Ancient Maya (90 minutes)

How did the ancient Maya express their identity? What objects did they use to show their power? What can archaeology tell us about Maya life? These are some of the questions we will discuss while students learn how to read a Maya monument and handle objects from Central and South America.

This PowerPoint has been created for teachers to deliver a school-based session focused on the enigmatic Red Deer antler headdress from the world renowned site of Star Carr in Yorkshire, England. Dating from the Mesolithic, this 11,000 year old object is thought to be linked to shamanic practices performed millennia ago along the edges fo a watery environment. View the PowerPoint

 

Visit our website for more details and teacher's resources

A session tracing life in Britain from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age. Find out what distinguishes each epoch and how everyday objects changed through time and space. View the Powerpoint

 

Visit our website for more details and teacher's resources.

Rituals and Beliefs focuses on the scene from a plaster cast taken of a stone lintel from the doorway of a temple in the city of Yaxchilan, now in modern day Mexico, and dating from 709AD.

The images depict a blood-letting ritual being performed by Lady K'ab'al Xook and her husnabd King Shield Jaguar. Lady K'ab'al Xook can be seen pulling a rope of thorns through her tongue in order to collect blood in a bowl filled with bark paper. Both figures are wearing jade and obsidian jewellery and dressed in resplendent costumes made fo fur and elaborate fabrics. 

How did the ancient Maya express their identity? What objects did they use to show their power? What can archaeology tell us about Maya life? These are some of the questions we will discuss while students learn how to read a Maya monument and handle objects from Central and South America.

We are keeping these sessions as flexible as possible, so they can support your needs as best as they can. As a general outline, a typical session might include:

Asteriornis maastrichtensis, affectionately known as the Wonderchicken, is among the most exciting bird fossils ever found. It has one of the best-preserved fossil bird skulls in the world, and gives us important insights into the evolutionary origins of modern birds.

It might not look very exciting but flint gravel has a story to tell of a warm chalky sea that covered a lot of England about 90 million years ago. That’s when dinosaur were around although they were not living in this particular sea. Sometimes flint filles the holes made by borrowing animals and sometimes, if we’re lucky it enclosed the remains of sea creatures meaning it is great place to look for fossils.

About the Session 

This set of activities focusses on women in STEM, using objects from the Whipple Museum to explore:

Caroline Herschel and Maggie Aderin-Pocock (astronomy)

Hertha Ayrton (engineering)

Ida Freund (chemistry)

Marjory Stevenson (microbiology)

Rosalind Franklin and Deborah Ruffunduo (microscopy)

Duration: Can be booked as: 

A 60-minute outreach session (online or in person) with ideas for activities to complete in class

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