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Archaeology: Reading the Buried Past

SheelonHistorySocial StudiesEnglishGrades 9-12Published Aug 6, 2026

How do we know what happened before anyone wrote it down? Digs, layers, carbon clocks, and famous finds, from a frozen traveler in the Alps to an army of clay soldiers.

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Questions in this quiz

All 12 shown. Answers not revealed.

  1. What does an archaeologist actually study?

    Multiple Choice · 20s

    AThe weather of past centuries
    BThe things past people made, used, and left behind
    CThe orbits of ancient planets
    DAnimals that live underground

  2. Which small hand tool is the archaeologist's classic instrument for scraping away soil?

    Multiple Choice · 20s

    AThe trowel
    BThe chainsaw
    CThe jackhammer
    DThe rake

  3. On an undisturbed site, what is usually true of objects buried deeper down?

    Multiple Choice · 20s

    AThey are more valuable
    BThey are always made of stone
    CThey are more recent
    DThey are older
  4. Radiocarbon dating can find the age of which kind of find?Multiple Choice · 20s
  5. In which year did the eruption of Vesuvius bury the Roman city of Pompeii?Multiple Choice · 20s
  6. Archaeologists record the exact spot of every find before moving it.True / False · 20s
  7. Thousands of life-size clay soldiers, the Terracotta Army, guard the tomb of the first emperor of...Multiple Choice · 20s
  8. Otzi, a naturally preserved man who died about 5,300 years ago, melted out of a glacier in which mountains?Multiple Choice · 20s
  9. Archaeologists mainly search for dinosaur bones.True / False · 20s
  10. Why do archaeologists get excited about a midden, an ancient rubbish heap?Multiple Choice · 20s
  11. What do we call any object made or used by people in the past, from an axe to a coin? (one word)Type Answer · 30s
  12. What is the careful scientific digging of an ancient site called? (one word)Type Answer · 30s

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