In this article, the author describes "Dr. Gesundheit and the Mysteries of Snake Valley," a mini-unit that he designed so that his middle-level students could learn to interpret archaeological diagrams, work cooperatively to discover relationships among their observations, and draw well-founded conclusions. The unit requires approximately four class periods of 40 minutes each. One period is for preparation. The small-group work with the narrative and diagrams requires two periods. The fourth period is for class discussion and student presentations. As the students reconstruct the culture of the fictional Snake Valley, they exercise inquiry skills and cooperative learning, debate the ethics of excavating burial mounds, and create a history narrative of a fictional settlement. This activity can serve as a model for other classroom activities that communicate content and promote higher-order thinking. (Contains 4 figures.)