Let's Learn Archaeology

For children ages 4–7. Presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with English captions.

Archaeology helps us learn about the people who lived a long, long time ago. Archaeologists are people who study archaeology. They find things that people left behind long ago, and study the things to learn about how the people lived. In this lesson, you will learn six ASL signs about archaeology, meet an archaeologist, learn about the basics of archaeology, and practice matching broken pieces to the things they used to be.

Drawing of a girl signing "archaeology" in ASL
Introduction: Archaeology in ASL

Archaeologists do some of their work outside. They need to wear special clothes and bring special tools with them. Do you know what you need to be an archaeologist? Print this worksheet at home to practice! You can color in the pictures and practice the signs.

  Archaeology Signs in ASL

Amelia the Archaeologist and Montana Family ASL logos


This resource was produced through a partnership with and . 

Meet an Archaeologist

Amelia is a real archaeologist who lives in Colorado. Watch this video to learn how you can be an archaeologist, too! Amelia is deaf, and this video is presented in ASL. A grownup will need to read the English captions for non-signing children.
English and Spanish options coming soon!

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6rtzYF3X-M]

Drawing of a pot shard and a whole pot, with an arrow connecting them.
Follow-up activity: What was it?

Sometimes when things are left alone for a long time, they break or fall apart. When archaeologists find a piece of something, we look around for other parts and try to figure out what it was before it broke. Print this worksheet at home to practice! You can color in the pictures and match the pieces to the objects they came from.

  Artifact Matching