Kletter/Community Archaeology, 10. Archaeology in a Tray: Integrating Students with Autism in Laboratory Research

Persons with special needs are often excluded from participation in archaeological activities. This chapter presents two ongoing projects focusing on students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which may provide a template for the empowering and integration of individuals with special needs within archaeological research. These projects revolve around ‘picking’, i.e. sorting of archaeological materials recovered by sieving sediments from ancient sites. The work is based on transforming working environments by fostering community engagement within archaeology at the University of Haifa. Both the participants and the project directors found this to be a successful, mutually-beneficial collaboration.