Iowa Public Television

Can you imagine a group of people living on the banks of the Des Moines River not far from present day downtown Des Moines… about 7,000 years ago? Last summer, news of an exciting archaeological dig site started to trickle out in the media. Crews from the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) confirmed they had found, and had spent the winter excavating, an extraordinary site near Des Moines. The site contained the oldest human remains as well as the oldest known structures ever found in Iowa. They called it the Palace Site.

Bring your students (with their imaginations) to participate in this engaging presentation and discussion about the site with staff from the OSA. They’ll share why they were on the site digging as well as pictures and video of the processes and tools used to uncover what was beneath the surface. They’ll also talk about the artifacts they found and how they use that evidence to paint a picture of the people who lived there and the lives they lived.

As State Archaeologist and Director of the OSA, John Doershuk, said, “…It is important to impress that not just for Iowa, but regionally, the deposits preserved at the Palace Site are spectacular in terms of the knowledge we have of what was going on 7,000 years ago. It is truly a special place.”

In addition to learning about the site, students will get an inside look into the career field of archaeology. They will get to meet three staff members from the OSA who have each developed a specific interest and specialty in the field. All were involved in the Palace Site project.

Presenters include:

-William Whittaker, Ph.D., is a project archaeologist with the General Contracts Program of the OSA.

-Melody K. Pope, Ph.D., is the director of the General Contracts Program of the OSA.

-John Doershuk, Ph.D., is State Archaeologist and Director of the OSA.

RESOURCES:

Urban Archaeology program, watch IPTV's hour-long program to learn more about the Palace Site and the Fort Des Moines Site in Des Moines.

University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist, visit the OSA site to learn all about what is happening in the field of archaeology in Iowa. Also watch the short Palace Site video.

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Applicable standards from MCREL:

Self-Regulation Standards

Standard 2: Performs self-appraisal

Level IV [Grade : K-12]
1. Performs analysis of employability
2. Understands preferred working environments
3. Understands career goals
4. Determines explicit behaviors that are used and should be adopted to obtain wants and/or needs

Sessions are provided at no cost by Iowa Public Television in collaboration with the Iowa Communications Network to PK-12 students and the adults working with or on behalf of PK-12 students in Iowa.