An archaeology book dedicated to children comes out: it's the ArcheoKids Handbook

An archaeology book entirely dedicated to children: it is entitled Dig with ArcheoKids. The Young Archaeologist’s Handbook (96 pages, 14.90 euros, ISBN 9788893931014), is published by Editoriale Scienza publishing house and is the result of the experience of ArcheoKids, the successful blog that tells children about archaeology, an idea of five professionals in the field(Giovanna Baldasarre, Elisabetta Giorgi, Samanta Mariotti, Nina Marotta and Francesco Ripanti) who have thus brought the online experience to paper. The book is available for purchase as of June 3, 2021.

For the five archaeologists of ArcheoKids (they all work either as freelancers or at important public institutions, and the blog is the project with which they intend to bring archaeology to children in exactly the same way as they tell ... stories about dragons, knights, and goblins) this is the first book written “by ten hands,” as they say, and it was created with the aim of explaining to young readers what archaeology is, how it is possible to become archaeologists, what the word “stratigraphy” means, and so on. Readers, in particular, will find out how to conduct an excavation, what clues lead to identifying a place where there might be archaeological remains (and thus where to dig), and then again they will learn the difference between artifacts and ecofacts, learn how to fill out their first excavation report, and how to recognize past footprints on buildings. Space will also be made for museum news, fact sheets, and trivia from around the world: readers will thus discover, for example, that the figures in the Lascaux caves were discovered by four boys between the ages of 13 and 18, and that Machu Picchu was inhabited for only a hundred years. With Excavate with ArcheoKids, the authors intend to build a path full of activities that will engage children and help them fix what they have learned (there are also fact sheets).

The book cover

The book is complemented by Stefano Tognetti ’s illustrations and some anecdotes about the protagonists of the discoveries that are recounted in the book: longtime archaeologists, adventurers, farmers, children, and so on. And then, there are also exercises to help readers find answers to questions that will arise as they read.

“For my part,” Samanta Mariotti explains, “I can say that this book represents a bit of the fruit of everything that is and has been Archeokids since it was born, that is, for seven years now: constant work carried out with enthusiasm, passion, scientific rigor, creativity but also fun and imagination. We are convinced that accompanying the youngest children on the path of discovery of our past is an excellent investment in the long run, because the children of today will be the adults of tomorrow, and educating them in the knowledge and values of respect for and protection of heritage means helping to build a future society that can welcome, conserve, enhance and cherish all that we archaeologists bring to light today. Being good archaeologists also means this: investigating the past, returning it by telling as many people as possible about it in the present and thus creating bridges to the future. We were taught this by the children themselves! The ones who peacefully ’invaded’ our excavations, the ones we worked with in schools and even the ones we met by chance.”

“From June 3,” Mariotti concludes, “our book stops being a dream or a digital draft on our PCs and begins its adventure around Italy. We are really grateful to Editoriale Scienza for believing in our project and having it illustrated by the fantastic pencil of Stefano Tognetti. In the meantime, we are excited just thinking about all the little hands that will flip through these pages, the eyes that will read our words and the little (maybe big) sparks that this book will manage to arouse.”

An archaeology book dedicated to children comes out: it's the ArcheoKids Handbook

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