Touch - Don't Touch, 8000 Years in Your Hand!

The PITCHER project (Erasmus+ Programme, 2021-2024) designed and tested a set of Open Educational Resources focused on improving the capacity of teachers and educators in preparing new learning experiences to support the fight against archaeological looting and illicit trafficking of cultural goods. This educational resource is an invitation to try out the field of archaeology. Students or young museum visitors (aged 7-14) become budding researchers become budding researchers. The challenge? Follow an excavation protocol and, through a series of interconnected activities, use all their senses to piece together the history of ancient inhabitants of an archaeological site. In the example tested here, it was the Castelnovian people (the very ancient inhabitants of Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, near Marseille)! Through this activity, participants understand the importance of the archaeological context of objects discovered during excavations or accidentally. They also learn how archaeological looting, by separating an object from its context, destroys a wealth of information needed to understand these objects. A detailed guide allows this activity and its technical setups to be adapted to other museums, archaeological sites, or even schools.