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Archaeology, Biology and Native American Origins Abstracts

Archeoquest:  Investigating Native American Origins

 Bianca Belmonte Sapien

 Teaching at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) in New Mexico has shown me that all teachers need to develop curriculum that differentiates instruction for their students.   This unit is particularly designed for a multi-level social studies classroom. The unit infuses history, geography, culture, and science to study Native American origins.  This unit will provide students an opportunity to explore theories of colonization of the Americas while developing cultural links between the students and the material.  Students will debate theories, draw conclusions based on evidence, infuse technology, literacy, and art while learning according to their particular style.

            The controversy over the origins of the first Americans starts with the earliest claims made by scientists dating as far back to 100,000 or 200,000 years ago.  Scientists were willing to assert various hypotheses on the origins ranging from an Atlantic crossing to crossing Beringia via Siberia, all the while keeping in mind that Native peoples believed their origin was America.  Additionally, the scientific community is drawn to debate how the first Americans arrived.  Was it through an ice-free corridor, was it by skin boat along coastal shores, or via coastal migration and further inland movement?  The evidence is amazing; teeth, hair, bones, tools, animal and human.  Sorting it all out fuels the debate.  Did humans leave evidence for us to draw conclusions about their existence, or are the artifacts found just products of nature?  This is the information that must be understood for a teacher to lead students on their own archeological quest about the origins of North Americans.

02-01-01 

First Americans, Grave Robbers, Headhunters, and the Internet:
Using WebQuests to search for the first Americans

 

Blake Learmonth

 

Key Words:    Technology Literacy, Science, Social Studies, Anthropology, Racism,                            Native Americans.

 Synopsis:         This unit is intended to be taught as a series of interdisciplinary lessons in the form of a WebQuest at the middle school level (grades six seven and eight) at Jefferson Middle School in Albuqueruqe New Mexico.  Specifically, it is intended as a collaboration between the Technology Coordinator and social studies and science teachers, ideally with seventh graders.

Main topics:       Brief human history.
Discussion of how the ice ages affected human colonization of the Americas.
History of American anthropology.
Discussion of various theories of who the first Americans were and how and when they arrived.

A discussion of racism as an anthropological concept and its affects on Native Americans and the study of Native Americans.
Creating and using WebQuests and other Internet strategies.

Lessons: The unit will primarily be taught from a collection of interdisciplinary group Internet activities called WebQuests. The central theme of which is the Question, “Who were the first Americans; when and how did they arrive?” Other lessons include: Using the Star Trek episode, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” to discuss the subjective nature of race and mini- lessons on using technology in student presentations.

 02-01-02 

Curriculum Integrating Ancient American Anthropology into 7th Grade Literature Classes

 Susan R. Pecastaing Miller

This unit follows convergent thinking and constructivist philosophy.  As such, it melts information on ancient American anthropology into a literature class for seventh grade.  The foci are many but include descriptive and persuasive writing to show understanding of some controversial issues in archaeology (migration and Kennewick Man) as well as students writing about familial backgrounds.  Students will be required to understand an oral description enough to write it down in their own words.  Further, technology will be used for exploration (web quests and research).  Students will be expected to listen to, read, and understand texts about the origins of American people, and to apply any new knowledge to their own experiences (writing).  Hands-on activities include the web-quest, writing on an unseen family member, reading and comparing fictional and non-fictional accounts of early American cultures, understanding different types of organizational strategies particularly as they relate to archaeological information,  a movie made especially for this class on flintknapping (learning new vocabulary), and several classes devoted to better understanding archaeological research and the logic behind it through “hands-on” activity.  

02-01-03 

Archaeoology, Biology and Native American Orgins for
Special Needs, Elementary Level Students

Mark Schreiner

The Special Education-Emotionally Disturbed students I work with tend toward high ability/low-performance.

 A combination of factors contributes and even encourages SPED-ED students from working to ability.  In my final unit I will address these “factors” not so much as to the causes but rather how I have overcome them in the classroom, noting both successes and failures.  An emphasis of my unit will be positive classroom results from high interest, hands-on, unique classroom lessons and experiences.

             To detail how I will adapt the ATI class for elementary students I will address, in part, critical thinking by presenting various hypothesis on the peopling of North America, hands-on experiences through field trips and use of artifacts in the classroom.  Inter-discipline lessons to include science, archaeology, weather, and mathematics.

As for goals and assessment of the lesson they will likely be vague and open-ended.  Working with “high-ability/low performance” students, a highly subjective approach to assessment is far less intimidating to the students, far more encouraging to those same students to experiment and take chances in the classroom and finally, allows me as the classroom instructor, to offer a more positive and encouraging method of responding to student output. go_top_arrow.gif (140 bytes)

02-01-04 

Fossils, Finches & Farming:  A Curriculum Unit for Evolution

William A. Siefert

This curriculum unit is designed for a freshman biology course to introduce the main concepts of biological evolution.  An understanding of the theory of evolution as the change in living organisms over time will be incorporated into the unit as a unifying theme in the life sciences.  The narrative focuses on the geologic history of Earth, the fossil record, Darwinian evolution, an overview of hominid fossils, and the nature of scientific inquiry.  Student activities will focus on exploring and interpreting the evidence used to support evolution, like the fossil record, comparative anatomy, and biochemical analysis.  Individual research projects will help students build upon their knowledge base and organizational skills.  The activities will give students an opportunity to use their scientific inquiry abilities and to help them develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills.

02-01-05 

Archaeology and Science

Raji Sinha

The goal of this unit is to introduce a general knowledge and awareness of archaeology and the scientific methods used to analyze the past to the high school students.  Many of the high school students have a problem of understanding how our past tells the story of present human culture and development of civilization. Students should be taught different kinds of technology used to analyze the archaeological findings.

In this unit I described the history of archaeology and few scientific methods which are used in the field of archaeology. My intention is to teach the students about the modern technology available and how much the technology has contributed in analyzing. Although most of the equipment used in the scientific analysis are not available in the normal classroom, I tried my best to introduce simple lesson plans which includes simple tools.  These tools to teach archaeology are easily available in the high school class rooms and a teacher can easily introduce the concept of science in archaeology.

 02-01-06 

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

 Richard Sleeter

This curriculum unit is designed to explore the Paleo-Indian time period in the New World. Specifically, this unit will be inserted in the Southwestern prehistory section for a high school level Introduction to Archaeology class. However, many elements can be adapted for use in mid-school and high school humanities and history courses. This curriculum explores the unique opportunity in the classroom to mix the study of archaeology with potentially profound 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. After learning about the ice-age environment, students will explore three major questions: When did humans come to this continent? How did they come? Who were they? Lessons are developed to enhance the curriculum by building on the foundation of scientific information with important hands-on projects. Elements from the human factor, everyday life, artifact vs. life, and mythology subjects offer wonderful topics of discussions in the classroom setting.

02-01-07 

For Archeology and Native American Origins

Debi Vigil

What is archeology? How do we find out about the past? How do we know what we know? Where did humans come from? How did people populate the Americas? How do these ancient peoples relate to the Native American peoples alive today? How can understanding the past help mankind in the future? These are the basic questions raised by this unit of study. The purpose is to get students thinking and questioning, and hopefully spark an interest into further study of various fields of science. A basic understanding of how archeologists work is presented here. Lessons include a dig site simulation, rock art, creation stories, and creating a documentary. These lessons were designed for elementary gifted students, but could be adapted to fit quite a broad range of students.

02-01-08 

Understanding Human Responses to Climactic Changes
By Historic and Modern People of the Southwestern United States

Gregory James Vigil

This paper is a study of human responses to paleo-climactic and present-day climatologic conditions in the southwestern United States. It was undertaken to help learners learn more from the intense drought which beset the United States southwestern region in 2002. Information was gleaned from studies of isotopes in ancient San Juan Basin ground waters, micro fossils and ancient woods in Colorado and New Mexico lake beds, and Arizona and New Mexico dendrochronologic sources.

It was hypothesized that droughts in mid-1950s, 1930s, mid and late 1600s and 1300s had induced marked human behavior changes. The paper compares New Mexico’s 2002 drought to those periods. Droughts were markedly more severe in the 1300s and 1600s. In the 1300s, drought forced abandonments of population complexes at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. In the 1600s, drought intensified already tense relations between historic Puebloans and their Spanish masters, and these conditions led to the Pueblo Rebellion. The 2002 drought has not been as severe as in the 1300s and 1600s.

              A five-part unit, developed for use in New Mexico seventh grade New Mexico history curriculum, is presented in the implementation section of this paper. Students review the cultural evolution of Southwestern Native Americans. Students are then trained in graphing and dendrochronology. They are then given a set of instructions for a web search for climate data of their own. The students then are provided materials to develop a climate-human history chart from which they can draw their own conclusions and present the studies for critique. go_top_arrow.gif (140 bytes)

 02-01-09  

The first Americans.
A unit for the study of the first inhabitants and societies of America.

Travis Zelinskas

This social studies unit is designed for students in fifth grade.  Students of lower to gifted ability and those with needs in acquiring English should be able to participate in this unit.  The unit covers a time period from the last Ice Age to AD 1500.  The unit begins with information on the Ice Age people, environment, and animals.  The unit then establishes reasons and concepts of why people began to migrate to the Americas.  One of the important questions that needs to be asked, is when did they begin to come to America?  Using that information, students are to begin to understand that the process of the migration of Paleolithic people over the land bridge didn’t happen once but as many as three times.  Slowly these people began to evolve and change from simple hunter-gatherers to farmers and into more modern civilized peoples, eventually forming many great Native American societies like the Olmecs, Mayas, Aztecs, and Mississippians. 

This unit then also explains how Archeologists today are piecing together our past and  how they use scientific reasoning to place a time frame of the first inhabitants of the Americas and  how they alter their theories as they learn more about our past.  My unit will also not only focus on social studies, but it will incorporate art, music, math, and earth science.  It will require access to computers and field trips to Native American sites, although the field trips and atlatl throwing are optional.  This unit will be best used as a supplement or a resource for material or curricula that are already in place in a school.  

02-01-10 

Beringia Land Bridge & Technology: Archaeology /
Settling Of North America Fact Or Myth

Cherry L. Zielaskowski, Phd.

The unit will be available for use by the Harrison Middle School, Albuquerque, New Mexico, to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade instructors.  These classes include special education- gifted through learning disabled, and ESL students.  It will be available for other teachers of mathematics, social studies, and language arts / literature to use within their subject matter.

This curriculum unit can be used in all science classes.  The social studies criteria are to study the eastern hemisphere, western hemisphere, and New Mexico history during middle school.  These are also addressed within this unit of study.

 It also reaches mathematics in doing timelines, carbon dating, and mapping of latitude / longitude distances. It introduces students to the use of Satellite Remote Sensing technology in the classroom.  Language arts are covered through research investigations, and literature is covered through studying myths and legends.  Students will develop investigative projects to demonstrate the integration of concepts through visual / tactile demonstrations. Through teamwork students learn to work together to complete research scientifically, create visual three-dimensional projects, and formulate research report to demonstrate their knowledge of the development of life and culture in the Americas.go_top_arrow.gif (140 bytes)

 02-01-11