NPS Photo Archaeology is a science that involves digging underground to find artifacts, or objects, made, used, and left behind by humans. Archaeologists can also discover things like the remains of buildings from long ago, or even the remains of fire pits and fence posts. The things that archaeologists find while they excavate, or dig underground, can tell us a lot about the past. This is extra important to archaeologists at Fort Vancouver because many people who lived at Fort Vancouver were not able to write about their lives, either because they were not able to read and write, or because they didn't have things like paper and pencils. We can learn about them by the things they left behind. Unfortunately, we can't learn everything about the people who lived here from the items we find underground. Archaelogical artifacts can tell us about what people owned and used, but they can't always tell us about other parts of their lives, like their thoughts and feelings. Museum collections are the historic items that a museum cares for. These can be art, artifacts, or paper items like letters, drawings, or other documents. Paper items in a museum collection are called archives. At Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, archaeological artifacts and historic items in the national park's museum collection can tell us a lot about life at Fort Vancouver. Watch the videos linked below to learn more! Activity: Primary and Secondary SourcesTo learn more about how historians, curators, and archaeologists at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site use primary and secondary sources to learn about the history of the fort, your teacher may give you this fun activity!Read and ReflectAt Fort Vancouver, curators take care of the archaeological artifacts and historic items in the national park's museum collection. Learn more about a curator's job in this article! |
Last updated: December 17, 2020