High pedagogical potential of archaeological science.
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Interdisciplinary field with educational potential across humanities and sciences.
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Open access guide on Archaeological Science Classroom Activities.
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Key audience: elementary and junior high school students.
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Hands-on activities on osteoarchaeology, archaeobotany, and archaeological materials.
Abstract
The pedagogical potential of archaeology is widely acknowledged and has led to a multitude of formal and informal resources, either promoting or exploiting this role. Science subjects are an essential part of school curricula. Despite this, archaeological science has not received equal attention, even though it is among the most interdisciplinary fields of archaeology with immense educational potential across both the humanities and sciences. This paper presents an open access guide on ‘Archaeological Science Classroom Activities,’ designed primarily for elementary and junior high school students by the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center of the Cyprus Institute. The proposed hands-on activities present a range of archaeological scientific approaches adopted in human osteoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, ceramics, archaeometallurgy and ancient glass analysis. The aim of the current paper is to enhance the guide’s international use and invite comments for further future development.