by Katie Bowell, Curator of Cultural Interpretation
This story from Colorado Public Radio is a few years old now but, given the recent concerns over protecting archaeological resources in Egypt, is still relevant.
Archaeological Playing Cards
Back in 2007, CSU archaeologist Jim Zeidler worked with Archaeologist-in-Residence at Fort Drum Laurie Rush to design a set of playing cards for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The goal of the cards (other than to be used for championship tournaments of “Go Fish”) is to teach the troops about archaeology. Each card has the image of an Iraqi or Afghanistan artifact or archaeological site, or a brief description of how to spot a site and what troops should do, and not do, to keep artifacts safe from accidental damage and looting.
Listen to the story of how the cards were designed and how troops and civilians have responded to them here.
These cards are beautiful, both in terms of the images and the messages. I really want a deck of these for myself!
Isn’t it a great idea? My favorite part of the interview is the quote “I really think that this is a topic my soldiers, my unit, and the Iraqi people that live near us can all agree and work together to accomplish.”