Technological Change in a Coastal New England Village, 1790-1990 -- The Duck Creek Harbor Site, Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Stephen P. Broker
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Unit Objectives and Strategies.
In this unit my students use a collection of objects found in an archaeological dig to study the beliefs, values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions of the people living and working in a small New England village during the period 1790 to 1990. They develop their abilities for description, deduction, and speculation about the objects. In the descriptive portion of the examination, they record the dimensions, composition, and articulation of the object, its decorative patterns, and its threedimensional appearance. They then make deductions about the object as they perceive it physically and functionally. Finally, they develop hypotheses and theories as to the role of the object in the society in which it was created, and they begin some scholarly research in an attempt to confirm or alter their earlier perceptions of the object. This process will serve to acquaint my students with technological changes which have occurred over a 200 year period.
