Multicultural Valuing - Archaeological Site Visit

General Education Capstone Course

Event/Experience Details and Guideline Form

Gen. Ed. category event should be listed under: Multicultural Valuing

SCC competency addressed by event:  

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices/products and perspectives of the cultures studied.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the evolving nature of societies and the interdependence among all peoples.

Event experience title:  Visit an archaeological site and museum in the St. Louis Region

Anticipated learning outcome: 

Through this exercise students should develop a better understanding of the diversities and complexities of the cultural and social world, past and present, and come to a better informed sense of self and others. This exercise will also highlight the processes archaeologists use to learn about the past, and how those stories are then shared through museum exhibits.   

Guidelines for accomplishment of event:

Instructions for Students:  Visit one of the archaeological parks that surround St. Louis (Cahokia Mounds to the east, Mastodon State Park to the south, or the Center for American Archaeology in Kampsville to the north). (See Web sites listed below for directions.)

Your structured journal entry for this project should explain what you learned, from the site tour and museum visit, about the Prehistory of Native Americans in the area. Were there any things that struck you as different from the modern stereotypes of “Indian life?” What things seemed to point towards a long cultural continuity for American Indians? Has the same environment shaped the different cultures in similar ways to any degree? And finally, briefly explore what you found personally relevant from the visit and why.

Assessment Rubric for Instructors: Are they able to write a coherent essay about the experience. Are they able to make critical observations about the way archaeological material is presented, showing an awareness that all stories (including museum exhibits) have authors? Do they show an appreciation for what life on the spot might have been like for the Indians who lived there? Some of the differences from “expected Indian culture” that they may note include the walled cities (without a single Tipi), massive burial mounds, widespread human sacrifices, the fact that for most of prehistory local Indians ate much more fish than deer, and more nuts than corn, that there were such widespread trading networks, or that the St. Louis region is one of the most important in all of North America for archaeology. Whether or not they include these specific details in their essays is not as important as whether they were able to comprehend another way of life in this same location, and were they able to connect those lives of others to their own in a meaningful way?

Provide at least one the following: 

Event contact Web site URL: http://www.cahokiamounds.com

http://www.mostateparks.com/mastodon.htm

http://www.caa-archeology.org/

SCC event creator: Wm. Griffin

Estimated time for full completion (include: making contact/appointment; attending activity; travel; and journal consideration and entry) 4