Archaeologists as Activists: Can Archaeologists Change the World?

Introduction: Archaeologists as Activists

Introduction Archaeologists as Activists M. Jay StottMan INTRODUCTION There comes a time in the career of most archaeologists when we ask ourselves the question, Why is archaeology important? For many of us, it is usually asked when we are making the decision to become archaeologists; when we try to reconcile the guilt of doing something we love with what is considered by many people to be a cool job. Like many, I justified becoming an archaeologist with the typical historic preservation rhetoric: it is our mission to preserve, protect, interpret, and salvage the past for the future. We know this is indeed a very important mission and we are fully aware of the volumes of knowledge that we, as archaeologists , have contributed to the understanding of culture. However, I just can’t help wondering sometimes about archaeology’s value to the general public. A similar question was the focus of a recent Society for American Archaeology forum, which asked,“Is archaeology useful?” However, I don’t think this is the question that we should be asking. We know that archaeology is useful. The question should be, How is archaeology useful? When I think about this question , there is that occasional idealistic notion in the back of my head that archaeology should be more than useful; I want my archaeology to make a difference in the world. Perhaps we should be asking another question. “Can Archaeology Save the World?” This was the title of a session I organized at the 2004 Society for Historical Archaeology conference in St. Louis, Missouri. I used that cliché in the title because I wanted to draw attention to the session. However, in a small way, I really did feel that archaeology could be used to save the world.Could archaeologists benefit contemporary cultures and 2 • Introduction be a factor in solving our world’s problems? Through archaeology, can archaeologists help people? Can archaeologists change the world? Although I really don’t expect an answer to these questions, they do form the root of something that some archaeologists are calling “archaeology activism” or “activist archaeology ,” using archaeology to advocate for and affect change in contemporary communities. What is activist archaeology? Where does it come from? In this introduction , I will examine its development, present a more formalized concept of it, and suggest a strategy for its practice. THE PUBLIC BENEFITS OF ARCHAEOLOgy Changing the world with archaeology is not a new concept. Archaeologists around the world have benefited or changed the world in many ways since the inception of the field (Little,ed.2002; Sabloff 2008).However,when we think of the contributions that archaeologists make to the world, it is the product of archaeological research that is foremost.The public benefits of archaeology are commonly seen as the products of research that contribute to our collective historical and cultural knowledge.The interpretations and stories that are created from archaeological research have helped reshape perceptions of the past. It has helped us understand the prehistoric past and better understand and interrogate written history. Certainly, the products of archaeological research and scholarship have made an impact on the world (Sabloff 2008). However, archaeologists also have benefited and affected the communities in which they work, although usually as unintended consequences of their research projects. Such benefits and effects are often created through archaeology tourism, where exotic or famous archaeological sites have become tourist destinations . There is no doubt that the archaeological excavations conducted in places such as the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the Maya Lowlands, greece, or the former Roman Empire, to name just a few, have greatly impacted the contemporary communities that surround them by employing locals and creating heritage tourism opportunities (Ardren 2004; McDonald and Shaw 2004; Mcguire 2008; Mapunda and Lane 2004; Smith 2006; Walker 2005). Recently, archaeologists have begun to take interest in the relationship of their work to tourism and heritage sites. This interest has led to research into how archaeology articulates with heritage and the processes in the present that create and maintain it,as well as the archaeologist’s role (Carman 2002; Rowan and Baram 2004; Shackel 2001; Smith 2004). Some archaeologists have become particularly interested in how that relationship to tourism and heritage can benefit the archaeology project or enhance tourist sites (Slick 2002; Walker 2005; White 2002). Although applied anthropologists have long been inter- Introduction • 3 ested in studying the heritage and cultural tourism phenomena...