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Envisioning Engaged and Useful Archaeologies

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Archaeology in Society

Abstract

Public archeology encompasses all archeology supported with tax dollars, thus including a range of archeological professions from the federal archeological system to cultural resource management as well as academic archeology that uses federal research grants. Such support should provide public return on investment. But given the diverse ways in which archeology is practiced, there are many constraining frameworks and similarly diverse views on what this means and how it can or should be accomplished or improved. This chapter considers relevance from the perspective of the US federal archeological system, particularly the National Park Service, and sets both an historical background of discussions on the meaning and purpose of archeology and lays out recommendations for an altered vision of both the field and the archeologists who practice it. A common theme through these recommendations is the need for enhanced connections: between those who do archeology in different settings, between the fields of anthropology and archeology and related social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences such as ecology and its role in conservation, and between the voices and perspectives of archeologists and the many publics who engage with it.

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Notes

  1. 1.

     The term “public archaeology” has shifted in recent decades, from denoting archaeology done with public funds or in compliance with public law, to a much broader meaning. In my experience, professional archaeologists practice at least three main categories of public archaeology (1) cultural resource management (CRM) or cultural heritage management (CHM) under public law; (2) outreach and education with the intention to prevent looting and vandalism of archaeological places and to combat the illicit international trade in antiquities; and (3) archaeology that aims to help communities or individuals in some way or to solve societal problems. These three categories are not neatly bounded; they can overlap and in some cases, a single project may contribute to all three categories.

  2. 2.

     It is increasingly difficult to point to a limited number of publications, since many practitioners are taking on the relevance and public benefit of archaeology, but see, e.g., Funari 2009; Little 2007, 2009, 2010; Musteata 2009; Pikirayi 2009; Sabloff 2008; Stottman 2010; Zimmerman 2006; see also the contributors to special section The Public Meaning of Archaeological Heritage in the SAA Archaeological Record 5(2); see the contributors to Archaeological Dialogues 16(2) introduced with the editorial: “Is Archaeology Useful? An Archaeological Dialogue.”

  3. 3.

     In the U.S., the practice of archaeology expanded dramatically after passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), which ultimately created the CRM industry in the U.S. and without which we probably would not be engaged in professional dialogues about relevance. Congress passed NHPA in response to concerns about the adverse impacts of federal development projects such as urban renewal and highway construction on archaeological sites and historic structures. NHPA established national policy and programs for preservation by requiring agencies to consider historic properties during development. NHPA created the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), considered the Nation’s list of places with national, state, or local significance “worthy of preservation.” The NRHP created a process by which archaeologists or others must evaluate archaeological places according to a set of criteria to judge their worthiness for preservation or data recovery as opposed to unmitigated destruction. The purpose of NHPA sets out part of the benefit envisioned by Congress (16 U.S. C. 470 et seq.): “The spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage;…the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people.”

  4. 4.

       I don’t claim that it is the only relevant archaeology.

  5. 5.

     For archaeology as applied anthropology, see, for example, Shackel and Chambers (2004) and Stottman (2010).

  6. 6.

    The George Wright Society biennial conference and journal provide one of the collection points for integrating natural and cultural heritage management in protected lands. An increasing number of contributors are concerned with engaging the public in decision making. See http://www.georgewright.org/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. National Park Service and University of Maryland, College Park, USA

    Barbara J. Little

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Barbara J. Little

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  1. Barbara J. Little
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Correspondence to Barbara J. Little .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, E. Charles Young Drive N. 308, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Marcy Rockman

  2. Fac. Arts, Inst. Archaeology, University College London, Gordon Square 31-34, London, WC1H 0PY, United Kingdom

    Joe Flatman

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The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Park Service or the U.S. Government.

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Little, B.J. (2011). Envisioning Engaged and Useful Archaeologies. In: Rockman, M., Flatman, J. (eds) Archaeology in Society. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9881-1_20

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