Hornos, Adobe, and Hands-on Learning at Southern Arizona National Parks

Summary

This is an abstract from the "AI-Proof Learning: Food-Centered Experimental Archaeology in the Classroom" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The power of breaking bread together is well documented. Adobe, or earthen architecture, is an equally documented and important structural material. Combining the two, we get hornos, Spanish for earthen outdoor oven. While the term horno is not known by many visitors to National Parks, many K–12 students in urban and suburban Tucson, Arizona, are familiar through family use. Their architecture is often far more vernacular and utilitarian than pizza ovens in affluent neighborhood backyards. This talk features a K–12, nontraditional educational project at the Desert Research Learning Center in Tucson, modified from one taught at Cal State East Bay by Dr. Gonzalez. The approach humanizes past and present cultures. Through the simplicity of experimental design and construction of a scale model horno, K–12 students better understand classroom lessons regarding technology, social structures, and cultural identities. With its in-person modality, this outdoor activity has students’ hands too muddy to pick up phones, thus making it AI proof. Further, students can see themselves and their friends in this important STEM activity, bridging the divide between home and academic institution. Ultimately, the use of this culinary archaeology allows students to connect past and present cultures through experimental design and tangible handiwork.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• AI-Proof Learning: Food-Centered Experimental Archaeology in the Classroom   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38238.0