PAST Foundation

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The PAST Foundation is a small federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational foundation in the United States. PAST is an acronym for Partnering Archaeology with Science and Technology. The PAST Foundation's mission is to promote a better understanding of history and culture by teaming professional anthropologists and historians with the public to explore potential cultural sites both locally and globally.

Anthropological work, primarily archaeology, is the basis for the foundation’s projects. To promote the understanding of local history and culture, professional anthropologists and archaeologists are teamed with K-12 students to explore potential cultural sites in their area. After extensive supervised classroom training, students have the opportunity to go into the field to learn the techniques of modern archaeology and to discover firsthand what wonders lie beneath the soil and water of all nations. The story of the past is told through direct experience with its artifacts. In addition to classroom and field exposure, students are connected with leading archaeologists and anthropologists around the world through the Internet, to learn of projects and techniques being conducted in distant and different places.

Ongoing research in archaeology is also key to the foundation’s interests. The PAST Foundation supports new research and methodologies and makes use of the Internet and other technologies to link field projects and researchers with others in their field and with students in classrooms. The direct access of students to the people and artifacts in the field is strongly encouraged. Through historical and underwater archaeology, prehistoric archaeology, ethnography and life studies, students learn about their cultural heritage and that of other groups around the globe.