Activities

Activity I: Observation of Sites

Give each group five cups. Have the students in each group set up the cups and label them with masking tape as outlined below.

Cup 1 (Condition 1—Frozen) Put the fruit in the cup, surrounded by gravel, but so the fruit can be seen through the cup. Fill the cup with water and place the cup in a freezer. Label the cup "frozen."

Cup 2 (Condition 2—Dry) Fill the bottom of the cup with 4 cm of gravel and carefully place the fruit on it or into the gravel, but so the fruit can be seen easily. Place in a hot, dry (under lamp) location. Label the cup "dry."

Cup 3 (Condition 3—Humid) Fill the bottom of the cup with 4 cm of gravel and place the fruit carefully on top of it. Add water until it just touches the fruit. Seal the cup with plastic wrap and rubber bands. Be sure the fruit can be seen from the outside. Place the cup in a room temperature location. Label the cup "humid."

Cup 4 (Condition 4—Under water) Same as Cup 1, but stored in a cool place (not a freezer). Label the cup "under water."

Cup 5 (Condition 5—Wet clay) Compress damp clay around the fruit and wrap with plastic wrap. The fruit must be as airtight as possible. Fill the bottom of the cup with 3 cm of gravel and fill the cup with water until it just begins to show on top of the gravel. Place the clay ball on top of the gravel and seal the cup with plastic wrap and rubber bands. Store in a refrigerator or cool place. Label the cup "wet clay."

Have students put their cups in the appropriate places around the room.

Ask students the following questions:

1. What does the term "experiment" mean? (testing information for results)
2. What kinds of experiments do you know about? (variety of answers depending on experience)
3. Can you name all of the components that were used or considered to make up this experiment? (cup, fruit, gravel, temperature, humidity, air, water, clay)

Some of these components are called variables; others are called constants. Variables differed at each site (temperature, humidity, and the material that surrounded the fruit: air, water, clay). Constants remained the same at each site (cup, fruit, and gravel).

Now have the students refer to the Observation Worksheet, which will be used to record changes.

Ask students to hypothesize about what will happen to each of their fruits. Tell them that they will observe any changes over the next five weeks. Remind them that they cannot open their clay cups until the end of the experiment. Have them indicate what variables are affecting each condition.

The steps that occur in an experiment are called scientific processes. These are hypothesis, observation, recording, testing/analysis, and drawing conclusions. These processes are used during any archaeological study.

Ask students to look at the illustration "Applying the Scientific Process" (below). Discuss their ideas about the seven steps to help them form a definition of each process and to describe the cyclical nature of the scientific process. Ask them to describe, on a separate sheet of paper, the conditions of each site that were set up in each cup. They should include a drawing of how each site and its surrounding environment would look.

Activity II: Observing, Recording, and Concluding

Each group will observe its fruit every seven days and will note changes. Groups will not report to the rest of the class at this time. After four weeks of observing, they will be ready to find out whether their hypotheses were correct and to state their conclusions before the class. The rest of the class then can check their hypotheses with the results.

Ask students to compare their results with their original hypotheses. Discuss the variables and the conditions that resulted in the best preservation.