Скачать или смотреть Stepping into Hands-On History: Teaching Young Students How to Make Roman Leather Shoes

by Nathalie Roy
Glasgow Middle School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
[email protected] or [email protected]

In this paper, I will discuss an experimental archaeology project focused on Roman leather shoes that I taught in my Roman Technology class. In this class, the teen-aged students reproduce the products and processes of ancient Roman daily life through STEM challenges, hands-on history labs, and experimental archaeology.
The project began with learning the basics of tooling leather. Through a series of smaller projects such as creating Roman leather bullae, the students learned basic leather-working techniques and tools such as stamps, punches, and awls. To assist with techniques, the students read the scholarship of Dr. Carol van Driel Murray and Dr. Elizabeth Greene. They explored leather shoes from the archaeological record in London, Vindolanda, and northern Europe. They cut patterns and formed their own simple carbatinae (Roman house shoes). Then, the students tested their shoes in a series of surface wear tests. Last, the students reflected on the experience of recreating the work of ancient craftspeople. This group of people is often absent in the literary record so experimental archaeology helps the students to learn more deeply about their lives.
My presentation will present all the steps of the project with details about teaching young students. I will also offer suggestions on how the smaller aspects of the project can be adapted for museum maker spaces and workshops.

Roy, Nathalie. “Using Hands-On History Projects to Bring Unheard Voices to Life,” in Edutopia. October 19, 2022. https://www.edutopia.org/article/usin...