This activity encourages pupils to use their preferred method of choice to record what their family throws away in a day and then produce a piece of creative writing about what an external observer/future archaeologist might think about their families’ lifestyle by just looking at their waste. In this way students are introduced to a key concept of archaeological recording, reconstructing past habits and therefore characterising past societies by looking at what they left behind. This helps pupils familiarise with methods of historical enquiry such as “make connection” and “analyse trends”.

Recording what their family throws away in a day can be a useful exercise to reflect on the concept of “healthy diet” and the relationship between diet and body functions.

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