A surprising discovery: clay and archaeologists
Archaeologists find out about life long ago. They dig very carefully and use small tools such as brushes, so they do not break anything. Clay is soft earth. When people bake it, it becomes hard, and they can make jars and sculptures. If a group of people made beautiful objects and good tools, we say they were advanced. If we do not know who they were, it is a mystery. Many old things are under the ground. If you find something old, do not take it. Stop and tell a teacher or a grown-up. In our story, we use the past simple: found, made, had, took, saw, said.
Mr Hassan was digging a small well near his field. His spade hit something hard. He stopped and looked down. There were pieces of an old clay jar in the soil! Mr Hassan did not take them. He called the village teacher, and she called the archaeologists. The archaeologists came the next day with brushes and small tools. They found more pieces of jars and one tiny sculpture of a bird. ‘The people who made these were very advanced,’ said one archaeologist. ‘But who were they? It is still a mystery.’
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Discovery detectives. The grown-up hides five small objects in a box (for example a spoon, a key, a button, a stone and a coin). The child takes out one at a time and says: I found a key. It is old. It is made of metal. Then they guess how long ago it was made, and say why it is a mystery.