Site Simulation in Teaching Archaeology: A Hands On Approach.

An indoor simulated archaeology site for use in a college level introductory archaeology course is described. Housed in the basement of a building on campus, the site simulates an eight-layered French rock shelter. Layers contain "remains" of a microband of Neanderthals, a Lower and Upper Aurignacian group, an Upper Perigordian group, Magdalenian groups, and an Azilian group. Modern French garbage and grass cover the top. Artifacts include lithic and bone tools, a full skeletal burial, hearths, animal bones, ochres, and ritual and art items. Limestone pebbles simulate sterile layers and soils are colored and textured. The project cost $1500 and involved 300 hours' labor. After a class session devoted to field techniques, teams of students excavate for 15 hours, using measurements, notebooks, maps, and modern standards of labelling and wrapping. Following excavation, students analyze data and prepare site reports. Evaluations by the first class of students involved in the project were consistently higher than those of a previous archaeology class not using the simulation. (KC)