Lesson Planning

Find out about the importance of ‘rubbish’ to archaeologists; investigate some ‘rubbish’ thrown away by a family today.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To understand that different materials degrade over different lengths of time when buried, and discuss the importance of ‘rubbish’ to archaeologists.
• To set up and report on an enquiry on the perishability of different materials.

Children will:

• Explain that some materials in the Indus Valley have not survived being buried for thousands of years.
• Understand that ancient rubbish tips can be good sources of information for archaeologists.
• Set up and carry out an enquiry to find out how quickly different materials perish.