I have a 100% in History now! Here's one of the two assignments that the teacher graded. I was given a list of artifacts at the site. There was also a description of the site. The task was to explain how the site got there and who left the artifactst there and stuff.
01.03 Archaeology and Anthropology Assignment Part 2
My hypothesis (also an educated proposition made to suggest something is true without having definite proof) explains the existence of a watermelon shrine. These women did not quite view the watermelon as “godly”, but were extremely thankful for finding a field of them. The site was probably a ceremonial site located in Illinois, USA where people left the objects to express their gratitude towards finding watermelons. This was about 11,000 years ago- at the end of the last great Ice Age. During those times, the women gathered food and the men hunted. The women had a lot of trouble doing their job, so they became extremely worried. One day, they found the watermelon and decided to dedicate a shrine to them. This explains the circular object. It could not have been a sphere because the heights and diameters were distinct numbers. This is explains how it was probably more elliptical. I doubt the objects were truly made of concrete, but they probably got harder later on as earth piled on top of them. The base underneath which connected it to the ground and the red brick areas were probably made to hold the objects above the ground so they would stand out. They might have been made to look like they were offerings for the gods because the women obviously thought of the watermelon as sacred. The half-moon shapes on either side of the larger object most likely represented watermelons that were cut open. The brick was chosen to be red because it represented the sweetness of the food and the life it gave to the tribe.
The artifacts pertained to the watermelons and the shrine. The small square objects with thin wax coating probably held the essence of the watermelon. The spout openings were made because it was a type of container. The strong smell illustrates a type of ancient perfume. The three cylinder-shaped metal objects were probably versatile devices used to carry around watermelon juice. The ants were crawling inside and out of each object because they were attracted to the sweet taste of watermelon. Eventually, the tribal people carved ants crawling on the juice containers to try and ward off the real ones that were contaminating their drinks. The slices of pictures, writings, and maps in the hard-paper covered object were used to record where the women found the watermelon and how to get there. The additional hard-paper-covered object with individual slices indicated how much watermelon was found in the corresponding places that were explained in further detail in the other hard-paper-covered objects. It is possible that these slices were actually small watermelon-skin slices. The crumpled paper object with rose coloring was obviously a sample of the paint that they used to make pictures of their favorite food. A portion was left behind at the shrine because it was symbolic of the dedication the women had towards the newly discovered fruit. The five metal objects were the simplest to identify. Jagged edges were secured on a small metal ring for a convenient tool for different tasks, much like the modern-day “Swiss Army Knife”.
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