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MIDDLE SCHOOL REVIEW
BY GRAHAM CHANDLER
Have you ever found a seashell on land and wondered how it got there? The question is a fitting opener for this educational volume aimed at 9-to 12-year-olds curious about archaeology. Did you know you can look for clues that might help you figure out who moved it from the beach? Hints and clues as used by archaeologists abound. As a practising professional archaeologist since 2000, Nicole F. Smith knows what to look for.
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Clearly too, Dig Deep: Connecting Archaeology, Oceans and Us shows Smith has the knack to captivate her targeted middle school crowd. Or, heck, even much older readers with her easyto-read coverage of archaeological concepts—some complex—that she has encountered specializing in coastlines.
Smith’s work has been mainly with BC coastlines, but she’s worked on other coasts around the world as well. One thing that ties all coastal communities together, no matter where in the world we live, is our connection to the sea, she says. And what people have used and left behind can give us important clues about how our oceans have changed or stayed the same over hundreds and thousands of years.
Dig Deep has an ocean focus but offers readers a look into just what archaeologists do. Dig, yes. But, not surprisingly, there’s a whole lot more to it. For example, people often wonder how archaeologists find their sites in the first place. Smith delves into this.
“We start by imagining how our surroundings may have been different hundreds or thousands of years ago,” she writes. “We need to ask what a place would look like if we took away the houses, buildings and roads. And what would the area look like if the bodies of water were different?” You then look for places that would have been good for people to use, for example a hill, rock shelter or cave. Once you’ve found a suitable place, search around for evidence like discarded or lost stone tools, or charcoal from a fireplace. Here
“I first learned about the rich heritage of this coast as a grade 3 student from the lovely and wise Snuneymuxw elder, Dr. Ellen White, who visited my classroom at Seaview Elementary School in 1983.”
— Nicole F. Smith