Cultural Group: In this section, you will describe your selected cultural group and provide background information to create a solid foundation for the rest of your digital display. You will also need to provide an image

Jamez

15 Aug 2025 • 5 min read

The final project for this course is the creation of a digital display for a museum exhibit. You will create this digital display using Microsoft PowerPoint. Your final project will contain text and images. In this assessment, you will play the part of an archaeologist and select a specific cultural group’s artifact or feature, investigate the artifact or feature, and discuss the connections between the artifact or feature, the cultural group, their beliefs and practices, and the modified environment. You will also discuss the research methodologies involved in the investigation, as well as the ethical implications of the research.

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Three, and Five. The final submission will be due in Module Seven.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

Select appropriate archaeological methods for investigating artifacts and features of specific cultural groups
Make connections between human culture and material culture in investigating artifacts and features
Assess the ethical implications in conducting archaeological research for drawing informed conclusions that impact cultural groups
Assess how the social and physical histories of cultural groups inform investigations of artifacts and features
Identify economic, social, and religious connections between prehistoric human behaviors in the archaeological record as they apply to present human behaviors

Prompt

Archaeology is one of the more noted hallmarks of anthropology. Beyond its more romanticized fame of traversing humid jungles, climbing ancient pyramids, and exploring dark caves, archaeology is the study of human material culture. Simply put, archaeology studies the physical remains of people, their things, and the ways they have modified their physical environments. Furthermore, it most prominently investigates the lives of people alongside the written record of history and unlocks clues prior to the advent of writing. The field uses research methodologies to uncover human behavior in the past and apply theory to our everyday world.

As an archaeologist, you have been tasked with creating a digital display for a museum exhibit. For this display, you will create a PowerPoint project. Your display will focus on an artifact or feature of a cultural group of your choice, providing information about and images of the artifact or feature and of the cultural group in the PowerPoint project. The display will need to explain the methodology used to research your group and artifact or feature, your analysis of the artifact or feature, and your conclusions. You will need to be as transparent as possible, so those visiting your display will not only receive information on your artifact or feature, but also be assured that your information is valid and reliable. Assume that your visitors know nothing about your cultural group or the archaeological process. Some examples of cultural groups include Australian Aborigines, Native Americans, Mayans, the Amish, and the Dutch culture.

Your display will include three sections. In the first section, you will begin by selecting an existing/modern cultural group to study, and providing some historical, social, and environmental information about the group. You will want to ensure that the cultural group you choose is a current cultural group and has a significant amount of researchable information around cultural, economic, social, and religious history. In the second section, you will select either an artifact or feature from the group to study. You will then select an archaeological method most appropriate for studying this artifact or feature and describe the artifact or feature and its original location. Finally, in the third section, you will use your research of the group to draw connections between the artifact or feature and cultural group and explore the ethical implications of your research. In each section, you will provide an image to accompany the written portion of your display.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

Cultural Group: In this section, you will describe your selected cultural group and provide background information to create a solid foundation for the rest of your digital display. You will also need to provide an image to complement your information.
1. Describe the cultural group you selected and explain the group’s general cultural beliefs and practices.
2. Assess how key historical and cultural events led to the current identity of the selected group. Describe the influence of the events, supporting your assessment with resources.
3. Assess the historical changes in the physical environment of the group. Where did they live and has this changed? How did they work and live at the site? Be sure to support your assessment with resources.
4. Make connections between the group’s beliefs, practices, history, and the physical environment. How do the characteristics of the group relate to their physical environment?
5. Analyze how the group has modified their environment. For example, have they torn down buildings, created paved roads, or built stairs? What purpose(s) did these modifications serve? Be sure to support your description with resources.
Methodology: Now that there is a solid background of the group, you will select a specific artifact or feature to study and discuss the appropriate methodology to do so. You will also need to provide an image to complement your information.
1. Identify the artifact or feature you would like to use to further investigate your cultural group, and explain why you selected the specific artifact or feature.
2. Provide a comprehensive description of the artifact or feature. What does the artifact or feature do, or what is its purpose for the cultural group? Use your resources to describe the size, shape, color, type, weight, and so on.
3. Describe the archaeological research methods that have been used in the past to find artifacts and/or features related to your chosen cultural group, providing specific examples. Be sure to support your description with resources.
4. Select a specific appropriate method you would use to acquire your selected artifact or feature, and explain why this method would be appropriate.
5. Describe where the artifact or feature was found. Specifically, was it in a public or private place, and what are the associated ethical considerations of finding it in the specific location?
6. Explain why the artifact or feature was found in the specific place, using research to justify the location. The artifact or feature was in the specific place for a reason. What is it?
7. Explain what other information you would need about the artifact or feature to help you draw informed conclusions about the cultural group, providing specific examples. For example, would you need to look at other artifacts and/or features? The one artifact or feature is a physical sample of the culture, so what other information will you need to create a bigger picture?
8. Explain why it is important to gather more data to form valid, reliable opinions about cultures. What ethical implications are at play for forming opinions based on only one artifact or feature?
Connections: In this section, you will make connections between the cultural group and the artifact or feature, explaining how the artifact or feature can provide more insight into the culture of the group. You will also need to provide an image to complement your information.
1. Draw connections between the artifact or feature and the group’s present economic culture. If there are not connections, why not or how could there have been? Consider consumption and distribution in your response. Be sure to support your connections with evidence.
2. Draw connections between the artifact or feature and the group’s present social culture. If there are not connections, why not or how could there have been? Be sure to support your connections with evidence.
3. Draw connections between the artifact or feature and the group’s present religious culture. If there are not connections, why not or how could there have been? Be sure to support your connections with evidence.
4. Explain how your research results might impact the population you researched. Do you think this will be a positive or negative impact and why?

Submit a Microsoft Word document containing the text and images used to create your museum exhibit project, and submit a Microsoft PowerPoint file containing your museum exhibit. The Word document should use the following formatting: 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins. Citations should be formatted according to APA style.

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