Haffenreffer Museum

Today we had our first of four visits from Mrs. Silvia of the Haffenreffer Museum at Brown University.  This is a wonderful program presented to the fourth graders by classroom, and we are grateful to the PCC for funding this.  During the four visits, we will learn about  different Native Americans from various regions of the United States.  Today our program was about archaeology and how finding artifacts in the soil allows scientists to learn about different groups.  We were looking for information about the "Massachusett" tribe.

Mrs. Silvia first introduced the concept of anthropology and archaeology.  Students were given pieces of pottery which they were told to imagine that these pieces were found in an archaeological dig.  The students had to put the pieces together to form 1, 2 or even 3 different pots, based on their markings.

 Next students learned about counting rings on a tree, and about how the number of rings is one way to learn more about the area where the tree was found.

 Students then were able to DIG.  Mrs. Silvia set up a mock dig site, and students sifted through dirt to try to determine what type of group lived in the area we were digging.  Students took notes and drew images of the artifacts that were found.

Mrs. Silvia tied it all together!