The Municipality of La Orotava and Cultania develop a pilot project to promote archaeological knowledge and respect for historical heritage among schoolchildren. This initiative includes archeology workshops that take place in the school gardens of the Inocencio Sosa Hernández, Leoncio Estévez, Infanta Elena or Manuel de Falla schools.
Through the recreation of a archaeological excavation the aim is for students to “approach the world of archeology by understanding the importance of context in the study of the past; while they develop, in a playful and fun way, the knowledge and skills they must acquire in subjects such as drawing, mathematics or natural sciences, among others». It is also intended to promote among them a more civic behavior towards cultural heritage.
This initiative works on the planning of the area, the recovery of objects, data collection, documentation or classification, cleaning and inventory of the various materials. Thus, schoolchildren learn that the archaeological objects that appear in the sites cannot be collected without using a rigorous registration method.. The exact position and, above all, the relationships established with the rest of the pieces, allow us to understand what it means to alter or subtract pieces from the archaeological sites.
Schoolchildren also participate in talks, directed by the company Cultania, with the aim that value the importance of archeology in the Canary Islandsexplaining the types of soils, deposits and materials that can be found, as well as the need for their protection to avoid looting or archaeological attacks.
“Awareness and dissemination in the new generations is essential, since they will be the future protectors of the municipality’s heritage”
Mayor Delia Escobar (CC) details that after the archaeological survey that was carried out a few months ago in San Francisco, “we want to work on raising public awareness about the archaeological wealth in the municipality, and in Canary Islands in general, from the point of view of conservation and protection”. The councilor also announces that with the intervention of Patrimonio del Canary Islands Government The project will continue in the old hospital of San Francisco, and now in the second phase an archaeological excavation will be carried out. On the other hand, given the good results of the workshops in educational centers, it is planned to continue with the initiative in the next course, in other schools in the Villa. Thus, “awareness and dissemination in the new generations is essential, since they will be the future protectors of the municipality’s heritage”.
Mayor Francisco Linares (CC) highlights the need to “incorporate and bring Canarian content to the classroom, as there is a lack of education, information and knowledge in this regard.” In his opinion, “this type of initiative defends and protects our history and past, in addition to providing knowledge and content of interest to the smallest and youngest, and instilling in them sensitivity and awareness for its valorisation, protection and conservation”.
