A group of students in northwestern Türkiye swapped smartphones for stone tools as part of a project aimed at reducing digital dependency and reconnecting young people with history.
Around 25 students took part in the activity at the Aşağıpınar archaeological site in Kırklareli, one of the most significant Neolithic settlements in Europe and the Balkans. Before the event began, participants voluntarily left their mobile phones and tablets in a secure area and set up tents at the site.
Guided by museum officials, the students experienced daily life as it might have been 8,200 years ago. They attempted to start fires by rubbing dry wooden branches together, ground wheat into flour using stone hand mills and baked bread over a wood fire.
Yusuf Yılmaz, director of the Kırklareli Museum, said, “We teach young people what life was like in the Neolithic era, what people needed and the challenges they faced.”
Gülay Dündar, a youth leader involved in the initiative, said the program was designed both to introduce students to the region’s rich history and to encourage them to spend time away from social media. She noted that many young people today rarely consider the labor involved in producing basic necessities such as bread.
Participants said they were initially uneasy about giving up their phones, but quickly forgot about them once activities began. University student Beyza Tunç said the experience highlighted the value of face-to-face interaction. “Socializing and sharing experiences with others turned out to be far more meaningful than spending time on a phone,” she said.
Excavations at Aşağıpınar, conducted between 1993 and 2021, uncovered traces of some of the region’s earliest farming communities. Many of the discoveries are now displayed at the Kırklareli Museum, while an open-air museum recreates prehistoric village life through reconstructed dwellings and agricultural exhibits.
