A commoning framework for environmental archaeology

Beyond resource management in Indigenous North America

Bibliographic Data

ID19228703
AuthorsJessica A Jenkins (0000-0001-8514-0894, Clemson University), Martin D Gallivan (0000-0002-6021-6415, William & Mary), Brad Hatch (United Indians of All Tribes)
Year2026
Volume5
Publication date2026-02-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Environmental Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2813-432X • E-ISSN: 2813-432X
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fearc.2026.1669507
OpenAlexW7127724511
LanguageEN
References cited24

Environmental archaeology has often relied on common-pool resource models to interpret past human-environment relationships, yet these frameworks overlook Indigenous ontologies grounded in kinship with land, water, and more-than human beings. We propose commoning as a complementary approach that centers reciprocity, relational care, and cultural meaning alongside institutional regulation. Drawing on archaeological evidence from Virginia's Chesapeake Bay, we show how commoning reveals Indigenous environmental governance as a world-making practice. This framework advances environmental archaeology by integrating Indigenous epistemologies, supporting collaborative methods, and linking archaeological interpretation to contemporary environmental justice

Corporate governance · Environmental governance · Indigenous · Interpretation (philosophy) · Meaning (existential) · Resource (disambiguation) · Sustainability · Traditional knowledge · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies