An archaeological dig took place at Bothwell Middle School, where students have been learning the trade of excavating history. Enjoying the outdoors, 7th grader Kaliyah Hutchins says she finds a real sense of excitement in finding treasures in the earth. “My favorite thing about studying archaeology is that you just learn all these different things and he teaches it in a fun way”, said Hutchins.
This is the students’ world history class, where they have been learning archaeology unit and this is their chance to test out their skills. “We’re using a little bit of math so they’re measuring the devices the artifacts they’re finding”, said history teacher Scot Stewart. Stewart comments that this opportunity shares the interest in this field with the students.
The plot sites are about a half meter wide and the students are digging down under the soil about 8 centimeters, mapping out each layer as they go. These digs, help students apply different mapping techniques learned in class to make new discoveries. “We’re looking for pottery shards, we’re looking for charcoal bits, bone fragments, and flakes from mapping the process of making stone tools”, said Stewart.
The students are adventuring in the outdoors and it seems that Bothwell Middle School is digging up some interest in the archaeological field. Right in the school’s backyard, students have uncovered some hidden bits of history right here in upper Michigan.
