Start at the Beginning and Go to the End. Stop.
Archaeological Chronologies
Where Time, Somewhat, Stands Still
There are several ways that archaeologists date events that happened on a site. Relative dating involves organizing the general order of events on an archaeological site. Stratigraphy is one tool of relative dating where archaeologists can create a timeline of the site by how the soil layers relate to each other. Relative dating tools do not provide exact dates, but they can provide a sequence of events. In contrast, absolute dating techniques provide an exact date or range of dates for a specific event on site, but these dates are harder to come by and have their own limitations.
One method of relative dating is called a typology. In a typology, artifacts are grouped together based on their shared characteristics. Then, the groups of artifacts are arranged in a sequence of oldest to youngest based on how the shape, design, and other features change over time. Pottery and stone tools are some of the most common artifact types that are often used to develop a typology. Each are made from materials that have been used for extremely long periods of time and each are materials that will preserve in most environmental conditions. When using typologies, it is important to keep in mind that styles often overlap and several styles may be popular at the same time. Likewise, some objects are used for multiple generations and become heirlooms even after the styles have changed several times.
We know the Town Creek Site has been used for over 12,000 years, based on the ages of the stone projectile points recovered there. We also know that several different cultural traditions called this home based on the different ceramic styles recovered at the site. The Pee Dee culture practiced Mississippian traditions. They built the mound, stamped their pottery with swirls and cross shapes, and had projectile points for arrows. While stratigraphy and typologies can tell us that things change and how those changes were made, they cannot tell us why the changes were made. Chronologies and typologies offer us a way to begin looking at cultures in the past.
It’s All in the Hair
Think about hair styles of the past century. You can even look up timelines of hair styles.
- What are some broad differences that you notice about hair styles?
- Which came first, long or short hair?
- Do styles repeat or is each phase different from the others?
- Does everyone change their hair when a new style is popular? Or are several styles popular at the same time?
- How do hair styles overlap or carry over similar traits?
Your Life, Rearranged
Materials: paper, pen/pencil, scissors, colored pencils or crayons
- On a sheet of paper write a list of ten things that have happened in your life. This can be anything from birth, to trips, to favorite meals or parties.
- Draw a picture representing each event.
- Cut out each event into a strip. Mix up the events.
- Exchange the strips with a partner and see who can arrange the events in the correct order.
- For an extra challenge, pass along only the images associated with the event. Does this change the meaning of the image?
- If three or more people are participating, have one person write their events, another person drawing the images and the third person arrange the events from just the images.
- Randomly take out two or three images. Can the timeline be put back together? How do you think archaeologists feel when looters have removed important context information or artifacts from a site? Can the whole picture be put back together?
Contact Us
If you would like to suggest a topic for a future activity or if you have any questions about this post, please email us at towncreek@ncdcr.gov.
Resources
Price, Margo L, Patricia M. Samford and Vincas P. Steponaitis. 2001. Intrigue of the Past: North Carolina’s First Peoples, A Teacher’s Activity Guide for Fourth through Eighth Grades. Chapel Hill: Research Labs of Archaeology, University of North Carolina.
