Lesson Overview
Pottery is one of the most common types of artifacts found in the archaeological record. Students will learn how and why archaeologists study pottery and explore how pottery, along with other objects used in everyday life, reflect cultural norms and social identities. The lesson focuses on colonoware, a type of pottery made and used by enslaved Africans, enslaved and free African Americans, and enslaved and free Native Americans in South Carolina from the colonial period into the nineteenth century. Students will then try their hand at experimental archeology by replicating a surface decoration seen on colonoware sherds from the South Carolina Lowcountry and consider how pottery shows deliberate and specific choices made by a potter.
Essential Question
How does the archaeological study of common artifacts like colonoware reveal the social identities, cultural traditions, and deliberate choices made by enslaved and marginalized peoples in the past?
Grade(s):
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
· Examples of colonoware and prehistoric South Carolina pottery o See scpottery.com for more images of prehistoric and historic period Native American ceramics. o See daacs.org for more images of colonoware from Virginia and South Carolina.
· Air drying clay (approximately 1 lb. per student; clay will be divided into two balls)
· Stiff paper plates (students will work with their pottery on this plate)
· Wax paper (placed on top of the plate to keep the clay from sticking)
· Plastic or paper sheets (alternative to paper plates and wax paper to cover desktops or floors for easy clean-up)
· Pottery Decoration Tools:
o Folded Strip Roulettes (made from two palmetto fronds twisted together, although other similar plant material can be used)
o A small object brought from home students can use to decorate the clay with (this could be a coin, a LEGO® piece, the cap to a marker, a key, plant material found around their home, anything that is familiar to the student)
· Water dishes (to help keep the clay moist)
· Activity worksheet (1 per student)
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Log In to View LessonStandards
- HG.3.5.PR Compare and contrast cultural landscapes in various regions, and analyze the human imprint on different landscapes.
- HG.3.3.PR Analyze and explain the conditions and connections that create ethnic, linguistic, and religious patterns at varying scales.
- HG.3.1.HS Identify the characteristics of popular and folk culture, and explain the factors that influence the location and spatial distribution of these types of culture at the local and global scales using maps and geographic models and representations.
- 8.1.P Summarize major events in the development of South Carolina which impacted the economic, political, and social structure of the colony.
- 8.1.CE Analyze the factors that contributed to the development of South Carolina’s economic system and the subsequent impacts on different populations within the colony.
- 8.1.CO Compare the three British North American colonial regions economically, politically, socially, and in regard to labor development.
- 6.3.E Analyze the short- and long-term impact of the Atlantic World's growth using primary and secondary sources across multiple perspectives.
- 6.3.P Summarize the impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on ideological, political, and social systems in the Atlantic World.
- 6.3.CE Explain the impact of increased global exchanges on the development of the Atlantic World.
- 4.1.E Analyze multiple perspectives on the economic, political, and social developments of British North America and South Carolina.
- 4.1.CC Identify patterns of change and continuity in the development of economic systems in British North America.
- 4.1.CX Contextualize the experience of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans in South Carolina.
- 4.1.CE Identify the effects of changing economic systems on the diverse populations in British North America.
- 4.1.CO Compare the interactions among cultural groups as a result of European colonization.
- 3.5.3.HS Investigate and explain the economic, social, political, and environmental motivations behind human migration and how places can change as a result.
- 3.4.3.AG Research and create a geographic representation of a contemporary or historic group of people to communicate findings about their cultural characteristics and livelihoods.
- 3.4.1.PR Investigate the cultural characteristics of places and regions around the world.
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Log In to View LessonLesson Created By: MegGaillard
Lesson Partners: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources