Archaeology by Experiment, Replicating the Past, and Education: The Classroom and the Waters of the Lesser Antilles

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Experimental Pedagogies: Teaching through Experimental Archaeology Part 1" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As most archaeologists would agree, we can never know with certainty what really happened in the past given (1) the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record and (2) the intangible aspects of human behavior that may have factored in forming the archaeological record. By integrating emic and etic perspectives we aim to build an accurate/plausible (re)construction of past human behavior and the motivations, selective pressures, and cognitive frameworks that resulted in material patterns identified archaeologically. Archaeology by experiment is one source of observations that has been used to assist in understanding the past since at least the mid-nineteenth century. Experimental archaeology is also a pedagogical exercise to include in program curricula for students to make connections between human behavior and archaeological implications. We discuss (1) an undergraduate course in experimental archaeology offered to mostly Montclair State University commuter students. Working in collaborative teams, students design, conduct, and report on experiments that are doable within the semester framework. Experiments range from lab-based tightly controlled exercises to others that approximate the messiness of the real world. (2) a long-term public-oriented experimental program in Caribbean maritime travel, including Indigenous canoe construction and engaging the public in negotiating the waters of the Lesser Antilles.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Experimental Pedagogies: Teaching through Experimental Archaeology Part 1   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38650.0