Lesson Plan

Lithic Tools

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Drawing of a collection of lithic tools including spear heads, scrapers, arrowheads, and others.
Grade Level:
Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
Subject:
Social Studies
Lesson Duration:
60 Minutes
State Standards:
Colorado Standards for Social Studies:5th Identify & describe the significant individuals&groups of Native Americans before the American Revolution 4th Describe how the physical environment provides opportunities for&places constraints on human activities
Additional Standards:
Colorado Standards for Visual Arts: 3rd Select tools & materials as directed for a given project or purpose. Use the characteristics & expressive features of art & design to discuss historical ideas.
Thinking Skills:
Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations.

Essential Question

Why are natural resources important and how can they be used?

Objective

Students will learn the value of natural resources and how the Ute Indians of central Colorado used natural resources to create tools. Students will also learn to distinguish between the studies of archaeology and paleontology.

Background

Indigenous people of the Americas have used natural resources available to them for tools, food, shelter and clothing for thousands of years. In North America, many indigenous people even mined minerals such as turquoise, copper and silver for decorative use. In the southwest region of the United States, the Utes (who inhabited the Florissant valley) depended heavily on their tools and weapons in everyday uses. Tools were used as a means to sustain daily life, while weapons were used as a means of protection and for hunting purposes.

Both Ute men and women played important roles in using/creating weapons and tools. Women often made weaved/woven baskets for gathering food, nets of fibers for fishing and hunting rabbits, and pottery out of natural materials. Men made grinding stones, bows and arrows, knives and shields, also out of natural materials. Some of the materials that the Utes used to construct their tools and weapons include: stone, clay, and plant material. Here at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, a Ute lithic tool was recently discovered. The tool was most likely used as a scraper and is made out of Wall Mountain Tuff material.

People who study ancient human artifacts and remains, such as weapons and tools of ancient peoples, are called archaeologists. Those who study the remains of ancient life (i.e. petrified tree stumps) are called paleontologists. Although both studies involve studying ancient remains and careful collecting techniques, their focuses are completely different. Through archaeology, people look to understand ancient civilizations, whereas through paleontology, people look to understand life on Earth and how environments changed over time.

Preparation

You will need:

(Don’t worry if you cannot gather all these things. Part of the game is seeing what you can make with what you can find!)

  • Scissors

  • Pencil

  • Markers

  • Paper

  • Newspaper

  • No bake sculpting clay

  • String (twine, leather, yarn, etc.)

  • Beads

  • Pebble sized rocks

  • Sea shells

Lesson Hook/Preview

In the southwest region of the United States, the Utes (who inhabited the Florissant Valley) heavily depended on the tools and weapons they created for everyday activities. The tools they created were necessary for many parts of their daily life such as gathering and preparing food or making clothing and shelter. Weapons such as bows were needed for both protection and hunting animals for meat and other resources.

Procedure

#1: Once you have your materials gathered, look at what you have. Use your imagination to come up with a design for a tool you could make. Think of a task that a tool could make easier for you or your family. It could help with preparing or gathering food, cleaning, personal hygiene, anything you can think of! Use your pencil and paper to sketch your design. Make notes on what it will be used for and what it will be made of.

Note: You are making a tool, not a weapon. Otherwise someone, including you, could get hurt.

Both men and women made and used the different tools and weapons important to the Utes. Women would weave baskets to gather food, nets of natural fibers for catching fish and rabbits, and made pottery from natural minerals to store food, water, and other goods. The men would also use natural materials to make grinding stones, bows and arrow, knives, and shields for hunting food and defending their families. The Utes would use materials such as clay, stones, and plants to craft the things they needed.

A lithic tool from the Utes has actually been found in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. It was most likely a scraper for preparing hides made from a piece of Wall Mountain Tuff.

#2: When you have a design in mind, start making your tool using the materials you have. If something isn’t working, you don’t have to strictly follow your initial design. You can make changes to make it better.

People who study ancient human artifacts and remains, such as lithic tools, are called archeologists. Paleontologists are scientists who study fossils. While both groups study ancient remains and use careful collecting techniques, their focuses are very different. Through archeology, scientists work to understand ancient civilizations and peoples. In paleontology, scientists work to understand life on Earth and how environments have changed over time.

#3: Once you have your tool made, you can use your markers or other items to decorate it

Vocabulary

  • Lithic: adjective; of the nature or related to rock  noun; in archaeology, rock tools 

  • Archaeology: noun; the scientific study of past human life through the things they left behind such as artifacts and sites. 

  • Paleontology: noun; a science dealing with the life of past geological periods as known especially from fossil remains (i.e. petrified tree stumps)

Assessment Materials

Reflection

Now that you have made a tool, what else could you make? Are there natural resources in the area you live in that could be useful in making tools? If there were certain materials you think would have been better or you needed but didn’t have, how would you go about getting them?

Contact Information

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Tags: native american history archaelogy native american lithics archeology

Last updated: October 18, 2022