Learn how to find

Fos siLs &aR RowHeaDsBecome an

amaTeuRaRcHaeoLogisT

A GUIDE TO bEAChCOMbinGFOR ARTIFACTS

wHaT TReasuResWIl lYOU find?

bY pAt tAn nEr hIl l

TReasuRes iN THe saND

$14.95

Are you interested in scaveNgeR HuNTs? Do you love

history? How would you like to discover artifacts and

Fos s iLs that are hundreds of years old? This guide

book will help you become an amateur archaeologist

as you learn how to hunt for artifacts such as arrow-

heads and pottery, originally used by American

Indians and European Colonists. You can even find

fossils of plants and animals that could be thousands

or millions of years old. uNcoveR H isToRy ! You’ll be

surprised at what you can find during a day at the

beach, or even in your own backyard!

trEASUrES in thE SAnd: a gu iDe To BeacHcomB iNg FoR aRT i FacTs

pAt tAnnEr h i l l

caP i TaL c i T y Books

DeD i caTeD To aLL cH i LDReN wHo Love H i sToRy &

waNT To LeaRN FRom iT.

Capital City Books LLC Copyright 2011 by Pat Tanner Hill. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any formwhatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-0-984288-8-2Library of Congress Control Number 2011924788 Capital City Books LLCRichmond, Virginiawww.capitalcitybooks.com

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

More than Sand 7

Activity #1: Go to the beach! 16

Activity #2: Artifacts talk back 21

American Indian Artifacts 22

Activity #3: Meet Chief Powhatan 31

Colonial Artifacts 32

Activity #4: Arti-FACTS 39

Fossils 40

Activity #5: Ready, set, trace! 46

Activity #6: Who had it last? 49

Certificate of Achievement 51

Online Resources 53

About the Author 54

TaBLe oF coNTeNTs

5

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

* COULD WE ADD THIS HERE?

waNT To go oN a scaveNgeR HuNT ?

I N TeResTeD i N F i ND i NgaRT i FacTs oR Foss i Ls ?

Let's get started! ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

moRe THaN saND

Artifacts are the remains of things made by people long ago. When looking for artifacts,take a walk along the beaches of Gwynn’s Island, or any beach around the Chesapeake Bay when the tide is low.

You could also find artifacts in Virginia Beach, or on the Eastern Shore. The coast, river banks, and fields of North Carolina are great places to look, too. I've even found points when walking in the woods of Ontario, Canada!

If you aren’t near the beach, you can walk along a river or through a freshly plowed field. You can even look in your own backyard!

YOU'll bE SUrpriSEd aT wHaT you caN F i ND !

American Indians have been here for at least 12,000 years!The powerful Chief Powhatan and his tribe had a hunting camp here about 400 years ago. Around that time, people from England settled here.

So, the artifacts I find here in the Chesapeake Bay can be either American Indian or Colonial, from English settlers.

D ID youkNow?

( ( ( ( ( ( (

How Do THese aRT i FacTswiND uP oN THe BeacH ?

The power of the tides causes the waves to break up the land. This process is called erosion. When erosion happens, it can reveal artifacts that have been buried in the ground for hundreds or even thousands of years.

The artifacts wash out and the waves deposit them on the sand. The waves can also carry them back out to sea.

SO It IS IMpOrtAnt To F I ND THem BeFoRethEY ArE GOnE! The best times to beachcomb are after a storm, like a nor'easter or a hurricane. The beach gets churned up and all kinds of things end up on the sand.

10

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

( ( ( ( ( ( (

WhY dO WE WAnt tO find ArtifACtS?

Because they teach us about the people who lived here a long time ago.

The artifacts tell us what tools and weapons they used, how their houses were made, and even what kind of pottery they liked. All kinds of information!

11

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

12

THe T i De Leaves New TH iNgs oN THe BeacH eveRyDay.The tide is high twice a day and low twice a day.

You will find more fossils and artifacts when the tide is low because more beach will be showing.

After big storms and hurricanes, the tide is really low. These can be some of the best times to go beachcombing.

A tide clock is helpful for knowing when it is a high or low tide. Or you can check it in your local newspaper. You might also want to stop at stores that sell fishing tackle and bait, since they usually give out tide charts for free.

WhAt dO YOU nEEd wHeN you go BeacHcomB iNg fOr ArtifACtS?It is good to have a bag and sometimes a stick for poking around in the sand. You could also use these when you're walking in a field.

Remember, you will not be digging. You are looking for things that are on the surface, on top of the sand. Leave the digging to professional archaeologists.

WhAt CAn YOU find? TH i s i s THe eXc i T i Ng PaRT. you NeveR kNow wHaT you wiLL F i ND !

I got interested in archaeology when I was in third grade. Someone had given me an old copy of National Geographic Magazine.

It was all about archaeologists finding really neat things, like pottery and tools, from ancient Egypt.

*[PHOTO: CLIPPING OF ICONIC NAT’L GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

[E.G. YELLOW BORDER]; MAYBE SHELLS AS WELL

NEED]

pAt'S StOrY

I was HookeD!

We lived near the Chesapeake Bay, and would go beachcombing for pretty shells.

One day, I learned that Pocahontas and her father, Chief Powhatan, had lived practically in my backyard. Chief Powhatan had used the land as a hunting area. He and Pocahontas had lived several miles away.

I thought that was interesting, so I decided to begin my search for artifacts.

15

Tell the story of your day at the beach or anywhere you looked for artifacts. ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Where did you go? _________________________

Who went with you? ________________________

Did you find any artifacts while you were beachcombing? ____________________________

What did you find? ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

What does it look like? ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

What do you think it was used for?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

acT iv i T y # 1 : go To THe BeacH ! ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Draw a picture.

1 7

8

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

When my mom and I first went out, I didn’t know where to look. I was so excited to be on the beach!

I went down to the water and scooped up a handful of sand and shells. A big seagull flew over us, and I saw little sandpipers running away from the waves.

Then, we started to scan the beach very carefully. We turned over all of the big shells so we could look for small things underneath.

We looked for a long time, but we didn’t find anything. Well, I did find part of a plastic bottle. My mom picked it up, so we could recycle it later.

I waNTeD To g ive uP ! Then, I saw the biggest oyster shell I had ever seen. It was laying on the sand. Something sparkly was nestled inside.

When I looked closer, I could not believe my eyes. It was a perfect, small arrowhead, about an inch long.

I picked it up. It was warm from the sun. The edges felt sharp as I closed my fingers around it.

I HaD JusT FouND myfirSt ArtifACt! When we got home, I looked it up in a book. It was an arrowhead, called Palmer, and it was thousands of years old!

1 9

SinCE thAt dAY, I Have goNe BeacHcomB iNg

maNy T imes ! Sometimes, I don’t find any artifacts, but I still have a lot of fun. And I always keep looking.

I usually find one of three types of artifacts: American Indian, Colonial, or Fossils.

aRT iFacTs

AMEriCAnindiAn

fOSSILS

COlOnIAl

20

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

If people could find artifacts from your house (your bedroom, your classroom) in another 400 years, what would they find?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

What do you think they would learn about you?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

What kinds of things would survive?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Would your comic books survive? Would a plastic super hero figure last? What about video games?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

1

2

3

4

fOSSILS

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( a cT iv i T y #2: aRT i FacTs TaLk Back

ameR i caN i ND i aNaRT i FacTs

Many of the artifacts I find were made by the Powhatan Indians. They lived in the eastern part of Virginia when the English settlers came to Jamestown in 1607.

There were many tribes of Powhatan. Altogether, they included close to 20,000 people.

Each tribe had its own chief, but the greatest was the chief of all the tribes. His title was Powhatan. His real name was Wahunsenacawh, and he was the father of Pocahontas.

23

The Powhatan Indians were farmers, fishermen, and hunters. They lived in longhouses, called yehakin.

These houses were made of tree branches, bark and animal hides. They respected nature and did not waste anything. Often, I will find tools that have been made from broken arrowheads.

24

Po iNTs are what archaeologists call arrowheads. These are tips of arrows or spears used for hunting. They are made of different kinds of rock.

Arrowheads come in all sizes and colors. Some are black, but they can also be different shades of brown and red.

Some are even white! They have very sharp edges. Sometimes, they look like leaves. The best spear point I ever found looked like a huge leaf...

I a LmosT D i DN ’ T P i c k i T uP !

25

Rocks that were hard but easy to chip were used to make points.

The shape of a point will tell you a lot about its age and use. A book on American Indian artifacts or the Internet will help you learn about the points you find.

TooLs are usually medium to large rocks that have one end chipped out, a hollowed out center, or a groove that shows it was used as an axe.

Some tools were used for helping to prepare food, while other tools were used to make weapons, jewelry, or pottery.

For example, the tools used to grind corn, nuts, or berries were different than the tools that were used for making points.

They will have sharp edges if they were used to scrape skins, or shafts of arrows or spears. Larger rocks were used for breaking up smaller rocks. The rock chips were used to make points.

27

1. Clay pottery2. Clay marble used in a game3. Bone carved for use as a tool

PoTTeRy looks like small chunks of flat clay or mud, but has patterns on it. It’s really fun to find pieces that fit together like a puzzle. Broken pieces of pottery are called shards.

American Indians made pottery by mixing clay with sand, crushed sea shells, and other materials.

1

2

3

They made jars and bowls for storing and cooking food. They made marbles for their children and beautiful beads for jewelry.

The American Indians taught the first settlers to grow crops and hunt to survive. They also taught them to make pottery.

I have found pieces of this kind of pottery on the beach. It is called colonoware. Colonoware is a great example of how the American Indians and colonists interacted. I love the way they learned from each other!

29

The markings on American Indian pottery were made in many ways. Sometimes they used big wooden paddles, called stamping paddles, to make different patterns in the pottery. Thick string, corncobs and nets were often used.

Flatten a piece of Play-Doh®.

Roll a corn cob across it. See the pattern?

It’s fun to figure out what made the

patterns on American Indian pottery!

TRy TH Is !

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

When people or things work together, we say they interact. Can you write about how the American Indians and settlers interacted? ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

List some contributions of the American Indians and the first settlers. ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Pretend you meet the great chief Powhatan.What would you ask him?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

What questions do you still have about artifacts?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

1

2

3

4

acT iv i T y #3 : meeT cH i eF PowHaTaN( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

coLoN iaLaRT i FacTs

The first settlers or colonists that came to America were from several European countries, like France, Spain, Holland, and England.

The settlers who landed in Virginia in 1607 were English. They had to cross the Atlantic Ocean by ship. They were looking for a good place to grow crops and build businesses and wealth.

When the settlers first came, they brought their favorite plates, bowls, cups, and bottles with them. As time went by, they began to make their own pottery, tools, and weapons.

The first settlers learned a lot about living in a new place from the American Indians.

33

ceRamics include pottery or anything that looks like part of a plate, bowl, or cup. They usually have a shiny surface or sometimes a colorful picture or pattern.

Each time you go out, you may find shards from the same plate or cup. Use a plastic ice cube tray or egg carton to sort your pieces. Start to fit them together. Can you guess what the pieces are from?

34

Rhenish Ware is a kind of pottery that was used by the first colonists. It was made in Germany but sold in England and brought over by the first settlers in the Chesapeake Bay area. It was also sent to America on ships.

One of the first pieces I found on the beach had the initials ‘GR’ on it. I didn’t know what that meant.

Just about every time I beachcombed, I’d find more pieces, all in the same area. One day, I had enough pieces to put together. It was like putting a puzzle together.

The pieces came from a mug, the one in the photograph. I learned from books that the ‘GR’ stood for King George.

He was the king of England when our country was first settled. That helped me to know how old the mug was.

gLass from bottles and windows. Old window glass can be almost as thin as a sheet of paper.

Sometimes things in the distance look wavy when you look through old glass. Bottle glass can be clear or dark green in color and thick.

Hold glass up to the light to check out the color. You may even see bubbles in it!

P iPe sTems aND BowLs were used by the settlers to smoke tobacco, which was the most important cash crop in Virginia. The colonists learned to cultivate or grow tobacco from the American Indians.

You can find parts of the stem, which look like white clay tubes with a hole through the middle, or the bowl, the part that held the tobacco. Sometimes, the bowls have designs on them.

The rule is: the larger the hole in the stem, the older the pipe it came from. Indians made pipes from stone and clay. Colonists made clay and reed pipes.

37

OthEr intErEStinG thinGS

BR icks & BuTToNsIf you find a brick, it might be almost 400 years old! The first bricks made in the colonies were probably made in Virginia as early as 1612.

Old bricks were handmade and are much bigger than the bricks we use today.

wouLDN ’T i T Be FuN To F i ND THe BR i c k makeR ’ s F i NgeR oR HaND PR i NTs oN aN oLD BR i c k ?

38

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

What do these words mean?

Artifact: Archaeologist:

Shard: Pottery:

Point: Erosion:

Interact:

Give some examples of artifacts you might find on the beach.

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

When is the best time to look for artifacts—high tide or low tide? Why?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

1

2

3

acT iv i T y #4: aRT i -fACtS( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Foss I Ls

You can also find fossils on the beach.

WhAt ArE fOSSilS ?They are the remains of plants or animals that are at least thousands, even millions of years old.

Fossils are harder to identify, but a museum professional would help you. My brother found a fossil on the beach and took it to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

It was the tusk from a young Mastodon and was at least 11,000 years old!

thAt’S OldEr thAn THe gReaT PyRam iDs oF egyPT !

41

My mother found another fossil while beach-combing. The Smithsonian said it was a fossil called Bryozoa. It was 400 million years old. Bryozoa are related to the coral family.

THe mosT eXc i T i Ng PaRT oF bEAChCOMbinG fOr ArtifACtS

is NoT kNowiNg wHaT TuRNs Up AftEr hiGh tidE.It is hard to find one particular class of fossil on the beaches of the Chesapeake Bay because some have washed down from the mountains in the western part of Virginia.

The Bryozoa fossil is one example of a fossil that may have washed down from the mountains.

1

2

1. Fossilized Bryozoa2. Fossilized tapir mandible3. Fossilized tapir mandible (close-up)

Not too long ago, I found a jaw bone or mandible with some teeth. It was identified as the mandible of a tapir.

Now, tapirs still live on the earth. They are an endangered species. They live in South America, Mexico, and Asia. But the jaw bone I found belonged to a tapir from the Pleistocene Era.

I T couLD Be m i L L ioNs oF yeaRs oLD ! It was identified by archaeologists at the Smithsonian. They said it is one of only two found in this area.

The team is so interested in my fossils and others found in the area that they are coming to look at our site!

43

3

1

2

3

1. Fossilized inner ear of a whale2. Fossilized animal rib3. Fossil reworked into a tool

After a few tries you will begin to tell the diff-erence between an artifact and a rock or shell.

AlWAYS piCK UpwHaT caTcHes youR eye .

Take a good look. If you’re not sure about it, put it in your bag to check out later.

Begin to read books about archaeology, the science of discovering artifacts and also pale-ontology, the study of fossils.

Remember, you don’t have to be on a beach to find artifacts. You can be walking through a field or next to a river.

YOU CAn EVEn bE in YOUr OWn bACKYArd!

Trace and label the artifacts, fossils, orinteresting shells you found.

1

acT iv i T y #5 : ReaDy , seT , TRace ! ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

( ( ( ( ( ( (

( ( ( ( ( ( (

dOn’t GiVE Up! The tide brings in all kinds of things through-out the day. Go with a buddy, wear sun-screen and use bug spray if you need it. Never trespass on private property. Always get permission when you can.

bE Kind & GEntlE i F you F i ND a cRaB , cLam , oR oTHeR maR i Ne cReaTuRe . Most can’t live outside of their natural habitat and should be left where you find them.

Have FuN & TH i Nk aBouT TH i s…You may find a point that has not been touched by a human for thousands of years until you picked it up!

47

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

The tide has uncovered these old bricks. Were they part of a house?

MAYbE YOU wiLL soLve THe mysTeRy ! I believe that artifacts should be enjoyed by everyone, so I’ve donated a lot of mine to the Gwynn’s Island Museum in Mathews County, Virginia.

I also share artifacts at the school where I teach. I’m always bringing in new discover-ies to share with my students. They love predicting what the artifacts were used for!

48

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

If you could meet the original owner of the artifact you found, what questions would you ask him or her?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

How can you sort or group different artifacts?

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Draw a Venn diagram to compare and contrast American Indian artifacts and colonial artifacts.

1

2

acT iv i T y #6: wHo HaD i T LasT ?

3

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

You can also volunteer to help out at an archaeological dig. I did this in Virginia Beach. The archaeologists were trying to save artifacts at an American Indian site before new homes were built over it.

I was very lucky that day. I found a pretty American Indian clay pipe bowl. It had been decorated with lines carved, or incised, in the clay.

hAVE fUnwiTH youR seaRcH !

It's all about observing like a scientist and learning new things. Good luck!

CE

rt

ifiC

At

E O

f A

Ch

iEV

EM

En

t

Pres

ente

d t

o __

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

in r

ecog

niti

on

of h

is o

r he

r va

luab

le e

ffor

ts in

sea

rchi

ng f

or a

nd p

rote

ctin

g h

isto

rica

l art

ifact

s.

___

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

__

____

____

____

____

____

____

__D

ate

Pat

Tan

ner

Hill

gooD

woRk!

Be sure to have a parent help you! ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Gwynn’s Island Museum

www.gwynnsislandmuseum.org

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

www.chesapeakebay.net

The Chesapeake for Kids

www.beanies-webworld.com/chesapeake/index.html

First Landing State Park

www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fir.shtml

NASA’s Chesapeake Bay Puzzle: See the Bay from Space

kids.earth.nasa.gov/games/ches

National Geographic: Historic vs. Today’s Chesapeake

www.nationalgeographic.com/chesapeake

Bay Trippers: An Online Field Trip to the Chesapeake Bay

baytrippers.thinkport.org

Mariner’s Museum

www.marinersmuseum.org

Jamestown and Yorktown Settlement

www.historyisfun.org

Pamunkey Reservation and Mattaponi Museum

www.pamunkey.net

A Basic Guide to Virginia Prehistoric Projectile Points

www.asv-archaeology.org

oNL INe ResouRces

aBouT THe auTHoR

Pat Tanner Hill has loved archaeology since the third grade. She took courses in archaeology and received her BA in anthropology at Case Western Reserve University and her MA(Ed) from The College of William and Mary.

She currently teaches elementary school in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Pat would like to thank her husband, parents, and family for all their help and support.

She wants to thank her mother for her help in identifying and demystifying many of her finds. She also especially wants to thank her father for all of his input in the writing of this book. They have been a wealth of information!

Pat would like to thank Dr. Dennis Stanford, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institute, and his wife, Dr. Pegi Jordi, Paleoindian expert, Smithsonian Institute, for their help in identifying the tapir jaw. She would also like to thank Dr. Darrin Lowery for his beautiful photographs of the tapir jaw, and Dave Bohask and Fred Grady for gluing the tapir jaw back together.

54

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Learn how to find

Fos siLs &aR RowHeaDsBecome an

amaTeuRaRcHaeoLogisT

A GUIDE TO bEAChCOMbinGFOR ARTIFACTS

wHaT TReasuResWIl lYOU find?

bY pAt tAn nEr hIl l

TReasuRes iN THe saND

$14.95

Are you interested in scaveNgeR HuNTs? Do you love

history? How would you like to discover artifacts and

Fos s iLs that are hundreds of years old? This guide

book will help you become an amateur archaeologist

as you learn how to hunt for artifacts such as arrow-

heads and pottery, originally used by American

Indians and European Colonists. You can even find

fossils of plants and animals that could be thousands

or millions of years old. uNcoveR H isToRy ! You’ll be

surprised at what you can find during a day at the

beach, or even in your own backyard!