How Much Life do I Lose from the Plague? Educational Board Games as Teaching Tools in Archaeology and Ancient History Courses

This article describes the development, implementation, assessment, debriefing and outcomes, and potential uses of a university student-driven educational gaming project, as a major assessment item in an archaeology course entitled ‘Ancient Medicine’. Discussion of these various aspects of the project is explored in the context of educational gaming theory and practice. We demonstrate that educational board games not only represent an effective method for students to retain and convey information in courses exploring the history and archaeology of medicine, but provide such a platform for undergraduate courses in general. Furthermore, we argue that they can present a cost-effective, fun and less time-/resource-intensive alternative to electronic or web-based projects, while still being an attractive addition to traditional classroom teaching methods.     

From the Ground,Up: The Looting of Vưườn Chuối within the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Antiquities Trade

The exact nature of the illicit antiquities trade from ground to market in Southeast Asia remains poorly known outside of Thailand and Cambodia, where most research has been focused. This paper helps to address this imbalance by documenting and contextualizing looting activities at the Bronze and Iron Age site of V???n Chu?i, located within urban Hanoi. A brief excavation history is provided so as to place recent looting into archaeological context. The methods used to document the recent and on-going looting observed are then discussed, followed by the nature of the current threat to V???n Chu?i and a summation of what little is known about the Vietnamese antiquities trade in general and its relationship to regional antiquities trafficking. Finally, we discuss the current regulatory landscape in terms of constitutional, ownership, penal and international law, difficulties with enforcement and prosecution, and what course of action is needed not only to protect V???n Chu?i and similar sites in and around Hanoi, but also to continue to raise public awareness of the archaeological repercussions of the trade itself.