Archaeology Excavation Simulation

Abstract

Museums offering archaeological programs often attempt to use the “sandbox approach” to simulate archaeological excavation work. However, in light of the definition of simulation, and given the realities of actual professional practice in archaeological excavation, the author argues that the activity of troweling for artifacts in loose sand places the emphasis of such programs on activities that are not realistic and therefore actually counterproductive—if not miseducational The author presents an alternative approach to simulating excavations in museums that is much more realistic and places the program's primary emphasis on the precise skills professional archaeologists actually must carry out in excavating and analyzing archaeological sites.