International Day of Archeology
Archeology is celebrated on October twentieth worldwide and today, the Institute of Archeology in Belmopan put off a display for students and the general public. Educational displays and fun-filled activities were available for those who visited to get a better appreciation of the tedious work that is put in to preserve the cultural history of Belize. These include the research, the education and the management of parks which is the mandate of the institute. Archeological Technician, Antonio Beardall, says that for the special occasion some artifacts were also available for viewing.
Antonio Beardall, Archeological Technical, Institute of Archeology
Antonio Beardall
“We have up some education displays that tell people what archeology is and tell the people what we as the institute do in terms of the research the education as well as the management of parks. We also have games that they can play…they can find the Maya sites on the map; test their knowledge. And we also have a display of artifacts; some that they may not be able to see in the museum and some that probably have never been displayed at all. Everything from copper rings to gold foil, to many different forms of ceramics. There is definitely a lot of lingo when it comes to archeology. We try to make our displays as kid-friendly as possible—not only from the graphics, but also the language. And of course we are also out here to break it down into a simpler form. The artifacts we basically tell people where they were found and what it is made up so that is basically self-explanatory. We know that archeology can be very scientific, but we try to make it fun and we try to make games out of it so kids would want to come and see but also learn in the process. The majority of what we do tend to deal with the Maya so the bulk of what we display are Maya artifacts. But we do have quite a nice collection of colonial and historic pieces from the Spanish and the English. So we also have that on display and we make sure to inform the teachers and the students when they come that the archeology of Belize also includes the English and the Spanish. And of course when we set up the time periods, the contact period is also a part of archeology. So it is also important.”
