Class 1 - Step 1: Introduce the Broad Topic

Briefly remind students of familiar topics or eras of study that have been informed by archaeological discoveries. Ancient Roman, Egyptian or Mayan civilizations might come to mind. Or perhaps something more recent, such as colonial U.S. settlements, civil war battles, or indigenous tribal life.

Ask: How do archaeologists and historians figure out what an entire civilization was like from a shard of pottery, a primitive tool, or a gravesite?

Take a few minutes to discuss: How do you make reasonable inferences if all you have is a small cache of artifacts? What other types of resources do investigators use to fill in the story behind an artifact?

Step 2: Introduce the Film & View Clip 1

Explain that students are going to more deeply explore these questions using a film called 306 Hollywood. Provide context for the clip that students are about to view by sharing key information about the film:

• 306 Hollywood is the street address of a home just outside the city limits of Newark, NJ.
• The filmmakers’ grandmother lived in the home for 67 years, beginning in the 1940s.
• When Annette was in her eighties, one of the filmmakers began to record annual interviews with their grandmother.
• When their grandmother died, the filmmakers decided to go through the home as if they were conducting an archaeological excavation.
• The film is their attempt to document that excavation and make sense of what they found.

Screen Clip 1, letting students know that this is primarily to give them a feel for the film’s primary character, Annette Ontell. This will help them interpret what they see in the next clip.

After viewing, briefly review what they now know about Ontell and her community. Be sure that students provide evidence for each conclusion they draw, and invite them to draw conclusions from what they see, not just what they hear.

Step 3: View Clip 2

Screen the second clip. Briefly invite students to share artifacts that especially caught their eye.

Step 4: Focus on the Catalogs

Either as a class or in small groups, return to as many of the catalogs as time allows. Ask students to analyze what they learn from each catalog about the items’ owner(s) and the culture in which the owner lived.

Include what they can infer about a person’s gender, age, race, religion, values, personality, relationships, work, etc. Also invite students to notice the artistic choices involved in laying out the catalog items.

Catalogs:

36:24 – Paperclips

36:28 – Tools

36:31-41 – Bathroom medicine cabinet items

36:52 – stockings (women’s hosiery)

37:02 – Grandpa Herman

37:10 – Uncle David

37:26 – toothbrushes

37:35 – pink items

37:40 – beige items

37:48 – blue items

37:55 – green items

Alternatively, you could break into small groups and assign one catalog to each group, and then reconvene so groups can share their interpretations. If you choose this option, students will need a way for each group to simultaneously examine their assigned catalog (e.g., pre-printed screen grabs of each catalog or the ability to view the video clip on a laptop). You’ll also need extra time to allow for each group to share and take questions.

Step 5: The Assignment

Once students have had a chance to practice analyzing the catalogs, give them their assignment:

Using “artifacts” from your own home/life, create a catalog representing you or find an artifact representing every year you have been alive.

In cases where students would have trouble creating 3D displays of artifacts (e.g., parents don’t want them to take things they need), allow students to create their catalogs using photographs of artifacts.

Class Two - Step 6: Share

Once students have completed their catalogs, have them bring the catalogs to class and place them around the room. Let students do a walkabout so they can look at everyone else’s work. (Alternatively have everyone post their catalogs on a class website and share the work that way). See if students can identify each catalog’s creator from the items included. Invite them to notice what sorts of artifacts show up in many people’s work and what artifacts are unique. As time allows, have students ask (and answer) questions about individual choices.

Step 7: Draw Conclusions

Either in small groups or as a class, discuss: What do your catalogs reveal about your culture? Invite students to reflect on whether the material culture represented in their artifacts leaves out significant aspects of their lives? Are they comfortable being represented only by material things they own?

[Optional] As an assessment, assign students to write a one-page summary of what they learned about their culture and about how artifacts are used to draw conclusions about culture.