Functional Art in the Experimental Archaeology Classroom

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Archaeology Classroom" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Experimental archaeology is, by definition, a hands-on field. In the undergraduate classroom, students enrolled in experimental archaeology courses typically learn not only the theory and methods behind experimentation to better understand past technologies, but also engage in experimentation themselves. Experiments vary depending on the instructor’s own specializations but are often focused on utilitarian projects. As archaeologists, however, we know that humans engage in craft not just for tools needed to live, but also as forms of self- and cultural expression. In order to introduce students to outside expertise and to present a viewpoint that brings in art and design in addition to utility, Levin (an archaeologist) brought Evans (an art education professor) into her experimental archaeology class at Valdosta State University to collaborate on basketry and ceramics units. Afterward, students completed a quantitative and qualitative survey on their experiences. In this paper, we describe how this phenomenological learning experience helped students to better understand and appreciate both art and archaeology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Archaeology Classroom   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35543.0