Investigating Lost Civilizations Through Archaeological Evidence
Grade 5 · Social Studies · 45 minutes
Objective
Students will analyze artifacts to make inferences about how ancient civilizations met their basic needs.
Materials
- Chart paper
- Markers
- Small classroom objects
- Paper bags
- Notebooks
- Pencils
Hook
Tell students that archaeologists have discovered a mysterious lost civilization and need their help to solve the puzzle of how these people lived. Each team will receive a bag of 'artifacts' (classroom objects) found at different dig sites.
Main Activity
Teams open their artifact bags and examine each object as if it's an ancient artifact. They record observations and make inferences about what each item tells them about the civilization's food, shelter, transportation, government, or religion. Teams create a chart showing their artifacts and conclusions, then present their civilization's story to other archaeological teams. Finally, reveal what the objects actually are and discuss how archaeologists use similar thinking to understand real ancient civilizations.
Discussion Questions
- What was most challenging about figuring out how people used these artifacts?
- How might archaeologists be wrong about their conclusions regarding ancient civilizations?
- What objects from our classroom today might confuse future archaeologists?
- Why is it important to find multiple artifacts from the same place?
- How do artifacts help us understand that all civilizations must meet the same basic human needs?
Exit Ticket
Write one inference you made about your civilization and explain what evidence supported that conclusion.
Differentiation
Support: Provide students with a graphic organizer showing categories of basic needs and sentence starters for making inferences from evidence.
Extension: Have students research one real archaeological discovery and compare their inference process to what actual archaeologists concluded about that civilization.
