ARCHAEOLOGY is the study of material remains to learn about past human experiences. Archaeology and its potential to increase our understanding of the distant and the recent human past will encourage students to think about how human-made objects and other indicators of human life can enrich our understanding of peoples both past and present.
Uncovering artifacts can be an exciting adventure. Deciphering how objects were used, who might have used them, and other aspects of their context helps students to think about the commonalties between cultures.
Many disciplines such as mathematics, geography, cultural studies, and citizenship can be taught through anthropology. Archeological activities can promote social interaction alongside scientific investigation.
Students who know about archeology will have a greater appreciation for sites that are historically and culturally significant. Hopefully, this will lead to greater stewardship in the future. An ethic grounded in archeological stewardship can also shape students' consideration of other people and their heritage.
We all have a sense of the past — the human perception of the passage of time, as recent as an hour ago or as far back as decades ago. We are all explorers of this past, seeking the meaning of today from what happened yesterday. The past stretches far beyond our own experiences; it takes its shape from those who have come before us. The collective memories of our parents and grandparents provide us with an image of more than two generations of human triumphs and tragedies. In fact, the lens of history allows us to view more than thirty centuries of human experience chronicled by a multitude of men and women.
As valuable as they are, however, written accounts cannot present a complete record of human history. Documents speak only of literate societies and are often incomplete. These records are blind to the thousands of years of human experience before the invention of writing. To recover this vibrant human past without written history or memory, we must turn to archaeology — the study of material remains to learn about past human experiences.
TUESDAY, October 25 – "Careers in Archaeology" (Career Conversations series)
PRESENTER: BEN NANCE, Historical Archaeologist, Tennessee Division of Archaeology
TARGET AUDIENCE: Students in grades 7 - 12
TIME: Two sessions: one at 9:00 AM CENTRAL TIME and one at 10:00 AM CENTRAL TIME
Patsy Partin, M.Ed
Director, Virtual School
Vanderbilt University
2007 Terrace Place
Nashville, TN 37203
