Things
Things are an integral part of our lives. We use things from the moment we are born and have them with us long after we die. Things are part of our culture, and things make our culture. As such, things can point an observer to many aspects of daily life. In this section, the students will be exposed to many things that are used or have been used traditionally by several groups of indigenous American peoples. This unit, however, does not have to include more than one group of indigenous people. In my case, the unit will focus on the Inca, the Maya, the Aztecs, and the costal peoples of southern New England. These populations cover most of the places from which I have students of indigenous descent.
The idea behind this section is to introduce the students to various instruments and have the students start to think about what can be learned from the tools. This section does not yet involve ideas about what the things are used for; it is simply an observatory phase of the unit. It should draw on some of the skills learned in the observation part of this unit.
The students should be allowed to examine some food related objects from a culture that they are studying. In my case, we will probably go to the Peabody Museum of Natural History to do this because they have a far larger collection of artifacts than I do. You will need to find some local source of artifacts or accurate reproductions in your area. In dire straights, you may be able to substitute photographs for objects, but the experience will be greatly lessened.
The students will record their observations of the object. They will be asked to record the size and shape of the objects; sketches would be appropriate at this point. However, it is important that the students be required to look beyond the obvious details. For example, students should be encouraged to think about what sorts of materials were used to make the object and what had to be done to those materials to shape them into the object. There are marks and scratches that make up wear patterns on the objects. These are the sorts of things that the students ought to be encouraged to notice. One of the advantages of going to a museum to look at objects is that the museum will also have some experts who can explain to the students how professional archeologists study an object. The students might benefit from some training in this area before going to the museum. Steps of old or frequently used buildings are a good place to start looking at wear patterns. If your students are old enough to use microscopes, smaller objects might be observed using dissecting microscopes.
There are a number of interesting food related things in the cultures that my students will be studying. My students will probably be looking at some manos and metates as well as some interesting Inca plates with handles. They will probably also study some chicha containers. If I can find some examples, I would like my students to also study some of the North American mortars and pestles. If food specific items are not available, farming or hunting tools are another alternative that could lead into food.
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