Holding Ground

Reconsidering the Sensitivity of Backdirt in the Context of NAGPRA

Bibliographic Data

ID11073071
AuthorsKrystiana L Krupa (0000-0002-8605-3503, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation, Urbana, IL, USA, corresponding author), Jayne-Leigh Thomas (Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA), Rebecca Hawkins (0000-0003-1811-1369, Algonquin Consultants, Inc., Miami, OK, USA), Rebecca A Hawkins (0009-0007-3709-3836), Julie Olds (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Miami, OK, USA), Scott Willard (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Miami, OK, USA), Scott T Willard
Year2024
Volume49
Issue3
Pages186-191
Publication date2024-04-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00934690.2024.2318532
OpenAlexW4392373646
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited14

In the United States, many archaeological excavations focus on precontact era Native American sites, and for the majority of American archaeology's existence, these have included a vast number of burial and sacred sites. When the human remains of Native American Ancestors, or remnants of sacred and ceremonial objects, are found, what implications does this have for the soil in which they rested? In addition to exploring questions regarding how backdirt is defined and assessed, we consider how backdirt may be interpreted as ecofact, as material culture, and even as NAGPRA-eligible funerary material or human remains. We hope to demonstrate that backdirt, as an example of some of the most insignificant archaeological material, poses interesting questions relating to interpretations of context, as well as consultation and collaboration with Indigenous communities

Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Sensitivity (control systems · Engineering · Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies · History