Boxi Learn › History › Stage 2 · Models and Patterns
Dig down, go back in time
Anything found deeper in the ground is always older, and everything in one layer is the same age.
Layers of soil pile up over time, so deeper usually means older — but a pit dug from above can carry newer things down, and a layer can be no older than the newest object in it.
A friend says: “This coin was found deeper than that pot, so it must be older.” Use the pit or the burrow from this page to explain why that is not always true, and say how you would date the layer instead.
In a clear cup, make layers of rice, lentils, flour and coffee grounds. On each layer drop a paper “coin” with a year, older years lower down. Then dig a “pit” with a spoon from the top and drop in a coin with this year. Is the deepest coin still the oldest? Date each layer by its newest coin.