Session: #196

Content:

There has been a significant push towards making archaeology more accessible, inclusive, and approachable and to engage local and indigenous communities. This has resulted in enriched narratives, strengthened connections to local landscapes, and sometimes alternative forms of perceiving temporal and geographical pasts. For example, Afro-descendant communities are weaving new stories in partnership with heritage specialists and archaeologists, using ethnographic and archival collections to link their memories to ancestral lands; the geographically distant Sami, First Nations, and Aboriginal communities are sharing experiences of archaeological research with each other and developing frameworks of engagement. It is this context of global exchanges and theories that highlights a decolonisation of archaeology, but also Europe’s slower uptake of community engagement compared to Africa, where local involvement and contributions have a longer history.

This session explores new approaches and theories of decolonisation of archaeological research and community engagement, of ways to bridge the gap between (historical) archaeology and present communities, as well as the role of archaeology and cognate disciplines in the construction of identity in time and place. Papers will examine how theory and methods from around the world can inform and reshape European archaeological approaches and local histories, as well as compare European archaeologies to global ones. Archaeology is fertile ground for creating local social and cultural capital, and by tapping into themes of displacement, colonialism, digital preservation, and environmental change, we can see how dialogues and exchanges on community engagement and decolonisation benefit European archaeology.

Session: #196

Theme & Session Format

Title & Content

Organisers