Archaeology and Capitalism: From Ethics to Politics

by Hamilakis,Yannis

• ISBN13: 9781598742718
• ISBN10: 159874271X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2009-04-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This volume focuses on the inherent political nature of archaeology and its impact on the practice of the discipline. Pointing to the discipline’s history of advancing imperialist, colonialist, and racist objectives, contributors insist that archaeology must rethink its muted professional stance and become more overtly active agents of change. The discipline is not about an abstract archaeological record” but about living individuals and communities whose lives and heritage suffer from the abuse of power relationships with states and their agents. Only by recognizing this power disparity, and adopting a political ethic for the discipline, can archaeology justify its activities. Chapters range from a critique of traditional ethical codes, to examinations of the capitalist motivations and structures within the discipline, to calls for an engaged, emancipatory archaeology that improves the lives of the people with whom archaeologists work. A direct challenge to the discipline, this volume will provoke discussion, disagreement, and inspiration for many in the field.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. 7
Foreword: Politics Is a Dirty Word, but Then Archaeology Is a Dirty Business	p. 9
Acknowledgments	p. 11
Introduction	p. 13
From Ethics to Politics	p. 15
Ethics in Question: Introduction	p. 41
When Theory, Practice and Policy Collide, or Why Do Archaeologists Support Cultural Property Claims	p. 45
Ethical Challenges to a Postcolonial Archaeology: The Legacy of Scientific Colonialism	p. 59
Cultural Sensitivity, Science and Ethical Imperatives; Contemporary Archaeology in the Southwestern United States	p. 83
What Does It Mean 'To Give the Past Back to the People'? Archaeology and Ethics in the Postcolony	p. 99
Archaeology in Capitalism, Archaeology As Capitalism: Introduction	p. 115
British Commercial Archaeology: Antiquarians and Labourers; Developers and Diggers	p. 119
Ethics, Capitalism and Public Archaeology in Brazil	p. 137
An Ethical Archaeology in the Near East: Confronting Empire, War and Colonisation	p. 151
Archaeology within Marketing Capitalism	p. 169
'Sustainable' Heritage? Public Archaeological Interpretation and the Marketed Past	p. 179
Contemporary Museum Practice in Cusco, Peru	p. 195
Ethical Futures, Emancipatory Archaeologies: Introduction	p. 213
'Grabe, Wo Du Stehst!' An Archaeology of Perpetrators	p. 217
The Archaeology of the Spanish Civil War: Recovering Memory and Historical Justice	p. 235
The Culture of Caring and Its Destruction in the Middle East: Women's Work, Water, War and Archaeology	p. 247
Ethics, Objectivity and Emancipatory Archaeology	p. 267
About the Contributors	p. 281
Index	p. 291
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