Practising Archaeology — As if it Really Matters

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7100157
AutoresK Anne Pyburn (Indiana University Bloomington, autor correspondente)
Ano2009
Volume8
Fascículo2-3
Páginas161-175
Data de publicação2009-08-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPublic Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1465-5187 • E-ISSN: 1753-5530
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/175355309x457204
OpenAlexW1991275956
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas37
Referências citadas9

People care about archaeology for a variety of competing reasons. Archaeologists no longer ignore this as they once did, but few have come to terms on a pragmatic level with their responsibility to the public. Here I outline my own ideas about public engagement and the place of ethnography in the archaeologist's professional practice. While long-term collaborations between archaeologists and others are almost always preferable, they are rarely feasible, and lofty ideals can have negative repercussions for daily practice and political action. I advocate Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a method that archaeologists untrained in ethnography can use to expediently develop ethnographically sensitive and respectful relationships. I also advocate that archaeologists be honest about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it relates to what they are actually trained to do. This is an important step since archaeologists need to be able to see themselves as one group of stakeholders with a right to advocate their position, but no right to ultimate control of the resources that they use to create an archaeological record. PAR is structured to ensure that project outcomes are not determined in advance. This means that the perspectives and objectives of archaeologists, even when they are allied with political and economic power, will not always prevail. I conclude with a description of a current community museums project I am supporting in Kyrgyzstan where I have put as much energy into transparency as into ethnography

Archaeology · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History