Public Archaeology

321 Pages·2004·6.79 MB·English

by  Nick Merriman

PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY
Increasing public interest and participation in archaeology have ensured that
the relationship between archaeology, heritage and the public is now studied
as a subject in its own right. This volume, written by contributors from the
UK, North and South America, Africa, Australia and China, provides a much
needed survey of the relationship from an international perspective.
The focus is on two key themes: communication and interpretation,
and public stakeholders – the people or organisations who participate in archae-
ology, from schoolchildren to state bodies. The case studies range from
indigenous communities and archaeology, a scheme to bring treasure hunters
and archaeologists together, and public archaeology in Brazil and the USA,
to involving the public in museum archaeology, and the use of the Internet
and the media to reach out to wider audiences.
As one of the first books to concentrate on different aspects of public archae-
ology around the world, this will be a valuable guide to the issues involved for
both students and practitioners in archaeology and heritage.
Nick Merriman is Reader in Museum Studies and Cultural Heritage at the
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and curator of UCL
Museums and Collections. His previous publications include Beyond the Glass
Case: The Past, the Heritage and the Public in Britain(1991, 2000) and Making
Early Histories in Museums(1999).

PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY
Edited by Nick Merriman
First published 2004
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
© 2004 selection and editorial matter, Nick Merriman;
individual chapters, the contributors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
has been applied for
ISBN 0-203-64605-3 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-67323-9 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–25888–x (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–25889–8 (pbk)
FOR CAROLINE

CONTENTS
List of illustrations ix
List of contributors xii
Acknowledgements xiv
1 Introduction: diversity and dissonance in public archaeology 1
NICK MERRIMAN
PART I
Spreading the word: communication and interpretation 19
2 Public archaeology in the United States 21
JOHN H. JAMESON JR.
3 Archaeology and public education in North America:
view from the beginning of the millennium 59
KAROLYN E. SMARDZ FROST
4 Involving the public in museum archaeology 85
NICK MERRIMAN
5 Uncovering ancient Egypt: the Petrie Museum and its public 109
SALLY MACDONALD AND CATHERINE SHAW
6 Presenting archaeology to the public: constructing insights
on-site 132
TIM COPELAND
vii
CONTENTS
7 Archaeology and the British media 145
NEAL ASCHERSON
8 Towards a more democratic archaeology? The Internet and
public archaeological practice 159
CAROL McDAVID
PART II
In the public interest? The stakeholders 189
9 Archaeology and authority in England 191
ROGER M. THOMAS
10 Public archaeology in Brazil 202
PEDRO PAULO A. FUNARI
11 Archaeology for whose interest – archaeologists or the locals? 211
BERTRAM MAPUNDA AND PAUL LANE
12 Public archaeology and indigenous communities 224
MIKE PARKER PEARSON AND RAMILISONINA
13 Archaeology in reverse: the flow of Aboriginal people and
their remains through the space of New South Wales 240
DENIS BYRNE
14 The comforts of unreason: the importance and relevance of
alternative archaeology 255
TIM SCHADLA-HALL
15 The Treasure Act and the Portable Antiquities scheme:
a case study in developing public archaeology 272
ROGER BLAND
16 The effects of the antiquities market on archaeological
development in China 292
DASHU QIN
Index 300
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
2.1 Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, is
given credit by many for the first recorded observation of
archaeological context in the widely read Notes on the State
of Virginia, first published in 1787. Painting by Charles
Willson Peale, Philadelphia, 1791, copyprint of oil on canvas.
Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park Collection,
Philadelphia (128). 23
2.2 A modern open shelter protects the Casa Grande, or ‘Big
House,’ one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric
structures ever built in North America, at Casa Grande
National Monument in Arizona. Photo courtesy of National
Park Service. 24
2.3 1930s New Deal relief project: reconstruction of the prehistoric
earthlodge at Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia.
Photo courtesy of National Park Service. 27
2.4 Aerial view of excavated area at the Rocker’s Bottom
archaeological site, Richard B. Russell Reservoir, Georgia.
Photo courtesy of National Park Service and US Army Corps
of Engineers. 35
2.5 Interpretive rendering of a c. 7,000 year old Archaic period
habitation scene from the Beneath These Waterspopular history
volume. Painting by Martin Pate. Courtesy of Southeast
Archeological Center, National Park Service. 35
2.6 Archaeological field crew working at the Rocker’s Bottom
archaeological site, Richard B. Russell Reservoir, Georgia.
Photo courtesy of National Park Service and US Army Corps
or Engineers. 36
2.7 The reconstructed stockade fort at Ninety Six National
Historic Site, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of National
Park Service. 44
ix