FIRST Lego Archaeology

What is Archaeology?

Archaeology is not paleontology, and archaeologists do not study dinosaurs.
Archaeology is the study of how people lived in the past.
Archaeologists study the things people leave behind, artifacts, ecofacts and features, to reconstruct the past.
Artifacts are things people make, such as tools, art, and clothing.
Ecofacts are natural objects that people use and leave behind, like seeds and bones from meals.
Features are places people build, like homes, factories, churches, and even cemeteries.

Facts about Michigan Archaeology

Michigan archaeology spans 14,000 years of history.
Michigan has over 25,000 archaeological sites.
Surrounded by the Great Lakes, Michigan has more than 1,500 recorded shipwrecks and other submerged sites.
Fort Michilimackinac (in Mackinaw City) is home to one of the longest continuously operating archaeological dig sites in the United States!

Michigan archaeology spans 14,000 years of history!

Learn more about a few of Michigan's archaeological sites

Fort St. Joseph, Niles

Nestled along the St. Joseph River, Fort St. Joseph was once a vital hub of colonial life, where French settlers, soldiers, fur traders, and Native Americans groups coexisted, before the United States was even founded! Once lost to time, learn how college students are leading the effort to learn new information about the people who lived and traded here.

Fayette Townsite

In the mid 1800s, the boomtown of Fayette roared to life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, smelting iron ore and shipping it around the Great Lakes. But after just 24 years, the furnaces fell silent, and it became a true ghost town. This video explores its history - and what happened when everyone left.

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The Recovery of a Tuskegee Aircraft

Shipwrecks aren't the only thing on the bottom of the Great Lakes. In 1944, young Lt. Frank Moody experienced a technical malfunction in his P39 military aircraft and crashed in Lake Huron. Seventy years later, the wreckage was discovered. Explore what was learned from this aircraft recovery.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge: Archaeology

What is Archaeology?

Facts about Michigan Archaeology