Playmobil: Mr. Archaeologist and the Tomb Raiders

I had a lot of Playmobil growing up. I mean a lot. Like boxes and boxes of the stuff. And in all honesty, I can say that had I seen either the Archaeologist set or the Tomb Raiders set, I probably would not at all minded to get them, because they both look like there are some serious adventures that could stem from either one.

Mr. Archaeologist finds that the best way to study
ancient Egypt is with a gun and lots of snakes.

Let's begin with Mr. Archaeologist. In all honesty, this is a better portrayal of archaeology in toys than I've seen in most places. Mainly, I say this because he comes with a wonderful selection of tools such as shovels, picks, and trowels. This guy has nine different tools to use with digging. Nine tools. Take note, kids: archaeology has a lot to do with digging. Furthermore, Mr. Archaeologist has a camera, which just might mean he's hoping to record something about what he unearths and learn a little more. So he has nothing to write down notes on. It's a start, though, it's a start.

On the other hand, you do have to wonder why Mr. Archaeologist needs a gun to do his work. Presumably it's to fight off the soon-to-be discussed Tomb Raiders whose sole aim is profit, rather than, say, shooting the newly reanimated mummy, or local bureaucrats who want to point out to Mr. Archaeologist that he actually didn't get the proper permits to dig here.

Mwahaha, treasure treasure treasure!

Mr. Archaeologist also comes with a lovely mummy and a couple urns (because all archaeology is Egypt), and a frightening collection of snakes and scorpions (Why did it have to be snakes?). Notably these buy into some pretty heavy stereotypes of archaeology, but I'm going to count this in Mr. Archaeologist's favor, considering he still has more tools to dig up his artifacts than he has artifacts. Mr. Archaeologist may also be dressed in khakis and a hat, but at least his hat is a little more dorky and a little less suave than a fedora, proving that stereotypes, while still invoked, can at least be somewhat toned down.

Now, opposing Mr. Archaeologist, we have the Tomb Raiders. Kids know the Tomb Raiders are bad. They have dark, scowling eyebrows that prove they are mean. (Mean people scowl a lot.) And while we could spend all day discussing the racial stereotypes appearing here and whether it's valid to portray the bad Tomb Raiders as Middle Eastern, this blog is about archaeology and history, and the good news is that Playmobil is at least showing that stealing ancient artifacts throws you firmly in line with Team Villain. The Tomb Raiders have more treasure than Mr. Archaeologist, demonstrating they aren't focused on anything but their own betterment. The juxtaposition, then, shows very simply good methodology and bad methodology for collecting ancient artifacts. Maybe kids won't get the nuances, but they hopefully get the basic message.

Of course, let's be honest. If I'd had these sets as a kid, I'd definitely be playing the most with the camels.