ACTIVITY ONE

Both activities should be done when the unit is finished

• Activating prior knowledge

Look at the picture and answer 

1)Can you explain what the woman is doing ?

2) what is she eating ?

3)Is she living in the Palaeolithic or Neolithic Age ? 4) why?

• Write “cannibalism”, “Atapuerca” and “homo antecessor “ on the board and ask the students which words they don´t know and explain the meanings.

In pairs, the learners read an article about “cannibalism”. Give language support because they need to discuss the following questions :

• why early humans might have practiced cannibalism ?
• what do you think would happen today if this practice continue ?
• why did they stop practicing this ritual ?

In what situation do you think cannibalism would take place ? For what reason would you practice it?

 ARTICLE ABOUT CANNIBALISM

Early cavemen in Europe ate human meat as part of their everyday diet, new research suggests.

A new study of fossil bones in Spain shows that cannibalism was a normal part of daily life around 800,000 years ago among Europe’s first humans.

 Bones from the cave, called Gran Dolina, show signs of cuts and other marks which will have been made by early stone tools.

 Among the bones of bison, deer, wild sheep and other animals, scientists discovered the butchered  (meat) remains of at least 11 human children and adolescents.

The bones also displayed signs of having been smashed to get the nutritious marrow inside and there was evidence that the victims’ brains may also have been eaten.

Striek marks on the bone at the base of the skull also indicated that the humans had been decapitated according to the study’s co-author José Maria Bermúdez de Castro.

 Bermudez de Castro, of the National Research Center on Human Evolution in Burgos, Spain,  told National Geographic: ‘Probably then they cut the skull for extracting the brain. The brain is good for food.’

Scientists believe that early man ate fellow humans both to fulfill his nutritional needs and to kill off neighbouring enemy tribes.

 Bones of humans that had been eaten spanned a period of around hundred thousand years, indicating that the practice was not just confined to times when food was scarce.

And the fact that the bones were discarded with those of other animals suggests that there was no religious significance to the practice.

The 'defleshed' bones were found in excavations in the Sierra de Atapuerca in the north of Spain

 Because human and animal remains were tossed away together, the researchers speculate that cannibalism had no special ritual role linked to religious beliefs.

 Bermudez de Castro said that the area surrounding the caves would have been a rich source of food so there would have been little need to turn to cannibalism as a last resort.

 Instead the practice was probably more widely used as a way of dealing with competition from neighbouring tribes.

 Children will have been targeted as they would have been less capable of defending themselves, the study suggests.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1307936/Early-man-butchered-ate-brains-children-everyday-diet.html#ixzz4dCGPJIfT 
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Language support : First human beings could have practiced cannibalism because it was a magical ritual….Is that right? No, I don´t think it is right…….  I would never practice cannibalism because ……the reason why I would practice cannibalism was……. The reason why I would not practice cannibalism was….

We will reflect among the whole class these interesting questions, encouraging learners  to discuss according to their values or religious beliefs. Once they have finished, they will carry on investigating in groups.

• Investigate : students in groups look for information on the Internet websites about remote tribes that still practice cannibalism nowadays.  

• Does ritual cannibalism really occur today ?
• What is the name of the tribe ?
• Where do they live ?
• Do they practice this ritual because of religious beliefs or magical rituals ?
• Do you know any cannibalism experience over the last 40 years in our modern world?
• Can you explain what happened in the Andes in 1973? Have you seen the film “Alive”?

Teacher should give an introduction about the airplane accident, making clear the difficult situation that survivors had to face in those moments

• Do you agree with the decision of the Uruguayan rugby team to survive in an extreme weather condition?
• Compare and contrast the reasons why the homo antecessor and the rugby team practiced cannibalism….. Can you find any difference?

• Once they have finished the debate , individually learners will write a short text called “LEARNING FROM THE PAST” : Imagine that you and  your family were hiking in a forest and you got lost for one week without mobile phone connection and little food.

Can you tell me if you would apply the lifestyle of our ancestors in the Palaeolithic to survive in the forest? Would you be able to invent new tools for looking for food?

Language support :  first of all I would find a cave to protect from animals, second I would make …. I would try to…..The first thing I would do was….I would probably look for …..

Once they have finished, students can compare and contrast with their classmates the different solutions to solve their problems about how survive in a tough situation.

ACTIVITY TWO : BEING A LITTLE ARCHAEOLOGIST

Students look at the picture, and answer the next questions :

• What does it show?
• What are they doing?
• Where is it? 

Show a map of Spain and point out where Atapuerca is.

Check if they know the meaning of “archaeology”, “archaeologist”, “to dig”, “a dig”, “fossil”,  “artifact” and “palaenthology”

Show a picture of a fossil and an artifact and tell the learners if they can see any difference between a fossil and an artifact

• Investigate : In pairs, search on askmrdonn.org/archaeology  to solve some questions about archaeology

• What is Archaeology?
• What is an archaeologist?
• What does an archaeologist do?
• What is the difference between a fossil and an artifact?
• What is a dig?
• Why is pottery important to an archaeologist?

• Fill the gaps exercise :

dig     detectives     science     objects    site       remains       pottery         dinosaurs  past     daily    labelled     

Archaeology is a ………………… that studies the human life by looking at artifacts (man-made ………… such as stone tools,  jewellery, clothing and …………………). Palaenthology is the study of ancient animals that may have died hundreds of millions years ago (for example, bones of……………..).  Archaeologists are like  ……………………..who try to guess  people lived long ago, how they governed themselves, what art they created, their religious beliefs, and their ……………………life. A ………… is a site in any place that archaeologists wish to look for remains of a civilization that is buried or lost. After the artifacts are …………………at the dig, the artifacts are taken to a lab, relabeled, and placed in a database. Finally, museums serve to help future generations comprehend their history and recognize the achievements of those who came before them. Quite simply, without museums we would lose the links to our……………………

To carry on the activity, watch a short video about Atapuerca. Pay attention to the accurate and precise  job that archaeologist do in a grid.

• The whole class will discuss about the next questions

1)What archaeological remains have been found in the excavation?

2)Why do you think the site was so important ?

3)Can you tell me why they only work between June and September?

• Archaeology worksheet game

In pairs, you are going to be an archaeologist.

When archaeologists look for a site, they survey the area using a grid. They compare the artifacts they find from different locations to decide where to dig more. They analyze the artifacts they find to understand what kind of site they have found and what kind of activities took place there in the past. Examine the archaeological survey above and write on your notebook the following questions :

• Which artifact was found most often?
• Which artifact do you think is the coolest? Why?
• Which artifacts could tell you most about what people wore in the past? Why?
• What types of activities could have taken place? Use specific artifacts to explain your answer
• You dig a hole at R6,C7. Draw an X on this box. You found nothing! Where would you try looking next? Why?

Work with a partner to categorize the artifacts in the right box. Ask your partner what he/she thinks , for example….

This artifact was made of stone and a stick. It is called stone tool. It belongs to the Palaeolithic Age because early man used it for hunting

Where does the knife go?  I put in the Neolithic. Is that right?”No, I don´t think it is right”. “I put in the Metal Ages.