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Contract Archaeology

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Research Outside The Academy

Abstract

The rapid expansion of contract archaeology as the primary sector of archaeological knowledge-making in many developed countries make it an illustrative example of which effects the organization and re-organization of a particular knowledge-producing sector affects the conditions for how knowledge can be made. The proliferation of contracted extra-mural work in different countries has shown the importance of adequate guidelines and careful consideration of how and what to regulate to reach desirable outcomes. In addition, contract archaeology provides insights into the difficulties of keeping together extra- and intra-mural knowledge-making enterprises even when they share the same outspoken objectives.

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Suggested Readings

  • Börjesson, L. (2015). Grey literature—Grey sources? Nuancing the view on professional documentation: The case of Swedish archaeology. Journal of Documentation, 71(6), 1158–1182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Börjesson, L., Petersson, B., & Huvila, I. (2015). Information policy for (digital) information in archaeology: Current state and suggestions for development. Internet Archaeology, 40. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.40.4.

  • Everill, P. (2012). The invisible diggers: A study of British commercial archaeology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxbow Books.

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  • Jensen, O. W. (Ed.). (2012). Histories of archaeological practices: Reflections on methods, strategies and social organisation in past fieldwork. Stockholm: National Historical Museum.

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Huvila, I., Börjesson, L. (2019). Contract Archaeology. In: Börjesson, L., Huvila, I. (eds) Research Outside The Academy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94177-6_6

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