Public archaeology And Repatriation Flashcards
What is public archaeology
• Archaeology engages with the public in many ways
- Cultural Resource Management-gov policies for the protection of cultural resources and involving surveying or excavating archaeological and historical remains threatened by construction
- Documentary Shows and
Articles
- Heritage Resources
- Interpretation for the Public
- Repatriation-Returning a persons or a material
What are the conceptual frameworks (when things are important) used in contemporary Archaeology
Materialist/Ecological frameworks: objects themselves and functionality
Climate change, urbanization, and migration have material and environmental impacts
Social frameworks:
Social interactions by people
Ideological frameworks
-preconditions towards others that people bought to the landscape
-what values do these past people have?
What are the biases in Archaeology
Bias of the archaeological record
Bias of conceptual frameworks
Bias of age
Bias of sex
Bias of nationality
Bias of ethnicity
Bias of training and education
Bias of time and place
Criteria for Evaluating
Archaeological Explanations (i.e. Not Ancient Aliens)
• Is the hypothesis testäble?
• Is the hypothesis compatible with our general understanding of the archaeological record?
-Can the hypothesis be used to explain more phenomena than competing explanations?
• Occam’ s Razor (Law of economy/parsimony)
The simplest explanation is preferable to one that is more complex
- Gives precedence to simplicity
• Have all competing explanations been considered equally?
Current State of Archaeology
“Different constituents in uneasy alliance”
Most work in commercial sector- make money
Increasing competition and decreasing money for scholarly research
Archaeologies of the Contemporary
Activist and action archaeologies
• focus on helping contemporary communities:
Contemporary: a large group of people who live together in an organized way, making decisions about how to do things and sharing the work that needs to be done
Archaeology of the disenfranchised, the voiceless, and the invisible
Defined as the unique combination of culture with current and past political realities
Archaeologies of the comtemporary
What is forensic archaeology and disaster? What is contemporary waste?
Forensic archaeology-the application of archaeological principles and methodologies to locate and recover evidence with the boundaries of the criminal justice system or for use in civil lawsuits
Disaster archaeology- disaster archaeology is about the aftermath of mass-fatality events and deals with urgent needs such as victim identification and scene investigation. In this context, archaeological skills are an instrument of recovery for the families and others affected by a disaster.
Archaeology of contemporary waste: looking at landfills and how habits are disposable
POW/MIA (Dept. of Defense)
Go to different regions and see what was recovered
Archaeologists, Climate Change, and Sustainability
What is Ice patch archaeology and sustainable archaeology?
Learning from the past
Ice patch archaeology- identify and document artifacts and organic materials left behind as the first ice melts
Sustainable archaeology- consolidating data and collections facilitated collaborative research between divergent fields of archaeological study, and access to both recent and previously excavated archaeological materials.
Six final comments about archaeology
- Archaeology is important and relevant in today’s world.
- The archaeological record is vast.
- Archaeology is firmly grounded in scientific method and theory.
- Archaeological sites are being destroyed at an alarming rate.
- Archaeology is must overcome bias at every step.
- People have been smart for a very long time.
What is repatriation? What are the two repatriation acts recognized in the United States
Repatriation
The process of returning ancient remains and artifacts to their place of origin
• National Museum of the American
Indian Act (1989)
• Native American
Graves and
Repatriation Act
(1990)
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, or NAGPRA, provides a process for federal agencies and museums that receive federal funds to repatriate or transfer from their collections certain Native American cultural items - human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony - to lineal descendants, and to Indian tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
• Only federally-recognized tribes are included in laws
What is repatriation criteria
• Remains of culturally affiliated individuals
• Associated funerary objects
• Unassociated funerary objects
• Sacred objects
• Objects of cultural patrimony
•Remains of known individuals
• Objects acquired illegally
What is inventory and consultation
• Brief descriptions and counts of artifacts
• Enter into database
• Send this data to tribes
• Tribes would request a visit
• Consult with representatives
What are repatriation procedures
-repatriation request
-documentation
How can you determine the age of human remains y their death based on their teeth?
Whether they have deciduous teeth
(Baby teeth)
-use/ wear of the teeth
How can you determine the age of remains at their death based on their bones?
Whether they have diaphysis and epiphysis of bone have ossified (fused togther)
-Whether they have a fontanelle (structures at the top of the cranium) have grown or almost completely fused togther
