Low-Tech in a High-Tech World: Teaching the Past to Shape the Future

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.

For several million years our ancestors used tools to shape their world, and themselves. Some argue we have lost our way, as artificial intelligence and machine learning has reshaped the fabric of society. Our post-industrial, capitalist mode of production resulted in a nearly complete detachment from the sociocultural, environmental, political, and economic context in which things are produced. STEM based solutions involve greater investment in rare earth minerals and exploitative labor practices that have already driven the world into an anthropogenic doomscape we call the Anthropocene. Extinction rates are accelerating—not only of biota but also of lifeways. Included amongst these are the “traditional” skills and hand-crafted technologies that offer a more balanced relationship between people and our world. Experimental archaeology and a craft-based pedagogy provides a mechanism to revitalize the low-tech lifeways that offer the potential for more sustainable futures. This presentation highlights the work currently being done at HEARTH—Hand-crafted, Experiential Archaeological Research and Teaching Hub. This unique public-facing facility, set within the SUNY system, not only prepares students for careers in archaeology and historic preservation but also encourages them to reconceptualize the relationships and systems that they want to be a part of.

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)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39210.0