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Congratulations! You have just been selected by the National Geographic Society to take part in an artifact scavenger hunt on the continent of Africa. Your mission is to identify artifacts used by various peoples in Africa.

An artifact is a physical object that people create for a specific purpose. For example, a stone tool, used by prehistoric people to chop vegetation, is an artifact, but so too are automobiles. An artifact does not have to be ancient; it simply has to be something that people make and something that people use. Artifacts also don't have to be objects used only for work. They can be tools, but they can also be toys, clothes, music, paintings, or even houses. And here's something else: Until recently, scientists thought that only Homo sapiens (that's us!) made and used tools. Now there is evidence that animals such as monkeys and birds do, as well.

Look carefully around your environment. Perhaps you are in your classroom, your bedroom, or in the kitchen. You may not have ever thought about this before, but you are surrounded by artifacts. The computers in your classroom, the refrigerator in your kitchen, and all those posters hanging on your bedroom wall are indeed artifacts. In a way, your entire house is a kind of contemporary museum. The important thing about artifacts is that they can tell you a lot about the people who create and use them. By examining artifacts you can learn not only about people who lived thousands of years ago but also about people who live thousands of miles away. A word of caution, Xpeditioners: Artifacts can only tell you part of the story. Sometimes the conclusions you draw can be incorrect. Be sure to look at all possible options, do your research, and keep an open mind.

Using the photo galleries listed below, locate images of various places or people in Africa. These links serve as merely a starting point for you to begin your exploration for African images. You can use any books, magazines, or other Web sites that house images of Africans using artifacts, especially if you don't have Internet access.

• National Geographic: Faces of Traditional Africa
• National Geographic Magazine: Kingdom of Aksum
• National Geographic Magazine: Diamonds: The Real Story
• National Geographic Magazine: Inventing Nairobi
• National Geographic Magazine: Chad Oil Boon
• National Geographic Magazine: Zimbabwe Zoom In

Examine each photograph to discover what artifacts you see. Try to find images of artifacts that fall into the categories listed down the side of the Student Handout: African Artifact Inventory. Sort them based on this category. Then fill in the row next to each category by answering the following questions about the artifact:

• Place? Name the country, group of people, and/or place (village, town, city) shown in the photograph.
• Photograph? What is happening in the photo? Are people working, playing, or taking part in some kind of a celebration?
• Description? What is/are the artifact(s)? A tool? A toy? A means of communication or transportation? Clothing? What is it made of?
• Purpose? What is the purpose of the artifact? How is it used?
• Local or Elsewhere? Do you think the artifact was made locally or elsewhere? What makes you think that?
• Equivalent? Is an equivalent artifact used where you live? What is it? Why are these things equivalent?

Younger Xpeditioners: Select a particular room in the place where you live. Make a list of at least 20 artifacts that you see. Compare them to some of the artifacts you found in the scavenger hunt. Which ones might be used for similar reasons but are quite different?

Older Xpeditioners: Find out what coltan (columbite-tantalite) is and why it's important to millions of people around the world. Then find out where it's mined and later used in manufacturing. On a blank map, trace a route that the ore might take in finding its way into your own hands. Think about how something found in the very old earth of Africa is a valuable resource for you—and millions of other people around the world.

Parents: As a family, watch the world news segment of the nightly news for a few consecutive days. Talk with your child about the kinds of news stories shown about Africa. What might be an African artifact that would begin to tell one of the stories from the news? Is it a weapon used by Janjaweed rebels? A vial of AIDS medicine? A diamond from South Africa? A jeep used on safari in Zimbabwe? Encourage your children to think about how the lives of people who live in Africa are similar and different from their own, and how the same artifact found in two different locations can be the start of two very different stories.