ARCHAEOLOGY  CANADA
Chapter 2 - Archaeology as a Research Process

INFORMATION  ABOUT  ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeology, like writing, is a process. Each part is important.  The first step in archaeological work is to do research.  This helps the archaeologist know about shat s/he is looking for.  Research also gives the archaeologist questions to answer during his/her work. For example:

-Exactly where is the site?
-Who was there?
-What did they eat?
-Did they change the way they did things? Why?
-How did they live from day to day?

Archaeologists will make educated guesses, or hypotheses about what the answers to these questions could be.  They write the hypotheses and the ways they will test them (find out the answers) in a research proposal.

Each archaeologist must give the provincial or territorial government a research proposal before s/he is allowed to go look at, walk on or dig at a site.  If the government agrees that the research proposal is good and necessary, the archaeologist will be given a permit or licence to work and a Borden number for each site looked at. (The federal government also uses its own site number system for federal projects.)

A Borden number is a number from a map of Canada with a grid, created by an archaeologist named Borden.  Each region in the grid has a letter and number co-ordinate, so site locations can be mapped across Canada (view the Borden map of Canada).  This number goes on all reports about the site and on all the things from the site.  Without a Borden number, an archaeologist cannot work properly or legally in Canada (follow this link to learn more about the Borden System).

QUESTIONS

1.  What is the first step in archaeological work?

2.   Why is this step so important?

3.  What is a Borden number?

4.  Why is it important to license archaeological work?

GOALS

to introduce hypothesis testing as the first step of research
to examine archeology as a form of scientific research
to note the importance of licencing for archaeological work in Canada

OBJECTIVES

Knowledge
-demonstrate understanding of an hypothesis
-note some different types of documentary sources available for historical archaeological research

Skills
-write an hypothesis
-write a research proposal
-analyse historical documents to answer and form questions

Attitudes
-the importance of the past for people
-the rights and responsibilities of researchers

VOCABULARY

Borden number
a number assigned to Canadian archeologists by their licencing agency for each site researched.  The number notes a co-ordinate on a gridded map for all of Canada

co-ordinate
the numbered or lettered code used to locate a position on a gridded map by measuring from a known point

hypothesis
an educated guess to be tested by scientific research

proposal
an outline of what a scientist (archaeologist) plans to do to test her/his hypothesis

research
study and testing of hypotheses

RESOURCES

Ballard, Robert
Exploring the Titanic Toronto: Viking Kestrel, 1988.

Beattie, Owen
Frozen in Time Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books, 1988.

Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Borden System of Site Identification
http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/archeo/oracles/borden/08.htm

Fladmark, Knut
A Guide to Basic Archaeological Field Procedures Burnaby: Simon Fraser University, 1978.

Newlands, David and Claus Breede
An Introduction to Canadian Archaeology Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 1976.

Wood, Michael
In Search of the Trojan War London: BBC, 1985.


SUGGESTED  LESSONS

Junior
 Intermediate
 Extension
Students should change partners from the ones in the activity in Chapter 1.

With the new partners, students write "guesses" or hypotheses about the special meaning of the new partner's artifact.

Students then write several suggestions about how they could find out if their guesses are correct i.e. form a research plan.

Students may self-evaluate by checking with their partners to see if their suggestions wold have worked and if their guesses were correct.

 Students should examine the examples of historical documents provided, and record:

1) what they learned about the people discussed in the documents;
2) what they still want to know about the people, that was not mentioned in the documents;
3) an hypothesis about one aspect of the lives of the people in the documents.		 Divide the class into groups. 

Each group should research an account of a notable archaeological project e.g.
-Schliemann at Troy,
-Evans at Knossos,
-Carter at Tutankhamen's tomb
-Leakey in Olduvai Gorge,
-The University of Alberta team at Franklin's grave,
-Ballard at the Titanic site;
-Cady-Stanton at Great Zimbabwe

Students should note:
1) the hypothesis of the archaeologist;
2) the research plan for the archaeologist (i.e. what s/he did to test the hypothesis);
3) the results of his/her research;
4) the value of her/his results to archaeological knowledge.

Each group should share its findings with the class.

EVALUATIVE  STRATEGIES

Junior
 Intermediate
 Extension
Self evaluation is noted above.

Using information from a unit of study in the curriculum e.g.
-First Nations
-Ancient Civilizations
-European settlement
students should repeat the activity undertaken above with a partner, but for an object each partner selects from the time period under study.

The partners could evaluate each other's hypothesis.		 Using the hypotheses from the activity above, students should write a research proposal, outlining the reasons archaeological work could provide valuable information about the past of the people documented.

Teachers could assign "Borden numbers: to those proposals deemed acceptable (i.e. that pass), using the map provided on page 2.5		 Students should note how they might go about testing the hypothesis of one (or more) of the archaeologists studied, using today's technologies i.e. rewrite a research proposal.

DISCUSSION

Junior
 Intermediate
 Extension
Use the UNESCO guidelines for discussions.

The class should discuss:

Do you have the right to know about another person, or their culture whether they want you to know or not?  Who decides?

Use the UNESCO guidelines for discussions:

The class should discuss:

If a member of the family mentioned in the historical documents studied did not want archaeological research done about the family, does the archaeologist have a right/responsibility to go ahead anyway? Who decides?		 Use the UNESCO guidelines for discussions. 

The class should discuss:

Based upon the conclusions from Chapter 1, were the researchers noted above to be considered as archaeologists? Why/Why not?

RESOURCES
Junior
 Intermediate
 Extension
1. UNESCO discussion guidelines

1. historical documents
2. UNESCO discussion guidelines
3. answer key
4. marking rubric		 1. UNESCO discussion guidelines
2. marking rubric

Back
Return to the CAA Homepage