The Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology: Where The Past and Present Meet

you told us that we would make some of our closest friends in two weeks, we would have dismissed the task as impossible. We were wrong. Our van broke down the first day, and suddenly we went from acquaintances to teammates working to push our van up a hill and off the road. Had our group been one member smaller we wouldn’t have succeeded, but pushing in unison, we prevailed. From that moment on, we realized that, like the van, this adventure would require everyone to push in the same direction. Together we ventured deep into Maya temples and pyramids, we pulled one another through the darkness, and we ran from the bats, spiders, and giant cockroaches. Together we scaled the hundreds of steps at the great pyramids at Calakmul and 20 other Maya sites. Together we fumbled through shopping trip conversations. Together we competed for scavenger hunt glory. Together we became a family.

Here is a story of just another day during BALAM. As we pulled over to the side of the road, we couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of our situation. The day could not have been more perfect. The Balamob had explored the magnificent Maya site of Tonina, delved into the deepest pits of its mock underworld, and climbed more than 200 feet to the top of Tonina’s highest pyramid. This beautiful spring day was truly the best Southern Mexico had to offer, and as we embarked on our journey to San Cristobal, our driver Raul assured us that the breakdown a week prior was the only car trouble he had experienced in more than 10 years.

He definitely forgot to knock on wood, because the white plume of smoke maliciously emanating from the hood begged to differ. We had a choice.

We could either wait out the storm in the car, or we could venture out into the small village across the road. We came for adventure, and a brokendown van wasn’t about to deny us. We hopped out of the van with nothing but smiles and a soccer ball. We immediately met the boy who would turn our misfortune into one of the best days of the trip. His name was Nicholas.

Full of pride and confidence, he ran right up to us with an inquisitive smile. He spoke an incomprehensible Mayan dialect, but the moment Brandon presented his soccer ball, we knew we spoke the common language of soccer. We followed as he rounded a hill to a makeshift soccer field. We quickly divvied up teams and began to play. Our laughs echoed out like trumpets and soon groups of young kids came to the field to join. For those too few hours we forgot ourselves. We were simply soccer players, vying to bring our team victory. The van was fixed after a few hours, but we begged Donny—and finally convinced him—to let us stay until dark. Getting to San Cristobal was unimportant; the soccer game was our only focus.

This is what the Peabody can do for Andover students. Open its doors one day and the next you find yourself repelling down into a cenote or an undiscovered cave. The Peabody completely changed our lives, has done the same for many of our peers, and will continue to do so for countless others.

Delaney and Ben Burke, pictured at left, are now undergraduates at the University of Connecticut and Yale University, respectively.

180 Main Street, Andover, Massachusetts 01810-4161 www.andover.edu/museums

The Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology

“Where Past and Present Meet” Reflections by Ben Burke ’11 and Delaney Burke ’11

T

hroughout their four years at the Phillips Academy, recent graduates Ben and Delaney Burke were extensively involved with the Peabody Museum, not only during the academic year but also for an unforgettable summer learning adventure in Mesoamerica. Here are their informal reflections on the value of the museum as a teaching tool—and their first-hand stories of how the Peabody and its able and enthusiastic staff have made a lasting impact on their lives.

The Peabody is a place where past and present meet… …as a classroom Students first learn about the Peabody through their History 100 class, When Strangers Meet. However, their first class at the Peabody teaches them one valuable lesson: learning at the Peabody doesn’t happen on a chalkboard or from a few handout readings. When you step into the Peabody, you step into a different time and a different world. In our first class, we transformed the field behind the Peabody into a medieval battlefield. We lined up trebuchets, armed them with projectile fruits/tennis balls, and unleashed an assault on the enemy castle/target. Going to class at the Peabody allowed us to learn ancient arts of war while breaking the mold of a normal class day. Every student in America could probably tell you what a catapult is, but how many can say their introduction involved field experience? Once we had breached the enemy walls, we changed speed. We walked across the street to the Vista—and back thousands of years in time. We became members of the most ancient tribe of humans, fighting with their most technologically advanced piece of weaponry, the atlatl. This “spear thrower” allowed hunters to attack prey without being detected and from a safe distance. We competed over distance and accuracy, each of us trying to hit the center bull’s-eye that only our Peabody teacher, Donny Slater, had ever managed to do. That was our first class at the Peabody.

Knowing what may await us at the Peabody, every student in the class silently prayed that today’s history lesson would have us travel across the Great Lawn. On those occasions, we were not disappointed. Maybe on that lucky day we learned about the New World Fur Trade. That lesson involved seeing and holding the all-precious beaver skin and then trying on the hat it would eventually become. Maybe that day’s lesson was about the Sugar Trade in the Caribbean. Of course we held the stalks of cane sugar and saw molasses slowly make its way around a shifting jar, but to top it all off, our teacher, Lindsay Randall, had brought candy for us. Sure, Jolly Rancher candies haven’t been around for hundreds of years, but they are made with cane sugar, and we appreciated the gesture anyway.

History is not the only class lucky enough to venture to the Peabody. Ornithology classes have the opportunity to see one of the last mounts of a Great Auk (a distant relative of the puffin) in the world. Unfortunately, the Great Auk species became extinct in the mid-19th century, but being able to see a real one was amazing and really added to our perspective on the evolution of flightless birds. Spanish classes also annually venture to the Peabody for the Día de los Muertos exhibit, where we decorate an “altar” with traditional tokens and burn copal (an incense) to honor the spirits in accordance with the Mexican culture. Not only do we get to learn Cover: Apsara Iyer ’12 examines the bone handle and crescent-shaped blade of an ulu, an Inuit woman’s knife.

about other cultures at the Peabody, but by taking part in these ancient traditions, we gain a respect for other cultures, which helps to break the Andover “bubble.”

As the perfect bookend to our time at PA, one of our final classes was held at the Peabody. This time, however, our class made the journey from the Gelb Science Center. We were going to study none other than the trebuchets and atlatls, but this time from a physics perspective. English classes, art classes, and even math classes learning the Maya calendar frequent the Peabody’s halls. Learning at the Peabody extends across all aspects of Andover and adds immeasurably to a student’s education.

…as a work duty environment Most students never see the basement of the Peabody, but any number of the hundreds of thousands of artifacts could be brought upstairs if needed. Most students are not work duty students. Work duty students do not just see thousands of artifacts over their up to nine-term tenure, they also hold these artifacts, they catalogue them, and they ask questions. What features distinguish projectile points? How do you differentiate a potsherd from a piece of lithic material? Was this horse hair whip used as a weapon or for ceremonial purposes? What is NAGPRA? All of these answers and more to countless other questions can be found in the Peabody. Marla Taylor, our work duty supervisor, always had an answer, either right there on the spot or next week if she felt she needed to do some research to answer our questions more completely. We did not simply work during work duty, we learned. Indeed, during our upper spring, rather than have us continue to catalogue, Marla had our work duty group research and design our own exhibit on the Hill Tribes of the North East. Now throw in a day devoted to crafting bone flutes and our frequent atlatl practice sessions, and you will see that Peabody work duty was a time where work and fun blended and a place where our ideas took shape and were trusted.

…as an extracurricular outlet With the recent renovation of the Peabody Museum, its library will become a haven for those interested in studying Native American history and for those students looking for a serene place to study. Students will walk through the foyer, learning from the exhibits, and will want to take more active roles. Also, for those students who are very serious, the Massachusetts Archaeological Society holds monthly meetings at the Peabody. In some cases alumni have come back to speak at these events, and at other times students have stepped up to present their own findings. At one of the meetings you could strike up a conversation with one of the archaeologists and then find yourself in a field school excavating 17th-century sites.

…as a leader of expeditionary learning For us, the hidden gem of the Peabody is its trips, Pecos Pathways and BALAM. We were not able to journey to Pecos Pueblo with Pecos Pathways, but we were able take part in BALAM, which was the most unbelievable journey of our lives.

BALAM is an acronym for Bilingual Archaeological Learning Adventure in Mesoamerica, and the trip more than lives up to each of those goals. The “Balamob” is the group of 11 or so students who are chosen to travel to the Yucatan. Let us introduce you to the 14 members of our group. There were three adults—our bus driver, Raul, and two teachers, Donny Slater and Mark Cutler; three seniors— Faiyad Ahmad, Alayna Garbarino, and Bessie Chen; four uppers—the Burke twins (Delaney and Ben), Charlie Cockburn, and Kristen Faulkner; and four lowers—Brandon Wong, Kim Sarnoff, Felicia Jia, and Shelby Carpenter. Of these 11 students, only we (Delaney and Ben) were close. That changed very fast. If

“Learning at the Peabody doesn’t happen on a chalkboard or from a few handout readings.

When you step into the Peabody, you step into a different time and a different world.”

…learning at the Peabody doesn’t happen on a chalkboard or from a few handout readings. When you step into the Peabody, you step into a different time and a different world.

T

hroughout their four years at the Phillips Academy, recent graduates Ben and Delaney Burke were extensively involved with the Peabody Museum, not only during the academic year but also for an unforgettable summer learning adventure in Mesoamerica. Here are their informal reflections on the value of the museum as a teaching tool—and their first-hand stories of how the Peabody and its able and enthusiastic staff have made a lasting impact on their lives.

The Peabody is a place where past and present meet… …as a classroom Students first learn about the Peabody through their History 100 class, When Strangers Meet. However, their first class at the Peabody teaches them one valuable lesson: learning at the Peabody doesn’t happen on a chalkboard or from a few handout readings. When you step into the Peabody, you step into a different time and a different world. In our first class, we transformed the field behind the Peabody into a medieval battlefield. We lined up trebuchets, armed them with projectile fruits/tennis balls, and unleashed an assault on the enemy castle/target. Going to class at the Peabody allowed us to learn ancient arts of war while breaking the mold of a normal class day. Every student in America could probably tell you what a catapult is, but how many can say their introduction involved field experience? Once we had breached the enemy walls, we changed speed. We walked across the street to the Vista—and back thousands of years in time. We became members of the most ancient tribe of humans, fighting with their most technologically advanced piece of weaponry, the atlatl. This “spear thrower” allowed hunters to attack prey without being detected and from a safe distance. We competed over distance and accuracy, each of us trying to hit the center bull’s-eye that only our Peabody teacher, Donny Slater, had ever managed to do. That was our first class at the Peabody.

Knowing what may await us at the Peabody, every student in the class silently prayed that today’s history lesson would have us travel across the Great Lawn. On those occasions, we were not disappointed. Maybe on that lucky day we learned about the New World Fur Trade. That lesson involved seeing and holding the all-precious beaver skin and then trying on the hat it would eventually become. Maybe that day’s lesson was about the Sugar Trade in the Caribbean. Of course we held the stalks of cane sugar and saw molasses slowly make its way around a shifting jar, but to top it all off, our teacher, Lindsay Randall, had brought candy for us. Sure, Jolly Rancher candies haven’t been around for hundreds of years, but they are made with cane sugar, and we appreciated the gesture anyway.

History is not the only class lucky enough to venture to the Peabody. Ornithology classes have the opportunity to see one of the last mounts of a Great Auk (a distant relative of the puffin) in the world. Unfortunately, the Great Auk species became extinct in the mid-19th century, but being able to see a real one was amazing and really added to our perspective on the evolution of flightless birds. Spanish classes also annually venture to the Peabody for the Día de los Muertos exhibit, where we decorate an “altar” with traditional tokens and burn copal (an incense) to honor the spirits in accordance with the Mexican culture. Not only do we get to learn Cover: Apsara Iyer ’12 examines the bone handle and crescent-shaped blade of an ulu, an Inuit woman’s knife.

about other cultures at the Peabody, but by taking part in these ancient traditions, we gain a respect for other cultures, which helps to break the Andover “bubble.”

As the perfect bookend to our time at PA, one of our final classes was held at the Peabody. This time, however, our class made the journey from the Gelb Science Center. We were going to study none other than the trebuchets and atlatls, but this time from a physics perspective. English classes, art classes, and even math classes learning the Maya calendar frequent the Peabody’s halls. Learning at the Peabody extends across all aspects of Andover and adds immeasurably to a student’s education.

…as a work duty environment Most students never see the basement of the Peabody, but any number of the hundreds of thousands of artifacts could be brought upstairs if needed. Most students are not work duty students. Work duty students do not just see thousands of artifacts over their up to nine-term tenure, they also hold these artifacts, they catalogue them, and they ask questions. What features distinguish projectile points? How do you differentiate a potsherd from a piece of lithic material? Was this horse hair whip used as a weapon or for ceremonial purposes? What is NAGPRA? All of these answers and more to countless other questions can be found in the Peabody. Marla Taylor, our work duty supervisor, always had an answer, either right there on the spot or next week if she felt she needed to do some research to answer our questions more completely. We did not simply work during work duty, we learned. Indeed, during our upper spring, rather than have us continue to catalogue, Marla had our work duty group research and design our own exhibit on the Hill Tribes of the North East. Now throw in a day devoted to crafting bone flutes and our frequent atlatl practice sessions, and you will see that Peabody work duty was a time where work and fun blended and a place where our ideas took shape and were trusted.

…as an extracurricular outlet With the recent renovation of the Peabody Museum, its library will become a haven for those interested in studying Native American history and for those students looking for a serene place to study. Students will walk through the foyer, learning from the exhibits, and will want to take more active roles. Also, for those students who are very serious, the Massachusetts Archaeological Society holds monthly meetings at the Peabody. In some cases alumni have come back to speak at these events, and at other times students have stepped up to present their own findings. At one of the meetings you could strike up a conversation with one of the archaeologists and then find yourself in a field school excavating 17th-century sites.

…as a leader of expeditionary learning For us, the hidden gem of the Peabody is its trips, Pecos Pathways and BALAM. We were not able to journey to Pecos Pueblo with Pecos Pathways, but we were able take part in BALAM, which was the most unbelievable journey of our lives.

BALAM is an acronym for Bilingual Archaeological Learning Adventure in Mesoamerica, and the trip more than lives up to each of those goals. The “Balamob” is the group of 11 or so students who are chosen to travel to the Yucatan. Let us introduce you to the 14 members of our group. There were three adults—our bus driver, Raul, and two teachers, Donny Slater and Mark Cutler; three seniors— Faiyad Ahmad, Alayna Garbarino, and Bessie Chen; four uppers—the Burke twins (Delaney and Ben), Charlie Cockburn, and Kristen Faulkner; and four lowers—Brandon Wong, Kim Sarnoff, Felicia Jia, and Shelby Carpenter. Of these 11 students, only we (Delaney and Ben) were close. That changed very fast. If

“Learning at the Peabody doesn’t happen on a chalkboard or from a few handout readings.

When you step into the Peabody, you step into a different time and a different world.”

…learning at the Peabody doesn’t happen on a chalkboard or from a few handout readings. When you step into the Peabody, you step into a different time and a different world.

you told us that we would make some of our closest friends in two weeks, we would have dismissed the task as impossible. We were wrong. Our van broke down the first day, and suddenly we went from acquaintances to teammates working to push our van up a hill and off the road. Had our group been one member smaller we wouldn’t have succeeded, but pushing in unison, we prevailed. From that moment on, we realized that, like the van, this adventure would require everyone to push in the same direction. Together we ventured deep into Maya temples and pyramids, we pulled one another through the darkness, and we ran from the bats, spiders, and giant cockroaches. Together we scaled the hundreds of steps at the great pyramids at Calakmul and 20 other Maya sites. Together we fumbled through shopping trip conversations. Together we competed for scavenger hunt glory. Together we became a family.

Here is a story of just another day during BALAM. As we pulled over to the side of the road, we couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of our situation. The day could not have been more perfect. The Balamob had explored the magnificent Maya site of Tonina, delved into the deepest pits of its mock underworld, and climbed more than 200 feet to the top of Tonina’s highest pyramid. This beautiful spring day was truly the best Southern Mexico had to offer, and as we embarked on our journey to San Cristobal, our driver Raul assured us that the breakdown a week prior was the only car trouble he had experienced in more than 10 years.

He definitely forgot to knock on wood, because the white plume of smoke maliciously emanating from the hood begged to differ. We had a choice.

We could either wait out the storm in the car, or we could venture out into the small village across the road. We came for adventure, and a brokendown van wasn’t about to deny us. We hopped out of the van with nothing but smiles and a soccer ball. We immediately met the boy who would turn our misfortune into one of the best days of the trip. His name was Nicholas.

Full of pride and confidence, he ran right up to us with an inquisitive smile. He spoke an incomprehensible Mayan dialect, but the moment Brandon presented his soccer ball, we knew we spoke the common language of soccer. We followed as he rounded a hill to a makeshift soccer field. We quickly divvied up teams and began to play. Our laughs echoed out like trumpets and soon groups of young kids came to the field to join. For those too few hours we forgot ourselves. We were simply soccer players, vying to bring our team victory. The van was fixed after a few hours, but we begged Donny—and finally convinced him—to let us stay until dark. Getting to San Cristobal was unimportant; the soccer game was our only focus.

This is what the Peabody can do for Andover students. Open its doors one day and the next you find yourself repelling down into a cenote or an undiscovered cave. The Peabody completely changed our lives, has done the same for many of our peers, and will continue to do so for countless others.

Delaney and Ben Burke, pictured at left, are now undergraduates at the University of Connecticut and Yale University, respectively.

180 Main Street, Andover, Massachusetts 01810-4161 www.andover.edu/museums

The Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology

“Where Past and Present Meet” Reflections by Ben Burke ’11 and Delaney Burke ’11