Our Blog
Artefact Drawing as a Creative Experience in the Classroom
Drawing and painting illustrations of artefacts are one of my favourite past times. Artefacts are objects made or shaped by people. My interest in artefact illustration developed naturally after working in Peru as an archaeologist. Later, while working with children...
Improving Emotional Intelligence in the Field
Emotions are a vital dimension of the human experience. While they can be hard to describe at times, it is generally believed that there is a limited range of feelings that we can sense in our physical bodies, including anger, sadness, frustration, joy, surprise and...
Play in the Field: Lessons from the Andes about Creativity
Possessing a creative mindset is an increasingly important skill in our fast-paced modern world. Fostering this outlook enables us to generate new ideas and solutions, which help us successfully solve problems. While it is crucial, it is not always encouraged, as I...
Taking Breaks in the Field
In our busy lives, it can be challenging to find time to chill out and then achieve quality rest when we do. Yet, rest is essential for building wellbeing; for one, it helps our bodies to replenish. In this blog, I share a simple practice I observed while in the field...
Building Bridges of Connection With Laughter
Connection is central to our human experience and underpins our identity. Fostering connection creates a sense of belonging, which is essential to our wellbeing, as thought leaders and researchers, such as Brené Brown, tell us. Yet, as they also point out, we are...
How to Start a Nature Journal
Practising Mindfulness in Nature with the Illustrated Nature Journal. ‘The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.’ Robin Wall Kimmerer. Are you looking for a fun and creative practice to combine your love of nature with mindfulness? Or...
New Cusco Retreat Dates
It is with great delight and excitement that we announce new dates for Cusco retreat. We will be travelling to the Inka heartland in October. This retreat has been several years in the making and has been made possible by the wonderful support of my friends in Cusco...
Happy International Women’s Day
Today, 8th March 2019 is International Women’s Day. This day is observed in many cultures and celebrates the achievements of women all around the world. Over the past hundred years, this day has also been a mechanism for raising awareness of social, political and...
Becoming a Child of the Storm
Have you ever marveled at the sky during a thunderstorm and wondered what it would be like to be touched by lightning? I can tell you from experience that it is a truly transformative experience. In this blog, I share with you my story. After my encounter with...
Creating Joy with Pachamama
In more recent times, studies have shown that spending time outdoors is very beneficial for your health and wellbeing: for example, it can help fight short-term memory loss, reduce anxiety and stress, and improve your ability to focus.I have myself experienced some of...
Practising Equanimity in the Face of Sacrifice: A Lesson Learnt in the Field
Recently, I was asked a thought-provoking question: what are the saddest things that archaeologists have ever discovered? I think that in the minds of many, our discovery of sacrificed people is one of the saddest. Sacrifice was practised by many cultures around the...
Learning to Love Nature the Andean Way
We must discover our kin, the other animals and plantswith whom we share this planet.We are related to them with our DNA and evolution.To know our kin is to come to love and cherish them.~E.O. Wilson In many traditional societies throughout time, nature is respected...
The Coral Tree: A South American Queen in Australia
On the walk last week I discovered a Cockspur coral tree (Erythrina crista-galli) on the edge of the creek close to my home. I live near subtropical rainforest on the East Coast Australia, and I can easily spot the coral tree in amongst the gumtrees and banksias when...
Llamas and the Play Dough Challenge
A few years ago, while working on an excavation just outside of Cusco city with a team consisting of archaeologists and representatives of a local Quechua speaking community, I gained several key insights about the nature of creativity. These experiences inspired...
Book Review: Grandmother’s Song
Recently, I was trawling through the book shelves of my local library when I discovered 'Grandmother's Song' by Barbara Soros, and illustrated by Jackie Morris. This picture book is set in a village located in the heart of Mexico and focuses on the beautiful and...
Drawing Artefacts as Creative Play
Painting watercolour illustrations of ancient Andean objects is one of my favourite past times. I love to paint and draw because I find it very relaxing but recently, I discovered that that drawing artefacts also supports my own problem-solving process. As I create...
Ana Solana’s Photographic Diary of the Inkas
During the month of October, we are celebrating Ana Solana and Team Ancient Explorer’s adventures at Inka places in Peru by sharing photographs from her field diary via our social media pages. As you, our fellow ancient explorers already know,...
Planning A Retreat For Ancient Explorers
At the moment, I am coordinating our very first retreat in Cusco, Peru, which will take place next year, and I confess that I am very excited about it! For a number of years, friends asked me about travelling to Peru and when I was going to organise a tour. At first,...
Planning A Creative Adventure
At the end of a recent school holiday workshop about Mayan pyramids, a parent approached me and after thanking me, she commented that she wasn’t quite sure what the workshop would be like when she booked her children in. She also wasn’t quite...
Meet Qowa, The New Ancient Explorer
¡Hola amigos! This week my new amiga, Qowa, joined Team Ancient Explorer and I wanted to introduce you to her. Can you guess what kind of cat Qowa is? At first, you might think that Qowa is a leopard or a tiger cub because her tawny fur has black and grey stripes or...