Plotting pots: archaeological exercises in introductory calculus

ABSTRACT Often applications presented in elementary calculus are extremely simplified situations arising in engineering or the physical sciences. Such ‘real world’ problems do not always appeal to a broad audience, and because of their simplification, can be unconvincing or inaccurate. We outline a pair of projects inspired by techniques used by archaeologists in the analysis of pottery. These problems don't require oversimplification and appeal to students who are not necessarily interested in the ‘standard’ applications of calculus.