Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: Archaeological technology methods

15 minutes

Find Out: Archaeologists and community collaboration

30 minutes

Take Action: Newsletter article

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

identify the importance of collaboration between Traditional Custodians and archaeologists.

Success criteria

Students can:

describe archaeological technology methods
write a newsletter article on cultural heritage.

Tune In: Archaeological technologies

Step 1

Explain to students that they will work in six groups to learn about a specific archaeological technology method. Divide students into six groups and assign one of the following archaeological technology methods to each group:

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL)
Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)
Radiocarbon dating
Geospatial mapping
LiDAR
Resi

Step 2

Provide each group with the accompanying Factsheet about the technology method, and allow groups ten minutes to watch the corresponding video. For your use, the links to each video are provided below:

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) (vimeo.com/1031005301?share=copy#t=0)
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) (vimeo.com/1031005770?share=copy#t=0)
Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) (vimeo.com/1031007524?share=copy#t=0)
Radiocarbon dating (vimeo.com/1031008553?share=copy#t=0)
Geospatial mapping (vimeo.com/1031009502?share=copy#t=0)
LiDAR (vimeo.com/1031010197?share=copy#t=0)
Resi (vimeo.com/1031013107?share=copy#t=0)

Outline to students that they will do a jigsaw, where one student from each group forms a new group of six. For their new group, the students are to become ‘experts’ on the archaeological technology method they learned about in their first group.

Step 3

Reassign students to form new groups after they have studied their archaeological technology method. Invite students to share what they have learned before instructing them to return to their original group and share one fact they learned from their jigsaw group.

Find Out: Archaeologists and community collaboration

Step 1

Pose a question to students:

Why should archaeologists collaborate with Traditional Custodians?

Invite students to share their thoughts and create a list on a whiteboard of the reasons why archaeologists should collaborate with Traditional Custodian groups and communities.

Step 2

Explain to students that the archaeological technology methods they focused on earlier in the lesson are frequently used by the Everick Foundation to support cultural heritage and community collaboration for First Nations people across Australia. To further explore this, watch the following video as a class, which focuses on the collaboration between the Everick Foundation and the Yuggera Ugarapul Peoples.

Archaeological Training On Country - (https://vimeo.com/1031016084?share=copy#t=0)

Please note that Everick Foundation is moving away from general archaeology field schools, towards supporting and collaborating with education institutions like University of Queensland in their efforts to directly benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. At the same time, the Foundation is developing a credentialled approach to Aboriginal-focused field schools, like the one shown in the video. This shift reflects the Foundation's commitment to aligning its archaeological resources and technical skills with its charitable purpose and maximising impact in this area.

Step 3

Direct students to reflect on the mission of the Everick Foundation by responding to the questions on the Student Worksheet.

Take Action: Newsletter article

Step 1

Your students’ task is to write a newsletter article on what they have learned about cultural heritage and archaeological technologies. In their article, students must:

describe the role and responsibilities of Traditional Custodians who advocate for and manage cultural heritage and preservation
focus on one of the Everick Foundation’s projects
provide examples of how modern archaeological technologies are used on cultural heritage sites.

Step 2

Read the following newsletter article example to the class:

Title: Keeping Culture Alive: How Technology Helps Preserve History

Traditional Custodians have been protecting Australia’s cultural heritage for thousands of years. They’ve passed down their knowledge, stories, and traditions from generation to generation. They’re still doing this important job today but have some cool new tools to help.

The Everick Foundation works with Traditional Custodian groups such as the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) to protect important cultural sites. They use technology like Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and drones to explore and map these sites without digging up the land. This makes it easier to find and study special places that must be protected.By mixing cultural knowledge with modern technology, communities can keep their culture alive and share it with others. The Everick Foundation’s projects show that we can respect the past while using new ways to help preserve it. It’s a great example of how working together can make a big difference.

Call to Action:
Want to learn more? Check out the Everick Foundation’s website to see what they’re doing to protect cultural heritage.

Step 3

Direct students to the Student Worksheet for instructions and tips. Students are to use a device to write their articles.

Learning support: Print a copy of the newsletter article example for students who require further support. They can use this as a scaffold for their article.

Step 4

After students have written their articles, pair them up and invite each pair to read their article to the other. In their pairs, students can assist each other in proofreading, editing, and finalising their articles.

Learning opportunity: Got envelopes? Print a copy of each article and place them in envelopes. Students can take their copy home and give it to a friend or family member to spread awareness about cultural heritage preservation.

Reflection

Step 1

Write the following questions on the whiteboard:

What role do non-Indigenous Australians play in preserving and protecting cultural heritage?
Why is this important?

Step 2

Invite students to reflect on the questions. Next, offer students whiteboard markers and invite them to write their answers to each question on the board.

Step 3

Direct students back to their desks, read the collective responses and identify key themes.

Preserving History with Technology

Go to

Summary

Lesson guides and printables

In this lesson