Of Interest to Teachers:
National Park Service Archaeology Program There are many interesting links related to all aspects of the National Park Service's archaeological activities to be found at this address. Teachers can explore, lean, and adapt the range of materials. Of particular interest is 'Archaeology for Interpreters.' NPS 'Teacher Resources'for archaeology in the classroom are filed under 'For the Public.'
The Massachusetts Historical Commission has posted worthwhile archaeology resources for teachers. Many towns and cultural institutions in Massachusetts host public learning activities as part of the Mass. Historical Commission's yearly Massachusetts Archaeology Month.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority collaborated with the Massachusetts Office of the State Archaeologist to conduct excavations of sites located within the bounds of Boston's Big Dig project. At the MTA website, you can read a summary of the projects, take an online tour of the excavations, and marvel at the scope and impact of the Big Dig.
The Philadelphia Archaeological Forum has created an amazing online learning resource on 'Native American Sites in the City of Philadelphia' that helps us begin to understand how much our society has changed the natural landscape and how urban archaeology is conducted.
The nonprofit Archaeological Institute of America offers an introduction to archaeology and lesson plans at its education webpage.
The archaeology team at the Office of the State Archaeologist of Iowa at the University of Iowa has posted a series of photographs of a pre-contact Native American site at Edgewater Parkon the banks of the Iowa River. The many images illustrate the process of archaeology in particularly detailed fashion and even show what happens when a site floods.
Archaeology Magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America, features interactive excavation tours and a news feed where new discoveries are posted daily.
Of Interest to Kids:
The National Park Service has created a very good interactive learning site for kids called 'Archaeology for Kids.'
Dig Magazine, an archaeology magazine for children, has a website with games, facts, quizzes and a long list of related links, as well as teacher and parent resources related to each magazine issue.
Colonial Williamsburg has an archaeological division that has posted online information and games just for kids.
Webrangers offers kids the opportunity to earn certificates by participating in educational activities, some of which are related to archaeology. (Stories from the Past, Yesterday and Today, Dendrochronology, Arctic Artifacts.)
Pertaining to Blacksmiths:
Old Sturbridge Village's website features an online tour of a blacksmith shop. Although it dates to the early nineteenth century, the site provides much background on how the blacksmith's trade was practiced in rural New England in early times.
The iron ore that New England blacksmiths worked with had been mined in America since the 1640s, when solonists opend the Saugus Iron Works. At Saugus, the National park Service has reconstructed these earliest American ironworks, and they have an online lesson plan.
Penn State's website for its Medieval Technology and American History Program provides a rane of teaching materials about the process of smelting iron.
