WHAT DOES AN

ARCHAEOLOGIST DO?
CHECKPOINT

Key concept check:

• What is history?
• What is a primary source?
• What is a secondary source?
• What is chronology?

Homework check:
• Section 1 Cover Page in HB
copy
• Key concepts in HB copy
HOMEWORK

• Learn key concepts

• Questions 1-9 (see final slide)
LESSON OBJECTIVE

Lesson O
bjective:
• Be able to
explain th
archaeolo e
gist and h term
archaeolo ow
gical sites
and excav are chose
ated n
• Explain th
ree ways
date artef archaeolo
acts gists
FILL KEY CONCEPTS INTO YOUR GRID
IN YOUR HARDBACK COPIES
• Artefacts: the remains of man made objects e.g. coins, pottery, jewellery and buildings
• Fossil: Fossils are the remains of living things e.g. plants, animals, and people
• Chance: It can be discovered by chance when building
• Research archaeology: When areas are excavated because there is evidence that there
is objects that could be found
• Rescue archaeology: When archaeologists excavate an area before construction takes
place to rescue any artefacts that may have been left in the ground
• Excavate: When archaeologists dig in the ground for remains from the past
• Survey: a study carried out on a site before archaeologists start digging
FILL KEY CONCEPTS INTO YOUR GRID
IN YOUR HARDBACK COPIES
• Aerial photograph: Shows pictures of ancient walls or roads that would be hard to see from the
ground.
• Post-Holes: these are holes in the ground that may have been left by an ancient structure. Example:
Mount Sandel, Co. Derry
• Stratigraphy: A method of dating objects by the depth at which they are found. As a rule, the
deeper an object is found, the older it is.
• Carbon Dating: A complex scientific method used to find the age of an object that once lived. All
living objects contain Carbon 14, scientists measure how much is left in the object to determine how
old it is. The older the object, the less carbon 14 it will contain.
• Dendrochronology: A method of dating objects such as wood, by counting the rings
• Museum: Collects and stores artefacts for study and display
• Archive: Collects and stores mainly documentary (written) sources
WHAT IS ARCHAEOLOGY?

• Archaeology is the study of the remains left by our ancestors

• Archaeologists dig up the ground to find clues left by our ancestors
• They may find two types of objects: Fossils or Artefacts
• Fossils are the remains of living things e.g. plants, animals, people
• Artefacts are the remains of man made objects e.g. coins, pottery,
jewellery, buildings
• Artefacts tell us how people lived in prehistoric times
• Prehistoric: time before writing was invented
STUDENT ACTIVITY

• Using mini whiteboards: Identify whether

an artefact or fossil was discovered

1. While Mary was planting her garden,

she uncovered an old bone. Did she find
a fossil or an artefact?
2. While exploring the woods near his
home, David uncovered an arrowhead.
Did he find a fossil or an artefact? 
HOW DO OBJECTS END UP BURIED IN
THE GROUND?
1. Some are lost
2. Placed in the ground for safekeeping and forgotten about
3. Pre-Christian times: Goods placed in tomb with the dead
4. Buildings were abandoned and over time covered in soil /
buildings were knocked down and new ones
constructed on top of site

5. Wood, animal and human bodies do not survive long in the

ground. Only skeleton remains
However, in very cold, very wet or very dry places. Bodies
have been preserved in bogs e.g. The Tolland Man
 FLOWCHART: CHOOSING A SITE
1. Evidence that objects could be found here
- There may be an old document showing that a building once existed here. This is called research archaeology

2. Building on a site before a road/new building is built

- Ensures no objects/evidence from the past is lost. This is called rescue archaeology

3. By accident
- Many objects found discovered by accident e.g. a JCB unearths a human skull / farmer ploughing a field comes
across a sword
EXCAVATING A SITE STAGE ONE:
PREPARATIONS
1. A survey of the site is carried out: Narrows down where to start digging

2. Geophysical survey: Similar to an X-ray, this machine looks at the soil

underneath the surface. Shows how much the earth has been disturbed by humans

3. Dig test trenches: to get an ideas about the amount of remains that can be
expected to be discovered

4. Aerial photographs are taken: Show the size of the site and picks up features
that may be missed on the ground

5. Plan: a detailed plan is made. The site is then divided into numbered one metre
squares/grids that the archaeologist will investigate
 STAGE TWO: THE DIG
• The excavation/dig begins: Topsoil is removed using a
JCB, spades and pickaxes are also used. Once topsoil is
removed archaeologists can set to work.

Tools used:
• Trowels: to scrap away layers of earth
• Hand-pick: used to loosen soil
• Brushes/toothbrushes: used when objects are found
so as not to damage them
• Sieve: some objects are very small so soil is often put
through a sieve to make sure nothing is missing
• Photograph: once an object is found a photograph is
taken
WHAT HAPPENS IF NO OBJECTS ARE
FOUND?
• Even if no objects are found the soil
can skill tell an archaeologist a lot
about the past
• Timber poles used for building houses
leave dark round patches called post-
holes
• A square dark patch suggests a
fireplace
• A layer of darker soil may mean that
the site was destroyed by a fire
DATING OBJECTS

• Archaeologists record and date what they find

• All objects are cleaned, bagged and labelled according to where they are found on the site
• Methods of dating objects include: stratigraphy, carbon dating and dendrochronology
STRATIGRAPHY

• A method of dating objects by

the depth at which they are
found. As a rule, the deeper an
object is found, the older it is.
CARBON DATING

• A complex scientific method used

to find the age of an object that
once lived. All living objects
contain Carbon 14, scientists
measure how much is left in the
object to determine how old it is.
The older the object, the less
carbon 14 it will contain.
DENDROCHRONOLOGY

• A method of dating objects such as

wood, by counting the rings.
Every year a tree grows new rings.
The age of a tree is determined by
the number of rings inside the
trunk.
WHAT NEXT?

• After an archaeologist
dates an artefact they
must store it.
• Artefacts are stored in an
archive or in a museum.
WHAT CAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS LEARN
FROM A SKELETON?
1. Was it a man or a woman – by looking at pelvis & skull bone
2. Height can be determined by the length of the thigh – the femur bone
3. Age of skeleton – by looking at the teeth
4. A wound – can determine cause of death
5. If there are artefacts beside body – person probably not a Christian
6. If skull is well preserved – modern techniques can lead to facial reconstruction
7. Looking at bones – determine person’s type of diet
8. DNA testing can also find out more about the skeleton
WHITE BOARDS
HOMEWORK QUESTIONS

1. Give two reasons why objects end up in the ground?

2. In what condition are objects such as bodies well preserved?
3. Name two ways in which sites are chosen to be excavated?
4. ‘Archaeologists survey a site before they dig’. Explain what this statement means.
5. Name three tools that archaeologists use during an excavation.
6. Why are archaeologists careful with objects that are found?
7. Briefly explain two methods of dating an object.
8. Give three pieces of information that an archaeologist can learn from a skeleton.
9. What happens to objects after they have been found by an archaeologist?