mold as that of other sciences. The scientific philosophy postulates that sound thesis, data collection, and logical reasoning will support reasonable conclusions. In this way, archaeological research conforms to the scientific method. This aspect of the field allows for many opportunities for students to work on scientific, hands-on labs. In this class, I will attempt to join scientific research and labs with critical thinking about human life lessons. This curriculum will include a well-balanced mix of scientific labs, lecture, discussion, journals, projects, and fun. The following curriculum is divided into lessons and possible discussion topics.

Lesson: Journal Entry

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 5: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN SOCIETY. Students will know and understand relationships and patterns in history in order to understand the past and present and to prepare for the future.

At the beginning of the semester, each student will buy a notebook/journal just for the daily journals. Everyday I will put a thought provoking sentence or question on the board. For example, say the lesson for the day will cover the subsistence strategies of the first Americans. The following questions and statements would be on the board: If you had ten people with you, how would you successfully bring down a mammoth? Describe how the hunt proceeded. What is your position with the group and why? Did your group do anything special before the hunt? What type of ceremonies took place before and after the hunt? These passages can be a starting point or introduction to the curriculum topic for the day. The moment the students walk into class, they will write a minimum of one page journal on their thoughts and feelings provoked by the passage.

Lesson: Draw the World

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 14: GLOBAL CONNECTION AND TECHNOLOGY. Students will know and understand the role of global connections and interdependence between and among individuals, groups, societies and nations.

At the beginning of each new section that represents different periods of human occupation of the New World, the students will begin by drawing their version of what they think the continent looked like at the time. They can include anything that they think is important at the time. This can include glaciers, connection of land masses, and rising or dropping of the sea level. They will keep the maps they draw and we will compare the processes as well as the differences and similarities as we go along.

Lesson: Paleo-Indian Lecture Series

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 4: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN SOCIETY. Students will know and understand the ways in which human beings view themselves over time.

In class, I will lecture on up-to-date archaeological theory concerning the Paleo-Indian. It will be necessary to update this information every year in order to keep it current. As mentioned above, this topic is very dynamic and subject to changing based on the most recent discoveries. The information for these lectures is supplied in the Research Overview Section above. The topics for the lecture series include the following:

Lesson: Research, Make, and Test the Atl-atl

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 5: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN SOCIETY. Students will know and understand relationships and patterns in history in order to understand the past and present and to prepare for the future.

It is time for the students to start researching, creating, working outside the classroom, having fun, and being active for a while. This project will require an in-depth study of the atl-atl. The atl-atl is a device that made the already effective spear into an incredibly dangerous weapon. Paleo-Indians are thought to have used this device to help bring down the mammoth and bison. Students will be put into groups. These groups will begin by doing research on the Internet and in our library on the history, use, and design of the atl-atl (www.worldatlatl.org). I will show them actual spears and an atl-atl to give them an idea of what they will be making. They will then set out to design and make their own atl-atl. When completed, we will go out to the field and give them a test run. Every type of precaution is necessary for the testing activity. A long, empty field is necessary. All observers will be behind the thrower. I will make sure that this is a highly controlled and monitored activity. The spears will not have tips on them. They will finish up by writing a summary of what they learned and analyze the process of making the weapon.

Lesson: Foraging Simulation

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 6: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN SOCIETY. Students will know and understand how personal and group identities are shaped by culture, physical environment, individuals, groups, and institutions.

It is now time to use computer software to develop some critical thinking. One of the main questions about the Paleo-Indian time period is how the people utilized the local resources in order to survive. Using a shareware computer software package, we will be able to create theory about the way humans forage for animals and plants (Foraging Simulation software). This software package allows the students to pick the group size and the percentage of different types of animal and plants that the group would forage. Students enter the data, and the program illustrates the day-by-day success and failure of the foragers. There are many types of research applications that can be pursued. The students can conduct experiments on group size. They can create different strategies for animal and plant foraging. They can even make graphs plotting the success rates of their different strategies.

Lesson: Lithic Lab

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 5: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN SOCIETY. Students will know and understand relationships and patterns in history in order to understand the past and present and to prepare for the future.

Paleo-Indains used many types of rock tools to conduct their day-to-day lives. This lab will allow the students an opportunity to touch and analyze different types of rock tools. First I will lecture on the different types of tools, attributes for each tool, and rock types. I will then present the format for the lab analysis that each student will conduct. I will set out different stations with samples from a type collection of lithic tools. I will hand out a lithic analysis sheet. Students will go to each station and conduct the lab. We will finish up by going over their analysis of each artifact and allow the students to add or change any information that they misinterpreted.

Lesson: Mapping Coordinate System in the Courtyard

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 12: PEOPLE, CULTURES, PLACES AND ENVIRONMENTS.  Students will know and understand physical environments and their relationships to ecosystems and human activities.

Rio Rancho High School has a large cement courtyard made up of 1meter squares. In other words, we have a huge grid system in the courtyard. This leaves me with an opportunity to use a larger then life grid to help students learn mapping skills and the grid system used on archaeological sites. To begin, I will lecture on the grid system and how archaeologists use mapping techniques. In preparation for the field day, I will place artifacts of related culture affiliation (a site) in some of the squares in the courtyard. On the field day, the students, armed with grid paper, will do the following:

·        Find the datumGo to top of page.

·        Label the grid system on their paper

·        Walk around and draw the artifacts in place in the correct squares of their paper grid

·        Go back to class and attempt to interpret the artifacts and the relationship between the artifacts regarding the location.

Lesson: UTM Scavenger Hunt

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 12: PEOPLE, CULTURES, PLACES AND ENVIRONMENTS. Students will know and understand physical environments and their relationships to ecosystems and human activities.

In lecture, students will be taught archaeological mapping skills such as how to read USGS maps and plot coordinates on those maps. Using these skills, they will then have to go out into the field and find locations (marked by flags). The lesson will be taught in 3 days as follows:

Day 1:

·        Introduce map (Loma Machete, NM Quad)

·        Demonstrate how to find Northings/Eastings on map/UTMs

·        Show how to use map scales to find exact locations

·        Students complete worksheet #1.

Teacher set-up (Day 1):

·        Set out 5 flags around campus using GPS

·        Mark exact location

·        Create worksheet with flag coordinates  (See Appendix I)

Day 2:

·        Hand out maps and coordinates of flags

·        Students will:

1st – Find and mark the coordinates on their map.Go to top of page.
2nd – GO out and find the flags
3rd – Attach their tag to the flag

Day 3:
Wrap-up:

            In field:

·        Class goes out to flag locations as a group and collects tags

·        Demonstrate how to work a GPS

Back in class:

·        Students turn in maps

·        Group Leaders discuss techniques and problems

Test for Understanding and Evaluation:

·        Grade maps for flag location

·        Grade for correctly placed tags

Lesson: Global Warming

New Mexico Social Studies Content Standard 12: PEOPLE, CULTURES, PLACES AND ENVIRONMENTS. Students will know and understand physical environments and their relationships to ecosystems and human activities.

The topic of global warming will be used for critical thinking and class-wide debate. The students will be divided into two groups. Each will have the opportunity to work on a separate blackboard. Group one will be given the task of brainstorming and then listing evidence for recent global warming. Group two will be asked to brainstorm and list the possible evidence that humans are to blame for recent global warming. Each group will assign a scribe. The scribe will write down the brainstorming ideas of the group. After each group is done writing, a spokesperson will recap to the class the main ideas. At this time, I will open the floor up for debate on the following questions:

·         Is there present day global warming?

·         Have there been similar conditions in the past?

·         Are humans adding to warming conditions?

·         Will this be catastrophic?

·         Is this a natural cycle?

Topics For Discussion

While there are wonderful opportunities for learning in the hands-on lab work, there is a definite need to include student learning and growth in the form of life lessons and class discussions. The human factor, everyday life, artifact vs. life, and mythology subjects offer wonderful topics of discussions in the classroom setting. These topics may not have scientific data to back them up but it is my position that they can be a major instructional tool when studying human behavior and in understanding ourselves. Go to top of page.

Human Factor

There are times when humans make decisions based on questionable reasoning completely unrelated to logic. “Unlike any other animal on earth we have the possibility of almost infinite behavioral creativity; what is more, we have the self-awareness that such flexibility exists”(Nelson & Jurmain 535). It is often impossible to account for this in scientific terms. As an example, an archaeologist who is studying the decision making process for settlement patterns in an area might ask: Why did they build here? Was it a logical reason like the proximity to a water source? Did they find prominent food caches? The options that cannot be accounted for are the purely human factors. Perhaps their feet were hurting or the kids were complaining and they didn’t want to go any farther. Therefore, they stopped here! Archaeologists that are looking backwards and using artifacts as the primary source for information find it difficult to account for the human factor in scientific research. In many human actions that are studied by archaeologists, oftentimes the only actual scientific thought that can be attributed to certain behavior was that contributed by the archaeologist studying it. Does the absence of “good” scientific reasoning for behavior make it any less valid? I do not believe so. Are there applications from the information about the human factor that can enrich our lives? Perhaps we can relate patterns of behavior in the past if we understand our own tendency to decision making based on the human factor.

Potential Topics For the Human Factor

 Everyday Life

In many studies, archaeologists have shown a tendency to touch lightly upon the seemingly mundane and report widely on the grandeur and exciting aspects. It is easy to find countless articles about Chacoan road systems and ancient astronomy. How many popular articles can be found about the local farming outlier? As fun as the glitzy is to look at, many of the day-to-day life decisions are not represented in the research.

Potential Topics For Everyday Life

 The Artifact vs. the Life

Archaeologists often deal with the artifacts as if they are the most important subjects of study. The artifact takes center stage and the human life that created it fades to the background. It is easy to get caught up in this. The artifact is tangible. It is here. We can touch it. The lifestyle that created it is much more difficult to define and see. Yet, in truth, artifacts have only limited impact on behavioral studies. Without knowing the needs the artifact fulfills, the methods of manufacture, the process of thought that created it, and the metamorphosis of the item’s use and structure to conform to human changing needs, we are left looking at a beautiful artifact and not much else.

Potential Topics For Artifact vs. the Life

Mythology

People throughout the world have stories about their past and their origin. Many times, there are bits of clues embedded in these myths that can actually aid in the research of prehistory. Puebloan people talk of an emergence into the new world and a migration of four directions. There is the Aztecan story of a place of origin called Aztlan. Navajos speak of twin war gods that had to fight monsters.  

Potential Topics For Mythology 

After the students have read different myths, discuss the following: 

Documentation

Bibliography

Adovasio, J. M., J. D. Gunn, J. Donahue, and R. Stuckenrath. Meadowcroft Rockshelter, 1977:
            An Overview. American Antiquity. 43 (1978): 632-651.

Antevs, E. Climate and Early Man in North America. Early Man, edited by G. G. MacCurdy,              Philadelphia: J. D. Lippincott. 1937: 125-132.

Canby, Thomas Y. “The Search For The First Americans.” National Geographic. 156 (3) 1979:             330-363.

Collins, M. B. and T. R. Hester. Introduction to the Gault Site. Texas Archaeology Research              Notes. University of Texas at Austin. 6(1):4. 1998.

Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. A Mentor Book. New York: The New American Library.              1958.

Dixon, James. Bones Boats & Bison. Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico Press. 1999.

Fagan, Brian. The Great Journey. The Peopling of Ancient America. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1987.

Fladmark, K. R. “Routes: Alternative Migration Corridors for Early Man in North America.” American Antiquity. 44 (1979) : 55-69.

Folsom, F. and G. Agogino. “New Light on an Old Site: Events Leading Up to the Discovery of the Folsom Type Site.” Anthropological Journal of Canada. 13(3) 1975: 2-5.

Haynes, C. V., Jr. “The Earliest Americans.” Science. 166 (1969) : 709-71. 

Hester, J. J. Blackwater Locality N. 1: A Stratified Early Man Site in Eastern New Mexico. Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication No. 8. Fort Burgwin Research  Center, Dallas: Southern Methodist University, 1972 

Jantz, R. L. and D. W. Owsley. “Pathology, Taphonomy, and Cranial Morphometrics of the Spirit Cave Mummy” (AHUR 2064). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 40 (1) 1997: 62-84.

Kunzig, Robert. “Erectus Afloat.” Discover. January. 1999: 80.

Lundelius Jr., Ernest and Russell Graham. “The Weather Changed Shifting Climate Dissolved Ancient Animal Alliances.” Discovering Archaeology.  Sept/Oct 1999: 48-53.

MacPhee, Ross D. E. and Preston A. Marx. “Mammoths and Microbes Hyperdisease Attacked the New World.” . Discovering Archaeology.  Sept/Oct 1999: 54-55.

Martin, Paul S. “The Time of the Hunters A ‘Blitzkrieg’ by Fierce Humans Killed Off the Giants.”  Discovering Archaeology.  Sept/Oct 1999: 40-47.

 Meltzer, David J. “Pleistocene Peopling of the Americas.” Evolutionary Anthropology.            1993: 157-169.

 Nelson, Harry & Robert Jurmain. Introduction to Physical Anthropology. Second Edition.            St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1982.

 Rohter, Larry. An Ancient Skull Challenges Long-Held Theories. 1999. The New York            Times On The Web. 26. Jun. 2002                 <http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/102699sci-archeology-brazil.html>

 Schurr, T. G. and D. Wallace. “mtDNA Variations in Native Americans and Siberians and Its Implications for the Peopling of the New World.” Who Were the First Americans? Proceedings of the 58th Annual Biology Colloquium. Robson Bonnichsen, Editor. A Peopling of the Americas Publication. Ruth Gruhn, Series Editor. Oregon State University. Corvallis. 1999: 41-77.

 Stanford, D. J. “Preliminary Report of the Excavation of the Jones-Miller Hell Gap Site,            Yuma County, Colorado.” Southwestern Lore. 40 (1974): 29-36.

 Stone, A. “Reconstructing Human Societies with Ancient Molecules.” Who Were the First Americans? Proceedings of the 58th Annual Biology Colloquium. Robson Bonnichsen, Editor. A Peopling of the Americas Publication. Ruth Gruhn, Series Editor. Oregon State University. Corvallis. 1999: 41-77.

 Turner, C. G., II. “Dental Evidence for the Peopling of the Americas.” In Early Man in the  New World, edited by Richard Shtler, Jr. Sage Publications. Beverly Hills. 1983 : 147-158.

 Wallace, D. C., K. Garrison, & W. C. Knowler. “Dramatic founder effects in Amerindian                 mitochondrial DND.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 68 (1985) :           149-155.

 Ward, R. H., B. L. Frazier, K. Dew-Jager, & S.  Paabo. “Extensive mitochondrial                  diversity within a single Amerind tribe.” Proc National Academy of Science. 88            (1991) : 8720-8724.

 Teacher Resources

Dixon, James. Bones Boats & Bison. Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico Press. 1999.

Fagan, Brian. The Great Journey. The Peopling of Ancient America. London: Thames and              Hudson Ltd., 1987.

Nina, E. and G. Jablonski. The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World. California Academy              of Sciences. Wattis Symposium Series in Anthropology. Memoirs of the California Academy              of Science #27. San Francisco. 2002.

 

Appendix 1

UTM Scavenger Hunt Worksheet 

Mapping Coordinates 

1st – Find and mark the coordinates on your map.

2nd – GO out and find the flags

3rd – Take your puzzle piece from the file

·        Only take your groups puzzle

·        Put the rubber band back around file

4th – When you have all of the puzzle, come back to class and

          Find the location written on the back.

5th – First to turn in the correct location wins.

 

Coordinate

         

          1).           348335 E

                        3903903 N

 

          2).          348147 E

                        3903751 N

 

          3).          348651 E

                        3903518 N

 

          4).          348309 E

                        3903504 N

 

          5).          348389 E

                        3903607 N

 

Team #____________

Team Member Names:

Map Location: To finish:

·        Find the coordinates on the back of the puzzle

·        Find that location on the map

·        Write down the location below and turn in this sheet

 Puzzle Location Name____________________________________Go to top of page.