A photo of Hiram Bingham III standing outside his tent at Machu Picchu in 1912.
Imagine it is one thousand years in the future! The city you live in thrived until humans moved to different parts of the planet. It fell into ruin but has recently been rediscovered by archaeologist! Now archaeologist and historians are rushing to the ruins in hopes they'll be the first to discover significant artifacts! In actuality, this is exactly what happened when American historian Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in Peru, on July 24th, 1911.
What tools would archaeologist and historians use to investigate this city's ruins? What types of artifacts or evidence would historians and archaeologist look for to determine what life was like for the people of the time? Remember, you are to pretend that the city you currently live in has been abandoned by humans and is discovered one thousand years from now by archaeologist. Your job is to choosefive artifacts that best illustrate what life was like for the people who lived in your city. Use the S.P.R.I.T.E. categories as a guide to help you in choosing what kinds of artifacts to analyze. Once you are ready, you will then organize this information into a presentation for your curious fellow citizens.