Lesson 4 – Digging the Past – Determine its Age
Trash Can Profile
Soil Profile (Stratigraphy)
Sanborn Map – Chinatown
Soil Profile – Chinatown Latrine
Soil Profile Map – Chinatown Latrine
Soil Profile – Chinatown Latrine – area of study
Chinatown Latrine and Soil Profile Map side by side
Further Exploration
Interested students may want to explore a Smithsonian Institute web site with an interactive activity on soils in: 1) the Amazon, 2) a Washingon, D.C. landfill, and 3) tidal basin soil.
http://forces.si.edu/soils/swf/underneath.html
For a very well-done activity focusing on how archaeologists excavate soil layers, visit this interactive.
