DANCE OF THE SKELETONS: TEACHING BIOARCHAEOLOGY TO CHILDREN AND OVERALL PUBLIC

Abstract

Scientists play an important role in developing interfaces between the scientific knowledge produced and the schools and/or general public. In spite of its importance, the transference of knowledge between universities and the public has been in Portugal during decades. Aiming to suppress this tendency, a nonprofit scientific organization called Group of Studies in Human Evolution (GEEvH)  housed at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra has developed, since 2005, a set of pedagogical and experimental workshop in Portugal and abroad on the field of biological bioarcheology and human Of the activities developed, the workshop “Dance of the skeletons” aims to introduce the role of the skeleton in the physiological balance of the human body, as well as to clarify the importance of  human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts to reconstruct past populations’ history and evolution. The practical component of it consists in a giant human roll-and-move game composed of questions about the biology and anatomy of the human skeleton that finishes in the simulation of an excavation in a sandbox. Our experience in Portugal led us to conclude that this type of approach is well accepted by the students (from elementary to high school) and teachers, constituting an optimal complement to the formal teaching. These ateliers/workshops can be easily adapted; accordingly we would like to invite researchers to develop these activities in their countries.