I can honestly say that I did not expect to learn much more than brief information about a few cool excavation sites when I added ANP 264 to my last undergraduate semester at Michigan State; I enrolled for ANP 264 simply to fulfill Honors undergraduate requirements. My previously held notions of what archaeologist are revolved around the character of Indiana Jones. Growing up with my brother, we were infatuated with the prospect of becoming archaeologists so we could do cool stuff and find old things like Indiana Jones. Little did I know that my preconceptions about the field of archaeology were far from the truth.

During the introductory lectures about the field of archaeology, I learned that archaeologists do so much more than just excavation and discovering cool artifacts; an archaeologist’s work does not just revolve around the discovery of material culture. As mentioned in lectures, a large chunk of time is dedicated to educating the public. When Ethan first noted that archaeologists spend a large amount of time talking to the public about what they do, I did not see the importance or value of such public education. I simply thought that archaeologists were talking to the public to share their discoveries. However, as Ethan taught us, archaeologists speak to the public to stress the importance of leaving material culture in the environment in which it was found. This stood out to me because I grew up in rural Indiana, and I have heard of many local farmers finding artifacts. I had always assumed that if you found something while farming on your land, you would bag it up and take it to some museum or expert in local history. I never considered that the context in the which the object was found was so important!

I also found archaeologists’ work with the public to be particularly interesting because I, as a teacher-in-training, have not heard about such a resource prior to this course. Throughout my four years with the College of Education here at Michigan State University, I have been prompted to utilize any resources possible to teach students, especially if it gets them interested and engaged in science. While I have never thought of introducing the field of archaeology to students before, I think it would be an incredible way to talk about the variety of disciplines of science. In addition, it also shows students that science is not just something performed in a lab while wearing fancy white lab coats. I also believe that introducing archaeology would be a valuable way to show students how different subjects are intertwined; for example, archaeology helps us learn about the past, and it is undeniably connected to the things students learn about in their history textbooks, library books, or leisure books.

As a result of this class, I know that I must, as an educator, be sure to educate my students about the field of archaeology. Given the information I have learned so far as a student in ANP 264, I can promote science and discovery by introducing my students to particular discipline they may have not considered before. By introducing archaeology into the classroom, my future students will have the opportunity to see how science is not just something performed in a lab. They will also be exposed to how different subjects are not segregated entities with no connections. I can also make the distinction between paleontologists and archaeologists, giving students a more accurate depiction of different disciplines in science. In addition to just promoting archaeology to my students, I can encourage my peers and community members to learn about the field as well.