Curriculum Materials

Once women entered the field of archeology, they made a huge impact on the field. In this lesson you will learn about one such archaeologist, Dr. N’omi Greber, and the contributions she made to Hopewell Archeology. You will also have the opportunity to step into Dr. Greber’s shoes and interpret the Hopewell Earthwork complex, Liberty Earthworks, to learn more about life and social organization 2,000 years ago from actual artifacts and features found at the site.

People of the Hopewell culture are known for building gigantic geometric earthworks. They also created spiritually charged artwork out of beautiful exotic materials sourced from all over the North American continent. How did these materials get to South-Central Ohio? Gather your students and plenty of supplies into your canoe and let’s explore the fascinating answer!

Archaeologists study artifacts or the objects that past people leave behind to learn about their lives, these objects are called artifacts. By examining artifacts archaeologists can piece together what people ate, what they valued and what they believed in. To do this, archaeologists use their skills of observation and inference. In this lesson plan you will use your own observation skills to infer or make an educated guess about the values, beliefs, and practices in our own culture by studying

Learn the principles of archeological site formation and stratigraphy through the creation of a peanut butter and jelly or a yogurt parfait archeological site.

Ohio has an incredibly rich history. For more than 14,000 years humans have lived in the region between Lake Erie and the Ohio River, now known as Ohio. Early Native American groups traveled across the landscape and hunted, gathered, and farmed in the area. In this reading you will learn about Prehistoric Ohio, the history of Ohio prior to western expansion of the American colonies in the late 1700’s.