The Hall of Game

San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church National Historic Landmark

Stratigraphy of toys at San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church. Illustration by Eva Vazquez.

Stratigra-what? Stratigraphy!

Archeologists date sites and artifacts by uncovering the sequence of soil and rock layers deposited on top of one another.

Think about an apartment building. The bottom floor was built first -- it's the oldest. The top floor is the youngest, because it was built last.

Village Period Toys (late 1800s). Photo by Sunday Eiselt.

At Ranchos de Tao, stratigraphy allows us to study the evolution of toys.

Take a look at these toys. They were found in a household at Ranchos de Tao.

Power Ranger toy.

Which would be the oldest?

Which is the newest?

Are the newest similar to your toys now?

Why and why not?