Radiocarbon dating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories
In this resource, students learn about our growing understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures using radiocarbon dating. Students will:
- learn about radiocarbon dating and its applications to cultural heritage materials.
- analyse and interpret different texts and videos to better understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
- build literacy and numeracy capabilities using cloze passages, writing a glossary, interpreting graphs, answering comprehension questions, and making a timeline and a map to summarise the research stories.
The activities address these Australian Curriculum Science Understanding and Inquiry Skills:
Students learn:
- all matter is made of atoms that are composed of protons, neutrons and electrons; natural radioactivity arises from the decay of nuclei in atoms (ACSSU177)
- investigating how radiocarbon and other dating methods have been used to establish that Aboriginal Peoples have been present on the Australian continent for more than 60,000 years (OI.6)
- to communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose, including constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations (ACSIS174)