Instructions

What is the M.A.C. Quest Program? M.A.C. stands for Missouri's Ancient Cultures. It's a web based program designed to help Missouri's 4th grade instructors teach students about our local ancient history. Ancient history didn't just happen in far off places like Rome or Athens. It happened right here: in our state, in your city, and probably in your own back yard!

M.A.C. Quest Program content marries up-to-date archaeological information obtained from thousands of ancient sites across the State, with the Missouri 4 th grade level Social Studies Standards (a listing of the State Standards & Parkway School District Strands covered by the program is available at the end of this document).

How do I use the M.A.C. Quest Program? How would you like to use the program? Are you looking for a 1-day lesson? …a 2-week unit? …or something in between? It's all here, and it's easy to use!

The M.A.C. Quest Program currently contains five main files: an Archaeological Overview & four featured archaeological sites. We recommend that you start with the Archaeological Overview before moving to the featured archaeological sites. Additional archaeological sites from across the State will be added periodically, so the M.A.C. Quest Program can be visited over and over again!

There are currently two lesson plans available to help your class explore the M.A.C. Quest Program:

1) Quick Quest –– This is a traditional work sheet that guides students through the main M.A.C. Quest Program: Archaeological Overview & four featured archaeological sites. The Quick Quest answers are provided at the end of this document.

Cover the Archaeological Overview pages as a class & have students use the work sheet to explore the featured archaeological sites. Wrap things up by going over the work sheet question & answers as a group (1 to 2 class periods).
Cover the Archaeological Overview pages as a class. Break the class into groups and assign each group their own featured archaeological site. Wrap things up by having each group present its site, while other groups listen and answer the questions on their work sheets (1 to 3 class periods).
Assign students the Quick Quest to complete on their own and then wrap things up by going over the question and answers (1 class period-longer if class time is given to allow students work on this)

2) M.A.C. Quest –– This is an outstanding Webquest designed by Michelle Weissenborn, a 4th Grade teacher in the Parkway School District . Working in conjunction with Dr. ________, the founder of the Webquest format, Michelle developed a fun and interesting journey, that will make your students excited to learn about Missouri ’s ancient inhabitants!

The Missouri Archaeological Society, Chesterfield Landmarks Preservation Commission, River Bend School - Parkway School District, and archaeologists from the following institutions: the University of Missouri–St. Louis, St. Louis Community College, Washington University, the University of Missouri–Columbia, and Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis.

Special thanks to Whitfield School for computer support. Additional thanks to the volunteer members of M.A.C. Quest Program content review committee: Timothy Baumann, Patti Wright, Joseph Harl, and Richard Martens.

Would you like to contribute a teaching idea to the M.A.C. Quest Program? Use the Contacts Link on the M.A.C. Quest Program Program Home Page to send a brief e-mail explaining your idea. Be sure to include information on how you'd like to be contacted in case we have questions about your idea.

1) What is archaeology? Archaeology is the science of finding and analyzing the things (artifacts) left from past cultures. Like detectives finding clues to solve a mystery, scientists called archaeologists uncover artifacts and then make guesses about the ancient people who left them.

2) What three lifestyle changes occurred over time? Analysis of these clues has led scientists to note several lifestyle changes that occurred over time:

These lifestyle trends occurred over time as the ancient people found ways to become more efficient. In other words, they became better at getting and using the things they needed to survive.

4) Should you dig to look for ancient artifacts? Explain your answer. No. Digging for artifacts destroys clues that professional archaeologists use to learn more about the ancient inhabitants of Missouri .

5) Why do you think the inhabitants of the Martens Site chose to camp at this site? They were probably using an opportunistic hunting strategy. At this site, they could have waited for large animals to drink at the nearby sink hole.

6) What is opportunistic hunting? Opportunistic hunting is waiting for the right opportunity to more safely hunt Mastodon or other large animals.

7) The inhabitants of the Hayden Site lived in the village year round. How was that different from the way people lived before this time? People before this time moved their village two to three times a year:

8) What efficiency did the inhabitants of the Hayden Site adopt that enabled them to live in the same place year round? Specialization of tasks.

9) What are two types of artifacts uncovered at the River Bend School Site that are examples of innovations adopted by the inhabitants of this village? Arrow points & pottery.

10) What did the villagers of this site eat? Deer/venison, dockweed or knotweed seeds (additional answers accepted: squash, maygrass seeds and barely).

11) What innovation did the people of this period adopt that led to the growth of large villages and cities, including the great city of Cahokia ? Growing corn or maize.

12) What evidence was uncovered at this site that shows this village may have been connected to the government at Cahokia ? Ramey Incised pottery.

13) Name an innovation that we’ve adopted in the past 100 years that has had a significant impact on our lifestyle. [Answers will vary—student should demonstrate an understanding of efficiency.]

14) If you could travel back in time, which of the ancient sites would you like to visit? Why? [Answers will vary—information from the site should be included in explanation.]

Answers to the Archaeological Overview –– Test Your Skills as an Archaeologist Section:

Site #1 : You just excavated one half of an ancient pit. Look over the list of artifacts uncovered. Can you determine the approximate age of the site? Can you tell anything about the people who lived at the site?

Based on identification of the flint point, the site would date to the Late Archaic Period: 3,000–600 BC. These people may have used this site to make flint tools/points (based on deer antler hammer, flint flakes & unfinished points). These people may have hunted deer (deer antler hammer). It doesn't look like these people had adopted pottery yet (no pottery found).

Site #2 : You've just excavated a one square meter block of soil down to the depth of 30 centimeters below the surface. You uncovered numerous artifacts. Look over the artifacts listed below. Can you determine the approximate age of the site? Can you tell anything about the people who lived at the site? Based on the identification of the flint arrow points and the rim piece of pottery, this site would date to the Late Woodland Period: AD 300–800. These people used the bow & arrow, as well as pottery. They ate deer and knotweed seeds. They may have been cooking at this site (burned wood, deer bones, and knotweed seeds).

List of the Missouri 4 th Grade Level Social Studies Standards Covered by the MAC Quest Program:

Standard 2: Knowledge of continuity and changes in the history of Missouri . Knowledge of the ways Missourians interacted, survived, and progressed from the distant past to present times. Habitats, resources, art and daily life of Native American peoples.

1) basic economic concepts –– scarcity, opportunity costs, trade & barter, supply & demand, natural-capitol-human resources,

2) interpret past and explain present and predict future consequences of economic decisions,

c. human –– environment interaction –– how are people affected by, depend

regions –– define regions as places that have unifying characteristics
How to use geography to interpret the past, e.g., why rivers have played an important role in human transportation

Standard 6: Knowledge of relationship of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions

1) knowledge of how people have common physical, social, and emotional needs and of how these needs have been met in different ways in different cultures and times

2) knowledge of how the needs of individuals are met by families, friends/groups, and organizations

1) how to identify, select, and use appropriate resources for social science inquiry –– visual, graphic, auditory aids, primary vs. secondary sources, library & media resources, artifacts

2) how to create maps, timelines, diagrams and cartoons to communicate social science concepts

List of the Parkway School District 4 th Grade Level Social Studies Strands Covered by the MAC Quest Program:

Fundamental Questions—what happened in the past (site info)? How am I connected to the past (it's in your backyard-learn about it---go find it)? How has change occurred (group size, territory size, mobility)? What perspective can I gain from the past to help enrich the present and inform the future (good question for students to answer)?
Sequencing & Ordering: Arch. Periods and dates, tool/weapon progression, leadership style progression, mobility to settled progression, hunter-gatherer to hunter-farmer progression, etc.
Imagining: read and write historical fiction
Reading, writing, researching, drawing, etc.

Strand 4: Geography - Where are things located (Chesterfield & then arch. Sites)? Is there a reason things are located where they are (why live in Chesterfield & why at this site or that site within Chesterfield)? What patterns are reflected in the groupings of resources, people?

Strand 5: Economics - This addresses “"scarcity" as it addresses questions such as: How do societies organize to produce, distribute and consume goods and services? What should be produces? Who decides what and how much should be produced? What is the most effective allocation of the factors of production (e.g., land, labor, capital, and management)?

Strand 6: Individual/Group/Cultural/Multicultural Studies - Psychology, anthropology, and sociology study how individuals and groups live in and across cultures. People create, learn, and modify cultures. Each culture is a system of values, beliefs, traditions, and institutions (government/leadership). How do institutions change over time (how did leadership change from Martens [family elder]-through Hayden [respected elder among various families, through Riverbend School [same as Hayden], through River Estates [regional ruler at Cahokia, with powerful village leaders]?

Strand 7: Science/Technology/Society - Technology has influenced the lives of people in every society (past and present). What can we learn from the past about the social change that technology brings (Mississippian over-reliance of corn led to less protein and fats = poorer health & shorter lifespan—social structure glued together on reliance on corn—depleted soils and/or weather changes may have interrupted supply and caused society to fall apart)? Also, spear worked well for Martens site people, as large animals got stuck in mud, you could wait for them to get weak and attack at close range. Once these large animals were extinct they needed a new technology to hunt deer and other animals from a greater distance, thus the atlatl was developed.

Do—1 and 2 (2 mounds, also, Indians regularly burned areas to promote animal and plant diversity—they didn't have all thick forests like today—more meadows with interspersed trees,)

Strand 8: Links to Life - This links social studies to current careers and events (archaeologists, anthropologists, historians—events—various excavations and work at Cahokia).

Strand 9: Skills Applied in Social Studies - deals with various ways students learn. How materials need to be presented in a variety of ways. Also deals with assessment.