In 1828 Washington Irving published A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, in which the story’s hero audaciously proves to medieval Europeans the world is not flat. American school children ever since have learned the story of how Columbus “proved” Earth is round. Unfortunately for critical thinkers everywhere, Irving, famous for stories like “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” exercised a great deal of artistic license. He was more interested in telling an electrifying story than an accurate history.

The truth is, Columbus’s peers generally believed Earth was round. In fact, the awareness of a round Earth dates back at least to Pythagoras during the 6th century BC. It is unfair to generations of students to mislead them with an unnecessary story that is debunked with some basic fact checking and historical thinking.

The edge of the (flat) Earth: Here There Be Monsters. Image courtesy of www.john-howe.com

Historical thinking involves repeatedly asking, “How do we know?” It is important to be skeptical and verify information using the same methods historians use to evaluate sources. Every day we encounter and process information that needs to be evaluated and analyzed for accuracy, perspective, and potential bias. We consume a great deal of content through social media, websites, newspapers, books, movies, television, and countless other media. It is crucial for society that citizens learn how to apply historical thinking skills to this material, especially when so much, like Irving’s, might have more in common with an article from The Onion instead of an encyclopedia entry. How is a person supposed to navigate all this material and trust what they read?

A photo of Earth from space looks pretty convincing to me. NASA image courtesy of the DSCOVR EPIC team.

Guiding people through historical thinking methods is part of my job as a museum educator. This requires a reader to understand the context of an issue, and consider multiple perspectives. When a historian sits down to read a book, reading the main text is not likely the first thing she does. A historian first focuses on the introduction to understand the point the author is trying to convey. They study the bibliography to get an idea of what sources the historian used and the breadth of their research. They also evaluate whether an author’s interpretation is supported by evidence from a variety of sources.

Before digging into the main content, we might also do a little bit of digging to learn more about the author. What are their credentials? Are they an expert on the topic? What overarching point, the thesis, are they trying to make?

Historical reading and thinking is a critical skill for readers of all ages to develop. By thinking historically and critically, we can catch Washington Irving’s mistake of playing fast and loose with the facts. We can also avoid the mistake of teaching false and misleading history. Let’s all practice thinking more like a historian and think critically about the media we are exposed to.

Ask these questions of images, text, and other media to avoid falling for Washington Irving–style whoppers. Image courtesy of Stanford History Education Group.

My name is Kaelyn Olson, and I am working toward a master of arts degree in applied anthropology from Mississippi State University. During the three months of my internship, I have been working with collections from projects on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–managed lands. In addition to the usual lab duties, I became a member of the North Dakota Archaeological Association (NDAA), worked with volunteers, and expanded my professional network. This internship was an outstanding opportunity for me to learn skills that were not covered in my university education and previous work experience, as well as honing skills that I had only limited experience in. I was already fascinated by the history of North Dakota and the northern plains, and this internship only served to deepen my appreciation of this region. While some of the day-to-day tasks of being a collections intern may not seem glamorous or exciting to the casual viewer, the work is extremely satisfying, and each new box is its own adventure. I’ll be sad to leave these collections behind as I return to school, but I am excited to know that the collections will be ready for research and additions when I come back.

Kaelyn Olson in one of the archaeology collections storage rooms, holding an elk antler for scale.

Thank y’awl for being for being so welcoming this summer!

An image comparing artifacts packaged in 1964 (right) to artifacts that have been sorted, cleaned, and “rehabbed” by summer interns (left).

Hi, name is Sylvia Sandstrom and I will be graduating with my bachelor of arts degree in anthropology with an archaeology emphasis from Minnesota State University Moorhead in December 2019. I began my position as an archaeology collections intern in late May 2019, and in my time here over the past three months I have learned more than I could have ever imagined and achieved goals that make me feel entirely fulfilled.

My primary task was to work with collections owned by the USDA Forest Service, which are housed and cared for by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Four boxes of artifacts from Government Creek were my first project, which included re-bagging the artifacts into archival materials, assigning unique accession numbers to each artifact, and entering every single artifact into our catalog database. Overall, I added 383 individual artifact records to our searchable database for this collection, and 816 records total. Aside from working with artifacts, I learned to properly archive and catalog all the important paperwork that gives any artifact its context, and therefore, its research value.

Secondarily, I took up a side project that focused on my interest in Native American pottery. Alfred W. Bowers collected a set of unique potsherds from Mercer County, North Dakota, in the 1930s, but they just made it back to their state of origin early this year. These sherds caught my attention right away, as they were different from the typical jar-like vessels we see in the northern plains. These sherds appear to form some sort of platter or very shallow bowl. I hope to continue working with this piece in the future, as well as with the wonderful folks I have connected with while conducting this research.

Archaeology collections intern Sylvia Sandstrom with unique ceramic plate collected by Alfred Bowers.

Process of discovering loose sherds and refitting them to reproduce the original vessel shape.

Archaeology collections interns Sylvia Sandstrom (left) and Kaelyn Olson (right) during their first weeks at work, size grading artifacts from On-A-Slant Village.