Our goal for Colorado Archaeology in the Classroom is to engage more elementary students and teachers in classrooms and communities across the state in the study of Colorado archaeology through hands-on experience with artifacts, methods, and tools.

  • Hands-on teaching kits containing real and cast artifacts and lessons for elementary schools.
  • Training for teachers in their districts on how to best use the kits in their classrooms.
  • A classroom presentation featuring real and cast artifacts focusing on the pre-history of Colorado.

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This short video, created for the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History exhibition "The Ancient Southwest: People, Pottery, Place," depicts the southwestern United States from 500 to 1700 AD. Beginning with a topographical map of the southwest, the rivers are highlighted, followed by the current state boundaries of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. As the timeline appears at the bottom of the screen, the various culture groups—Hohokam, Mimbres, Pueblo, Chaco, Mesa Verde, and Casas Grandes—are depicted in area as time moves on. Arrows from one culture to another indicate influence. The map ends with the present-day Native American populations in the southwest.