Marketing Heritage: Archaeology and the Consumption of the Past

326 Pages·2004·1.93 MB·English

by  Yorke Rowan

MARKETING HERITAGE

MARKETING HERITAGE
Archaeology and the
Consumption of the Past
c
EDITED BY
YORKE ROWAN & UZI BARAM
ALTAMIRA PRESS
A Division ofRowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Copyright © 2004 by ALTAMIRAPRESS
“Deep Dirt: Messing Up the Past at Colonial Williamsburg”
reprinted with permission of Berghahn Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marketing heritage : archaeology and the consumption of the past / edited
by Yorke Rowan and Uzi Baram.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7591-0341-0 (hardcover : alk.paper) — ISBN 0-7591-0342-9
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Cultural property—Protection. 2. Heritage tourism. 3. Excavations
(Archaeology)—Interpretive programs. 4. Archaeology—Economic aspects.
5. Historic preservation. I. Rowan, Yorke M. II. Baram, Uzi, 1964–
CC135.M325 2004
338.4'791—dc22 2003018553
Printed in the United States of America
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The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
CONTENTS
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Preface ix
Part I: Introduction
CHAPTER 1
Archaeology after Nationalism: Globalization and the Consumption of the Past
UZI BARAM AND YORKE ROWAN 3
Part II: The Legal and Historical Context for Marketing Heritage
CHAPTER 2
International Conventions and Cultural Heritage Protection
BONNIE MAGNESS-GARDINER 27
CHAPTER 3
The Politics of Playing Fair, or, Who’s Losing Their Marbles?
MORAG KERSEL 41
CHAPTER 4
From Lord Elgin to James Henry Breasted: The Politics of the Past in the
First Era of Globalization STEVE VINSON 57
v
vi CONTENTS
Part III: The Past as Commodity
CHAPTER 5
Conflating Past and Present: Marketing Archaeological Heritage Sites in Ireland
KELLI ANN COSTA 69
CHAPTER 6
Mementos of the Past: Material Culture ofTourism at Stonehenge and Avebury
AMY GAZIN-SCHWARTZ 93
CHAPTER 7
Where Are the Maya in Ancient Maya Archaeological Tourism? Advertising and
the Appropriation of Culture TRACI ARDREN 103
Part IV: Archaeology in the Global Age
CHAPTER 8
Archaeological Research and Cultural Heritage Management in Cambodia’s
Mekong Delta: The Search for the “Cradle of Khmer Civilization”
MIRIAM T. STARK AND P. BION GRIFFIN 117
CHAPTER 9
Recovering the German Nation: Heritage Restoration and the Search for Unity
JASON JAMES 143
CHAPTER 10
Deep Dirt: Messing Up the Past at Colonial Williamsburg ERIC GABLE AND
RICHARD HANDLER 167
CHAPTER 11
Targeting Heritage: The Abuse of Symbolic Sites in Modern Conflicts
JONATHAN GOLDEN 183
Part V: Representing the Past
CHAPTER 12
Tourism, the Ideology of Design, and the Nationalized Past in
Zippori/Sepphoris, an Israeli National Park JOEL BAUMAN 205
CONTENTS vii
CHAPTER 13
The Roads to Ruins: Accessing Islamic Heritage in Jordan ERIN ADDISON 229
CHAPTER 14
Repackaging the Pilgrimage: Visiting the Holy Land in Orlando
YORKE ROWAN 249
Part VI: Archaeologists and the Marketing of Heritage
CHAPTER 15
Is the Medium the Message? The Art of Interpreting Archaeology in U.S.
National Parks BARBARA J. LITTLE 269
CHAPTER 16
Engaging with Heritage Issues: The Role of the World Archaeological Congress
JOAN M. GERO 287
CHAPTER 17
Making the Past Profitable in an Age of Globalization and National
Ownership: Contradictions and Considerations PHILIP L. KOHL 295
Index 303
About the Contributors 311

Preface
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EIGHTEENKILOMETERSWESTof the Israeli Negev city of Beersheva lies the
Chalcolithic site of Shiqmim. Excavated by Thomas E. Levy and the late
David Alon from 1979 to 1993, the site provides a fantastic view of Chal-
colithic (4500–3500 B.C.E.) life along the Wadi Beersheva. Underground tunnels,
house foundations, human burials, copper artifacts, ivory ornaments, and a wealth
of other items have been uncovered. Levy has argued persuasively for a model of
chiefdom for this place and its time period.
One cannot visit Shiqmim easily. The site is in a restricted military zone and
is far from any roads. However, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem displays some of
its artifacts. Numerous publications discuss the site, excavations, and cultural his-
tory. A web page based at the Department of Anthropology of University of Cal-
ifornia, San Diego, is an accessible means of learning about and seeing the site.
Shiqmim is an important archaeological site; the architecture and artifacts are en-
gaging; the desert is simply beautiful.
We both excavated at Shiqmim. Coincidentally, so did three other contribu-
tors to this volume (Morag Kersel, Jonathan Golden, and Joel Bauman). We both
use Shiqmim in our teaching. Shiqmim provides wonderful stories for teaching un-
dergraduate anthropology—the dramatic landscape, the hardships of excavating
far from electricity, water, and information outlets. And the rich array of material
culture offers adventure, science, and a portal to the past. When either of us is
asked about our most interesting excavations, as happens often to archaeologists,
Shiqmim is usually the story told. Yet there is no marketing of Shiqmim for
tourists by the state of Israel.
Based on our experiences at Shiqmim, and with a contrast to the nearby ac-
tively promoted sites like Masada and Petra in mind, we wrestled with how ancient
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