Archaeo-Tech: The Barrier Island
Students build model beaches and use waves to simulate coastal erosion, observing how it disturbs and destroys archaeological sites. They then explore engineering solutions to reduce erosion and discuss its impact on cultural heritage.
Lesson Created By: MegGaillard
Lesson Partners: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Essential Question
How can coastal erosion, a natural process exacerbated by human activity, threaten archaeological sites and the cultural heritage they contain?
Grade(s):
- 3
- 5
- 6
- 8
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Materials
• Heritage at Risk Activity Handout (one per student)
• Lab Equipment:
o Paint-Roller Trays, Clear Plastic Tubs can also work (one for each group)
o Dry measuring cup (to measure sand)
o Liquid measuring cup (to measure water)
o Sand (approximately five cups of sand for every group)
o Water (approximately six cups of water for every group)
o Stopwatch / Timer (one for each group)
o Paint Sir Stick for creating waves (one for each group)
o Ruler (one for each group)
o Small Rocks, about 1 -2 cm in diameter (two to four for each group)
o Wooden dowel rod, approximately 1 cm in diameter and 10 cm in length (one for each group)
o LEGO ® pieces, small blocks, or other props to mimic an archaeological site.
o Model trees, bushes, etc. can be used to delineate between the beach and maritime forest (optional)
o Goggles and aprons (optional)
Lesson Progression
- Prepare the required materials for the activity before beginning the lesson.
o Construct the model beaches by adding sand and water to the paint trays.
• Thoroughly wet the sand before adding to the tray.
• Cover the shallow end of the paint tray with sand (about five cups).
• Fill the deep end of the paint tray with water (about six cups).
• Give the sand and water time to settle before starting the activity (at least five minutes).
o Give each group a paint stir stick (to make waves with), a stopwatch, a dowel rod about 1 cm in diameter, a few small rocks, and small props to decorate the beach with (like wooden blocks, LEGO ® pieces, etc.). - Begin the lesson by showing the class a map of South Carolina. Ask your students to identify barrier islands on South Carolina’s coast. Discuss the geography of barrier islands.
o Take this moment to ask your students to think about the people that once lived on South Carolina’s barrier islands. Encourage them to consider how these past people lived. What did they build and what did they leave behind? You can talk about the Native Americans that lived on the barrier islands before European colonization, early European settlements, antebellum rice and cotton plantations, etc. - Show your class the Archaeo-Tech: The Barrier Island short film (linked in the resources tab).
- Discuss coastal erosion as a threat to cultural resources. Ask your students if they have observed coastal erosion in action. If you live near the coast, have your students think of examples of coastal erosion in their area.
- Tell your students that they will be modelling coastal erosion and its effect on cultural resources in a lab activity.
- Distribute the handout for the activity and divide your class into small groups. Each group should have a minimum of three students.
- Give an overview of the lab activity. Students can follow along in their worksheets.o Have the students decorate their beaches with LEGO ® pieces, blocks, etc. Tell them that these props represent an archaeological site. Students can interpret their sites any way they want. It could represent an ancient Native American shell ring, a European colonial fort, or a 19th century African American fishing community. Students can place the props directly on top of the sand or they can bury them partially or completely in the sand.
o Have your students draw a picture of their beach, including the archaeological site, on their worksheet from a top-down perspective. Students should take note of the shape of the beach and shoreline.
o Have students measure the distance from the edge of the paint tray to the shoreline. Students will use these measurements to study the rate of erosion.
o Using a paint stir stick (or a plastic ruler), have the students create a steady series of gentle waves for two minutes. To make waves, have your students hold the stick horizontally and use a short, sharp hand motion to push the wave at an angle towards the beach.
o After two minutes, have your students note and discuss the changes in their shorelines. Was the archaeological site disturbed? Did any pieces wash into the ocean? Have your students draw another picture of their beach from the same perspective for comparison.
o Using the paint stick, have the students simulate the effect of heavy storms on the coast by making stronger waves for 30 seconds. Afterwards, have the students make the same observations as before. What does the shoreline look like now? Was the archaeological site disturbed? How much of the original site remains intact? Have students draw a third picture of their beach for comparison.
o Explore different engineering solutions to coastal erosion. Using the wooden dowel rod and rocks, students can either make a groin, a seawall, or a breakwater to protect their shoreline from erosion. Have students test their solution by creating gentle waves for two minutes. Then stronger waves for 30 seconds. How did these structures effect the shoreline? Were they effective in reducing erosion? What are some of the drawbacks to these engineering solutions? Why might it be difficult to implement these engineering solutions in a real-world scenario?
o Ask students to consider how raising the water level would impact coastal erosion. Discuss that while coastal erosion is a natural process, rising sea- levels and increased coastal storms have accelerated the rate of erosion.
o Finish the activity by asking your students to consider coastal erosion’s impact on archaeology. What do we lose when cultural resources are washed away by the ocean? - Read and discuss the articles on Pockoy and Edingsville (linked in the resources tab). Edingsville was a community on Edisto Island that was lost due to coastal erosion and powerful hurricanes in the 1890s.
Teacher Notes
extension: Challenge students to design a specific coastal protection solution for a real-world location (e.g., a barrier island facing severe erosion threats). This design should incorporate their research on existing solutions and consider the specific geographical and environmental factors of the chosen location.
differentiation: Create a simplified data collection sheet with pre-drawn sections for recording observations and sketches. Instead of extensive writing, prompt them with questions like "Did any props move?" or "Draw the shoreline after each wave simulation." This reduces writing demands and guides their observations.
Background Information
Reference during the whole group portion of the lesson. Includes key vocabulary terms.
View ResourceThe Barrier Island Video
Barrier islands are the most seaward landforms. They are fragile, constantly changing ecosystems that are critical to the life cycles of many animals, including humans.
View ResourceLesson on Ecology of Salt Marshes
Reference for step 2 in the lesson proression. A lesson on the ecology of salt marshes, see the Fort Lamar: Salt Marsh Ecosystem.
View ResourceStandards
- 3.2.2.ER Identify and analyze the ways people interact with the physical environment in different regions of the state, the country, and the world.
- 8.1.CO Compare the three British North American colonial regions economically, politically, socially, and in regard to labor development.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the three British colonial regions developed in terms of their culture, economies, geography, and labor. The indicator was also developed to encourage inquiry into the unique story of the development of South Carolina.
- 8.1.CC Analyze the changes and continuities of the Native Americans' experiences prior to and as a result of settlement and colonization.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into Native American civilizations and cultures prior to European contact and their interactions with Europeans during the period of settlement and colonization, including their efforts to preserve their cultures.
- 8.1.E Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to examine multiple perspectives and influences of the economic, political, and social effects of South Carolina’s settlement and colonization on the development of various forms of government across the colonies.
- RI.MC.5 Determine meaning and develop logical interpretations by making predictions, inferring, drawing conclusions, analyzing, synthesizing, providing evidence, and investigating multiple interpretations.
- 5-ESS3-1. Evaluate potential solutions to problems that individual communities face in protecting the Earths resources and environment.
- 6-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Assessments
Use the Heritage at Risk Worksheet linked in the resources tab to assess student learnign outcomes.
