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Part 5: Unlock the Past for
the Future: From the Past in the Present to the Future
Archaeologists have a hard enough time “predicting” the past,
let alone trying to predict the future. Nevertheless, we’ve asked
four North American archaeologists early in their careers to imagine what
the future of historical archaeology might look like. Or at least to share
with us what it is that has compelled them to a life in archaeology.
Archaeology is about the present in other ways too. The people that we
study from the past have descendants today. In the case of African Americans
and Native Americans, among others, archaeologists in the past did not acknowledge
the rights and responsibilities of these descendant communities to participate
in determining the fate of their ancestors and writing the histories of
their lives.
These archaeologists write of archaeology’s future with a surprisingly
unified voice, in light of the diversity that characterizes the field today.
Protect and preserve archaeological sites. Conserve archaeological objects.
Hear everyone’s voices, and see everyone’s lives, in the material
record they left behind. Include, don’t exclude. Work locally, and
compare localities around the globe to understand the diversity as well
as the commonalities of the human experience.
Projects in the Book
(Click on bold link to view an excerpt)