The Value of Archaeology

Archaeological dialogues, 2008

The concept of value increasingly fills archaeological debates. An examination of how value works within the diverse practices of archaeology (reconstructions of the past, heritage management and self-reflexive critique) provides an integrating factor to these debates. Through a genealogy of value in the management of material heritage, I highlight how ‘significance’ has been institutionalized from contingent forms, and the ‘the past’ rendered an object. Moreover, I follow the translation of these management procedures from the national to the global stage to highlight the emergence of economic significance in international heritage management. Providing an alternative approach to significance, the anthropological work of Weiner and Graeber locates value within practices that manage material heritage. These theories provocatively suggest that archaeological practice and heritage management are one and the same, both capable of producing value. This requires archaeologists to reconsider their discipline, and the contemporary contexts and situated ethical conditions of their work.

2014

Archaeology is not merely the study of antiquity through the systematic discovery, colleting and documenting of ancient things. It is also the appreciation and interpretation of things and their agency which shed light on the character and dynamics of past (and present) societies.

Ars & Humanitas: revija za umetnost in humanistiko, 2023

The paper focuses on heritage value systems, particularly investigating the archaeological understanding of heritage values and evaluation. The literature review shows that the postmodern archaeological paradigm predominantly covers the topic, while the perspective of the intrinsic value is less explored. The starting point of our research is the thesis that archaeological paradigms obstruct better public support if they refrain from using axiological considerations. By archaeological paradigm, we refer to the processual and post-processual ones (the latter focusing on understanding past social phenomena). Axiology, as the theory of values, developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its approach is now used in many areas of social sciences (for example, education and medical care). Public archaeology is more open to societal needs than processual and post-processual archaeology but has yet to apply a values-based approach consistently. To clarify our thesis, we analyse the theoretical and practical considerations on the values of (archaeological) heritage, including the issues of the categorization of values, reflection on who assigns values to heritage and how this affects the reception of archaeological knowledge in society. The paper addresses some critical aspects of the evaluation in archaeological heritage conservation, management and building alliances with locals and communities who identify with heritage. We outline a comprehensive archaeological evaluation system considering systemic, extrinsic and intrinsic archaeological values in the conclusions.

Sub chapters in 'The discipline of archaeology': What is archaeology?, What archaeologists do and where they work, Avenues of discovery: how archaeological finds are recovered, Archaeological contexts and categories: how finds are classified, Roads to knowlöedge: how archaeological documentation is stored and retrieved, The changing nature of archaeology - between history and anthropology, the humanities and science, Approaches to interpretation,The politics and ethics of archaeology: between ideology, heritage and academia, The future of archaeology. Appendix: definitions of archaeology.

A Companion to Archaeology, 2004

A stimulating source of ideas, and a conspectus of how broadly and deeply many archaeologists are thinking about the way their discipline relates to the modern world"

Archaeology:History, Theory, Philosophy, 2015

A selection of m previously published essays in four broad fields of archaeology. Section 1 comprises 8 essays on archaeological theory and philosophical issues in the discipline. Section 2 presents 3 essays on the practice of archaeology in Australia. Section 3A comprises 8 essays on the archaeology of indigenous contact in Australia and more generally, while Section 3B is a collection of essays on the historical archaeology of urban Australia. The final section presents 2 essays the history of archaeology .

Despite its great and growing popularity it seems to me that archaeology is still a widely misunderstood subject (not least by some of its friends, and even of its practitioners), and as a result of this it is still far from having achieved the place, either in formal education or in the general consciousness of society, to which its achievements, and its relevance to our human condition, entitle it. (Evans 1975).

Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology

Routledge, 2005

A fine summary of state-of-the-art thinking in archaeology in its time (2005), and still very relevant in 2020. I contributed a couple of entries. This invaluable resource provides an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of key ideas in archaeology and their impact on archaeological thinking and method. Featuring over fifty detailed entries by international experts, the book offers definitions of key terms, explaining their origin and development. Entries also feature guides to further reading and extensive cross-referencing. Subjects covered include: • Thinking about landscape • Cultural evolution • Social archaeology • Gender archaeology • Experimental archaeology • Archaeology of cult and religion • Concepts of time • The Antiquity of Man • Feminist archaeology • Multiregional evolution Archaeology: The Key Concepts is the ideal reference guide for students, teachers and anyone with an interest in archaeology.

Archaeology is the study of past cultures through the material (physical) remains people left behind. These can range from small artifacts, such as arrowheads, to large buildings, such as pyramids. Anything that people created or modified is part of the archaeological record.