Background Information on Clovis Points:
In 1933, near Clovis, New Mexico, distinctive fluted projectile points (arrowheads) which were to become known as “Clovis points” were found among mammoth bones. Although the theory that the Clovis point people were the very first Americans is coming under increasing assault, the excavation site, which would become known as Blackwater Draw, provides the first well-documented evidence of human occupation in the West more than 13,000 years ago. Clovis points have been excavated in many states with a particularly major Clovis cache, the Fenn Cache, in 2008 in a Colorado backyard. In 1976, archaeologists excavated the oldest known village at Monte Verde in Chile where they also found wooden foundations of a dozen pole-frame houses and a child’s footprint embedded in clay. This new evidence raised questions about D’Arcy McNicle’s Beringian migration from Asia across the Bering Strait into North America. Whether Clovis people were first or not, it is a good starting point to study the Paleoindian of North America in the late Pleistocene.
“Clovis people depended for survival on the weapons and tools they made from stone, bone, and wood. They searched out the best sources of fine-grained stone such as chert, jasper, and chalcedony and meticulously fashioned elegantly lethal projectile points. They flaked each spear point on both sides to give it greater penetration and etched out a channel or flute that allowed them to tie the point more surely to its shaft. University of Wyoming Professor Emeritus George Frison tested the penetrating potential of the Clovis projectile point on elephant carcasses culled from the herds in Zimbabwe and pronounced it ‘a model of efficiency in terms of inflicting lethal wounds on large animals.’”
For more research on the Clovis point story especially geared for middle school students, go to the South Dakota State Historical Society website ( http://history.sd.gov/Archaeology/arch-outline.html )on ‘Archaeology’ with particular emphasis on ‘About our past…’ and ‘About Archaeology.’
Materials:
•PDF Day One Worksheet
•PDF Article: “Digging Up the Past”
•PDF Biographical Timeline of George Frison
•8 PDFs of Clovis Points from the University of Missouri: Museum of Anthropology or http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/minigalleries/clovistools/intro.shtml
Essential Questions:
•How do you become an archaeologist?
•What is the difference between history and archaeology?
•How did the Paleo-Indian make and use the Clovis Projectile Point?
Objectives:
•The student will be able to distinguish between what an archaeologist uses and historian uses to tell the story of the past.
•The students will be able to describe a Clovis Projectile point and where on a US map the Paleo-Indian used them.
Procedure:
Preview Assignment: This lesson starts with one of America’s finest archaeologist, George Frison. Calloway makes particular reference to him on page 42 with the phrase “and he would know” when explaining the use of tools used in communal buffalo hunts. Frison’s biography may appeal to the youth because they can imagine how he fell in love with history and archaeology when searching for arrowheads. The students are to read an article from ‘Made in Wyoming’ with an accompanying of a timeline of his accomplishments. The students will extract quotes or accomplishments from the article and George Frison’s biography. The student will then write a few sentences on what it takes to become an archaeologist.
Direct Instruction: The teacher will direct instruct on the difference between archaeology and history. Professor Jodi Magness from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill describes it best:
“Both disciplines study the past; that is both disciplines attempt to give us an understanding or a picture of the past. In that, archaeology and history are very similar. Where archaeology and history diverge however are in the types of information that they can use. Specifically historians study written documents to understand the past. What is archaeology in distinction to history? Archaeology is the study of human material culture, the material culture, things that people have left behind.”
Also very helpful is South Dakota State Historical Society’s page “About Archaeology.”
Groupwork Investigation: The teacher will place the eight pictures of different Clovis points around the room. Using the SEARCH acronym, the teacher will introduce to whole class the subject of Clovis projectile points and establishes a background on Clovis points. Then, in groups of four, the students will ‘travel’ around the room and complete the ask, read, and come portions of the day one worksheet. The culmination of the day one lesson is to have a whole class discussion on their observations.
Attachments:
Biography_of_George_Frison.pdf
Day_One_Worksheet.pdf
Digging_Up_the_Past-Article_on_George_Frison.pdf
In 1933, near Clovis, New Mexico, distinctive fluted projectile points (arrowheads) which were to become known as “Clovis points” were found among mammoth bones. Although the theory that the Clovis point people were the very first Americans is coming under increasing assault, the excavation site, which would become known as Blackwater Draw, provides the first well-documented evidence of human occupation in the West more than 13,000 years ago. Clovis points have been excavated in many states with a particularly major Clovis cache, the Fenn Cache, in 2008 in a Colorado backyard. In 1976, archaeologists excavated the oldest known village at Monte Verde in Chile where they also found wooden foundations of a dozen pole-frame houses and a child’s footprint embedded in clay. This new evidence raised questions about D’Arcy McNicle’s Beringian migration from Asia across the Bering Strait into North America. Whether Clovis people were first or not, it is a good starting point to study the Paleoindian of North America in the late Pleistocene.
“Clovis people depended for survival on the weapons and tools they made from stone, bone, and wood. They searched out the best sources of fine-grained stone such as chert, jasper, and chalcedony and meticulously fashioned elegantly lethal projectile points. They flaked each spear point on both sides to give it greater penetration and etched out a channel or flute that allowed them to tie the point more surely to its shaft. University of Wyoming Professor Emeritus George Frison tested the penetrating potential of the Clovis projectile point on elephant carcasses culled from the herds in Zimbabwe and pronounced it ‘a model of efficiency in terms of inflicting lethal wounds on large animals.’”
For more research on the Clovis point story especially geared for middle school students, go to the South Dakota State Historical Society website ( http://history.sd.gov/Archaeology/arch-outline.html )on ‘Archaeology’ with particular emphasis on ‘About our past…’ and ‘About Archaeology.’
Materials:
•PDF Day One Worksheet
•PDF Article: “Digging Up the Past”
•PDF Biographical Timeline of George Frison
•8 PDFs of Clovis Points from the University of Missouri: Museum of Anthropology or http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/minigalleries/clovistools/intro.shtml
Essential Questions:
•How do you become an archaeologist?
•What is the difference between history and archaeology?
•How did the Paleo-Indian make and use the Clovis Projectile Point?
Objectives:
•The student will be able to distinguish between what an archaeologist uses and historian uses to tell the story of the past.
•The students will be able to describe a Clovis Projectile point and where on a US map the Paleo-Indian used them.
Procedure:
Preview Assignment: This lesson starts with one of America’s finest archaeologist, George Frison. Calloway makes particular reference to him on page 42 with the phrase “and he would know” when explaining the use of tools used in communal buffalo hunts. Frison’s biography may appeal to the youth because they can imagine how he fell in love with history and archaeology when searching for arrowheads. The students are to read an article from ‘Made in Wyoming’ with an accompanying of a timeline of his accomplishments. The students will extract quotes or accomplishments from the article and George Frison’s biography. The student will then write a few sentences on what it takes to become an archaeologist.
Direct Instruction: The teacher will direct instruct on the difference between archaeology and history. Professor Jodi Magness from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill describes it best:
“Both disciplines study the past; that is both disciplines attempt to give us an understanding or a picture of the past. In that, archaeology and history are very similar. Where archaeology and history diverge however are in the types of information that they can use. Specifically historians study written documents to understand the past. What is archaeology in distinction to history? Archaeology is the study of human material culture, the material culture, things that people have left behind.”
Also very helpful is South Dakota State Historical Society’s page “About Archaeology.”
Groupwork Investigation: The teacher will place the eight pictures of different Clovis points around the room. Using the SEARCH acronym, the teacher will introduce to whole class the subject of Clovis projectile points and establishes a background on Clovis points. Then, in groups of four, the students will ‘travel’ around the room and complete the ask, read, and come portions of the day one worksheet. The culmination of the day one lesson is to have a whole class discussion on their observations.
Attachments:
Biography_of_George_Frison.pdf
Day_One_Worksheet.pdf
Digging_Up_the_Past-Article_on_George_Frison.pdf