If you don’t already have a copy of Frontiers in the Soil, click here to access an order form! Clocking in at over 100 pages, Frontiers tells the story of young archaeologists working on an excavation project, using lively text and humorous cartoon illustrations. This classic volume will be enjoyed by everyone curious about Georgia’s archaeological heritage. There’s also a free lesson plan based on the book.

How do archaeologists do…archaeology? Archaeologists analyze the material remains (sites and artifacts) people have left behind, then interpret and recreate past human life. So, how does the analysis lead to the interpreting and recreating? A new, 2012 publication by the National Academies provides a helpful discussion of how all kinds of scientific researchers, including archaeologists, move from the real world to hypotheses and theories. Archaeologists use their understanding of material remains to reconstruct our human past.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus attends the Georgia Council for the Social Studies Conference in Athens along with hundreds of teachers, many of whom, she discovered, are quite knowledgeable about Georgia archaeology.

The University of Georgia Student Association for Archaeological Sciences recently sponsored a day-long atlatl workshop with Scott Jones, primitive technologist and expert in atlatl manufacture and use. Twelve SAAS members and their faculty advisor, Jared Wood, gathered at Scott’s outdoor classroom at “The Woods” just northeast of Lexington, and listened to Scott’s exciting lecture, then practiced primitive skills, and had great fun taking aim at cardboard quarry. The full story includes many exciting photographs of the outing.

Check out Georgia Flashback to take a look at the newest available learning tool designed with 8th grade students in mind. The game teaches students about our state’s history, architecture, and cultural geography. It was created by a team from the Georgia Department of Transportation, Greenhorne & O’Mara, and the History Workshop. Watch out! It’s addicting!

The Society for Georgia Archaeology proudly presents the 2011 Lesson Plan—“Learning Through Archaeology: Rediscovering the Civil War in Georgia.” This plan was developed based on the Georgia Archaeology Month theme—Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War Through Archaeology. The Plan explores the meaning of archaeology and reveals facts relating to the Civil War in Georgia. The featured archaeological site is Nash Farm Battlefield, in Henry County near McDonough. The largest cavalry charge in the history of Georgia happened here in 1864. Classroom activities include suggestions for making hardtack or other foods consumed by soldiers and using copies of historic Civil War photographs to consider the archaeological sites the people and material culture in the images would have left behind.

Please access a trifold brochure listing 2011 Archaeology Month events prepared by SGA Secretary Pam Baughman by clicking here (PDF). Archaeology Month in Georgia is held during the month of May, and this year’s theme is Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War through Archaeology. The Society for Georgia Archaeology’s Spring Meeting will be held May 13–15 in McDonough; please join us! Click here to look at the 2011 Archaeology Month events on the SGA’s online calendar, which includes links to the maps of the locations where these events will be held.

Frontiers in the Soil is a classic in archaeological literature that should be useful to everyone. Using easy-to-read text by Roy S. Dickens, Jr., and creative color cartoon illustrations by James L. McKinley, Frontiers interprets Georgia’s past with humor in over 100-pages of delightful reading. Click here to download the order form for Frontiers in the Soil.

In my role as an SGA board member, notes Lynn Pietak, I was asked by President Catherine Long to attend the Georgia Social Studies Fair 2011, to give awards sponsored by the Society for Georgia Archaeology (SGA) and the Georgia Council for Professional Archaeologists (GCPA). The fair was held at Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia.

Linda Lane, member of SGA’s local chapter Golden Isles Archaeological Society (GIAS) wrote an article for Dig magazine titled “It’s Not What You Find-But What You Find Out.” Dig magazine is published for children ages nine and older in partnership with Archaeology magazine. Its main focus is making archaeology, paleontology and earth sciences interesting to children.

In which…Abby the ArchaeoBus hosts thousands of visitors at the 2010 Georgia National Fair in Perry….

Abby the ArchaeoBus met countless numbers of the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Georgia National Fair in Perry this October. Visitors had a unique opportunity this year to learn about Georgia’s archaeology and preservation in a fun and interactive way, courtesy of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. Families and adults were actively engaged in learning these messages, as were field trip students. Countless children left Abby positive messages in her visitor book. Also, a special thanks to the hard working cadre of volunteers at the ArchaeoBus exhibit.

Volunteering for the SGA is not a daunting task as one might think, being at the Georgia National Fair all day with the ArchaeoBus smelling livestock, eating fatty foods, and dealing with rowdy kids. The ArchaeoBus volunteers report they had a great time and all said they would do it again!

In the full story, click through photos from two days spent with the ArchaeoBus at the Georgia National Fair, in Perry. Visitors of all ages enjoyed the Fair from October 7–17, 2010. SGA members pulled together to staff the ArchaeoBus exhibit with three or more volunteers at all times, helping thousands of fair-goers learn about Georgia archaeology.

Visit the Georgia National Fair—October 7–17 in Perry, and step into the ArchaeoBus! We’ll have lots of information plus activities for kids! Kids can make a seed packet for next spring, and plant seeds Native Americans in Georgia used to cultivate! The full story has a downloadable Fair map with the ArchaeoBus location marked, and a downloadable handout about Native American agriculture in Georgia.

The long version of this story introduces a multipage online presentation by the Smithsonian Institution called “Decoding the Past: The Work of Archaeologists” (with lesson plans). This raises issues of how to envision the past so that you can reveal patterns, rhythms, and cycles that it encompasses. French historian Fernand Braudel’s tri-partite division of the rhythms of the past are introduced.

The Internet provides great resources for those researching and learning about archaeology. Finding the really good stuff, however, can be difficult. Here’s some help: the Arkansas Archeological Survey has posted some really good stuff!

The Society for Georgia Archaeology proudly presents this year’s lesson plan for teachers and other interested parties! The theme SGA has chosen for Georgia Archaeology Month 2010 is Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques. We hope that the readers of this lesson plan will become familiar with a range of skills and techniques used by the early inhabitants of Georgia, and perhaps better understand the dynamic interaction between the natural environment and humans and their culture.

Consider attending this all-day event at Cumberland Island, intended to familiarize educators with archaeology resources for the classroom that can enhance learning opportunities in math, science, art, and social studies. Cost is $10, and the group will meet at 8 am at the dock in St. Marys on Saturday, May 22. The full story has a link to a one-page information sheet with more details.

The Georgia Social Studies Fair was held Saturday, March 20, 2010 at Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia. Catherine Long attended on behalf of the Society for Georgia Archaeology and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists to present two awards of $50 in recognition of excellent projects that promote the study, preservation, and education of archaeology. Winners are 6th graders Jessica Anthony and Christina Moore. The full story includes photos of the winners.

The Florida legislature established the Florida Public Archaeology Project in part to do outreach. Among the materials they have posted online are books of hands-on archaeology activities for teachers. Although FPAN is oriented toward Florida, many of their activities can be used or adapted for use in Georgia classrooms. The books are free and downloadable.

The Society for Georgia Archaeology’s ArchaeoBus is a Mobile Archaeology Classroom. Teachers in Clarke County, Georgia, can make reservations now for January through June of 2010. Click here for Guidelines for Educators, which includes a request form and student response form. Click here for the document Standards, Skills, Domains, and Learning Styles addressed by the [...]

Georgia’s Mobile Archaeology Classroom—the ArchaeoBus—provides hands-on and minds-on activities to enthuse your students about learning. Archaeology is a great tool for turning on the minds of students, as well as a great motivational tool. More important, it is a discipline capable of instruction in a wide variety of skills. Archaeology is a holistic academic and intellectual approach that involves all subject areas, social skills, and conceptual skills. Georgia’s Mobile Archaeology Classroom offers the opportunity for students and teachers to leave the traditional four-walled classroom and use a new approach to learn state standards!

The Digital Library of Georgia website includes a page of links titled “Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842″ that you may find useful. Links include the official websites of Southeastern tribes, and some museums, archives, and libraries, etc.

Wanna read about how “real archaeologists” compare what they do with what Indiana Jones does? The National Science Foundation (your tax dollars at work) funds archaeological projects, and the present an online “report” discussing what archaeologists the NSF has funded really do—in contrast to the behavior of Dr. Jones in the Steven Spielberg and George Lucas movies.

For each of the last twelve years, the SGA has produced a Lesson Plan in coordination with Archaeology Month. This year’s Lesson Plan, called Learning through Archaeology: Etowah Indian Mounds, is now available. It coordinates with the theme of our 2009 Archaeology Month meeting, Mounds in Our Midst: Monuments of Prehistoric Culture in Georgia. Our Spring Meeting will be held May 16th and 17th at Wesleyan College in Macon.

The 2009 State Social Studies Fair winners in archaeology are Destiny Jackson, with her project entitled “What Archaeological Remains Did King Tut Leave Behind?” and eighth grader Jack Doresky, whose project was titled “Southeastern US Indian Removal.” Each winner received a $50 check and educational materials from the SGA and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists. Read the full story for details and photos.

Long time SGA member and primitive technology researcher Scott Jones has just published a book that is a compilation of his articles from the past decade related to primitive technology and experimental archaeology. Scott has practiced primitive technology for two decades and now makes a living presenting the subject to the general public (always with [...]

Wiley Publishing has just issued Archaeology for Dummies ($21.95) by SGA member Nancy White. The book tells how archaeology is detective work and traces over 2 million years of prehistoric human cultures. It demonstrates how archaeology uncovers things about historic times that history can’t, and shows how archaeological knowledge is useful for modern issues like [...]

Project Archaeology, based in Montana, has affiliated state programs around the USA, although not currently in Georgia.

The Project’s website may have some teaching materials you would find useful.

David Macaulay is an author and illustrator who has written many interesting books. One of my favorites is Motel of the Mysteries, published in 1979 by Houghton Mifflin (Boston). The book is now out of print, so I always look for a copy at yard sales and flea markets—and every once in a while I’m [...]

The recent amendment to one of Georgia’s archaeology laws might affect you, whether you are an avocational or professional archaeologist. Code Section 12-3-621 has always required a person who is going to dig on an archaeological site to first notify the Office of the State Archaeologist. This recent amendment has made that notification a lot [...]

SGA’s 2008 Archaeology Month topic was “Archaeological Encounters in Georgia’s Spanish Period” and the Society produced an accompanying lesson plan for teachers. Part of the background text reads: We may never know exactly how the first meeting went between Spanish explorers and Native American Indians in Georgia. However, archaeologists have found enough evidence to get [...]

The Society for Georgia Archaeology’s 2007 lesson plan focused on Fort Hawkins. As the lesson plan notes: Fort Hawkins is located near the Ocmulgee River and served as an important center for the frontier of Georgia from 1806-1819. It was named after Benjamin Hawkins, a white man appointed by President Washington to be an Indian [...]

The topic of the 2005 lesson plan, which meets CRCT Domains for 8th Grade History, is the Indian Removal of the early 1800s. The lesson plan details this period in Georgia’s history, suggests writing assignments, and explains how to make a puzzle called “Go Figure!” Click here to access the PDF of this lesson plan. [...]

This entertaining, colorful cartoon book is about archaeology, particularly in Georgia; it is accurate and amusing. The book features hand-lettered text accompanied by eye-catching, vivid, often humorous artwork. The volume also provides various ideas for archaeological projects. Although oriented toward Georgia and Southeastern archaeology, this volume is useful for understanding general concepts in the archaeology [...]

SGA’s 2004 lesson plan centered on republication of Frontiers in the Soil: The Archaeology of Georgia. The author, Roy S. Dickens, Jr., was a well-known archaeologist who worked in Georgia, and across southeastern North America. His engaging text is supported by the captivating artwork of James McKinley. The first edition, published in 1979, quickly sold [...]

Georgia Archaeology Month 2002 focused on the prehistory of southwest Georgia, and especially the archaeology of the famous village and mound community we now call Kolomoki (pronounced ‚“Coal-oh-moe-key”), which is located in Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park in Early County, near Blakely. At Kolomoki, Native Americans lived, worked, played, and died. It was most heavily [...]

Resources at Risk: Defending Georgia’s Hidden Heritage is a special issue of Early Georgia, published in May 2001. The goals of this issue were 1) to expand public perception of what archaeology is and what archaeologists do; 2) to call attention to the urgent need for the preservation and stewardship of archaeological resources, or at [...]

Long-time SGA member Rita Elliott edited this 1992 special issue of Early Georgia; its full title is ‚“Archaeology in the Classroom: By Teachers for Teachers—Used Archaeology: Practical Classroom Ideas for Teachers by Teachers.” Notes Ms. Elliott in the Foreward: Welcome to a new partnership. The past decade has seen a growing relationship between the world [...]