Deviants, punks and Pink Fairies

Counter-Archaeologies for Unreasonable People

Bibliographic Data

ID3919826
AuthorsJ Schofield (0000-0001-6903-7395, Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume49
Issue3
Pages281-290
Publication date2017-05-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-8243 • E-ISSN: 1470-1375
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00438243.2017.1383182
OpenAlexW2763026494
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

Like any subject, archaeology has its traditions, its conventional practices and guiding principles that ensure it stays true to its original aims. That is why archaeologists still excavate, generating data, and publishing in the latest issues of long-established journals or in expensive monographs that only other archaeologists will read. Archaeologists employed by heritage agencies care for monuments and historic buildings, ensuring they survive, ‘for the benefit of future generations’. For many, this is how archaeology should remain. A similar cultural conservatism lingered in the UK from the end of the Second World War until, arguably, 26 November 1976 when, according to musician Phil Oakey, the Second World War finally came to an end. That was the day punk arrived with the thrashing of guitars and streams of abuse. But punk was about more than just the music. It was an ethos, a philosophy. Conventions were challenged and the old order gradually dismantled. Pre-1976 news footage now has the semblance of ancient history. This semi-autobiographical introduction to a collection of essays that promotes new thinking on counter-archaeologies wonders if that punk ethos could not have similar benefits for archaeology. Or perhaps it exists already, more than we care to realize

Archaeology · Art · Art history · Ethos · Folklore · Literature · Political science · Publishing · Punk · Sociology · Subject (documents · Yard · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Law · Museums and Cultural Heritage

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub