Chennai workshop brings archaeology alive for young learners

CHENNAI: Archaeology is one of the best ways to understand a community’s heritage, culture and past. Recently, Anbazhagan K, an experimental archaeologist from the University of Madras, hosted a workshop for children. “Children are keen learners and they love understanding the past.

I usually conduct workshops for college students and adults, but working with children requires a different approach. They are still in the learning phase, so we must simplify the way we teach," Anbazhagan says.

During the workshop, he introduced them to the basics of archaeology, including prehistoric development, excavation methods, cultural evolution, and the intersection of prehistory and early history. The session also included demonstrations of prehistoric stone tool knapping, a sandbox excavation and artefact analysis.

"The children were especially fascinated by the knapping demonstration, where I showed how early humans shaped stones into tools by striking flakes off a core. A day or two after the session, some parents called me to say that their children were trying to practise stone tool knapping at home using vegetables.

There are so many excavations happening across Tamil Nadu now. There is so much for children to learn about archaeology. Creating awareness about our history among young minds is important.”

About 30 children took part in the workshop hosted by DakshinaChitra. “They ask me a lot of questions, very interesting ones. Some even ask how I know all this.

I tell them it comes from experience and a genuine interest in the subject," the young archaeologist adds. He is planning more workshops for children. Through such interactive sessions, he believes they can discover the mysteries of ancient civilisations and understand how evidence-based study helps separate myth from history.