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Archaeology Day

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Get the dirt on archaeology from the experts at the Canadian Museum of History. Meet our scientists up close as they discuss their fascinating discoveries and demonstrate the ultra-modern technologies used to dig up the secrets of the past.
 

Meet the Experts

Dr. Karen Ryan, Curator, Northern Canada

Dr. Janet Young, Curator, Physical Anthropology

Dr. Terence Clark, Curator, Western Archaeology

Dr. Matthew Betts, Curator, Eastern Archaeology        
 

Discover Archaeology in Action
 

A fragment of one of Franklin’s ships?

A three-inch thick fir plank, pierced by a handmade nail, tantalizes archaeologists with its possible connection to the lost ships of Sir John Franklin. Karen Ryan will discuss the evidence suggesting that the plank, found by an Inuit man in 1955 on the western coast of King William Island, Nunavut, may be a remnant of the sunken HMS Erebus or HMS Terror. The disappearance of the 1845 Franklin Expedition has fuelled a century and a half of research and theories about its fate.

What say these bones?

Dead men tell no tales, but their skeletons can tell us a lot about how they lived their lives. Janet Young will talk about the science of bioarchaeology: the study of human remains from archaeological sites. Using models of skulls and bones, she’ll show how researchers determine whether a skeleton belonged to a man, woman or child. She’ll discuss the skeletal clues that indicate whether they lived as farmers or hunter-gatherers, and spent their lives tilling the soil or paddling a canoe.

Treasures in 3D

Find out how archaeologists borrowed a few ideas from 3D movie-makers to bring the past alive. Terence Clark will demonstrate some of the high-tech gadgets used to scan ancient artifacts, turn them into 3D computer-generated images and print life-like plastic replicas. This technology allows priceless original specimens to be preserved, while giving researchers and the public access to high-quality copies.


Boning up on prehistory

When prehistoric hunters threw food scraps into the village trash heap, little did they know they were leaving behind clues for future zooarchaeologists. Matthew Betts will show visitors how zooarchaeologists use ancient animal bones to reconstruct facts about our ancestors’ diets, customs and modes of survival.
 

Get your hands dirty

Calling all budding archaeologists! Explore the equipment used in the field and the finer details of searching for lost historic treasures by participating in a simulated dig activity with Museum staff.  You will see that the many tried and true methods of yore are still being used despite technological advances.  

 
For adults and families with children 8 and up

 

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