Places in Mind: Public Archaeology as Applied Anthropology

223 Pages·2004·1.25 MB·English

PLACES IN MIND
Public Archaeology as
Applied Anthropology
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CRITICALPERSPECTIVESINIDENTITY,MEMORY,ANDTHEBUILTENVIRONMENT
HELAINESILVERMAN,UNIVERSITYOFILLINOISATURBANA-CHAMPAIGN,SERIESEDITOR
Places in Mind: Public Archaeology as Applied Anthropology
edited by Paul A.Shackel and Erve Chambers
Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes:
Tiwanuku and Lukermata
John Wayne Janusek
The Ecology ofPower: Culture,Place,and Personhood
in the Southern Amazon,AD 1000–2000
Michael J.Heckeneberger
PLACES IN MIND
Public Archaeology as
Applied Anthropology
Edited by
Paul A(cid:46) Shackel
and
Erve J(cid:46) Chambers
NEW YORK AND LONDON
Published in 2004 by
Routledge
29 West 35th Street
New York,New York 10001
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane
London EC4P 4EE
www.routledge.co.uk
Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group.
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
Copyright © 2004 by Taylor & Francis Books,Inc.
All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized 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.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for this book is available from the
Library ofCongress
ISBN 0-203-50666-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-57725-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-94645-X(Print Edition)
ISBN 0-415-94646-8 (pbk.)
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Contents
Introduction: Working with Communities 1
Heritage Development and Applied Archaeology
PAUL A.SHACKEL
Part 1 Archaeology and Empowering Subordinated Groups
1 Monacan Meditation 19
Regional and Individual Archaeologies in the Contemporary
Politics ofIndian Heritage
JEFFREY L.HANTMAN
2 From “Traditional”Archaeology to Public Archaeology 35
to Community Action
The Levi Jordan Plantation Project
CAROL MCDAVID
3 African-American Heritage in a Multicultural Community 57
An Archaeology ofRace,Culture,and Consumption
PAUL R.MULLINS
4 Asking the “Right”Questions 71
Archaeologists and Descendant Communities
MATTHEW B.REEVES
Part II Archaeology and Non-Traditional Communities
5 “To Have and Enjoy the Liberty ofConscience” 85
Community-Responsive Museum Outreach Education at the Bowne House
TERESA S.MOYER
v
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vi • Contents
6 The Seneca Village Project 101
Working with Modern Communities in Creating the Past
DIANA DIZEREGA WALL,NAN A.ROTHSCHILD,
CYNTHIA COPELAND,AND HERBERT SEIGNORET
7 Applied Archaeology and the Construction ofPlace 119
at Mount Calvert,Prince George’s County,Maryland
MICHAEL T.LUCAS
Part III Archaeology and Heritage Development
8 Building Ties 137
The Collaboration between the Miami Nation and Archaeology
MARK S.WARNER AND DARYL BALDWIN
9 “The Burra” 153
Archaeology in a Small Community in South Australia
PETER J.BIRT
10 Archaeological Interpretation and the Irish 171
Diasporic Community
CHARLES E.ORSER,JR.
Epilogue: Archaeology,Heritage,and Public Endeavor 193
ERVE CHAMBERS
Notes on Contributors 209
Index 213
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Working with Communities
Heritage Development and Applied Archaeology
PAUL A.SHACKEL
In his introduction to this volume, Paul Shackel reflects upon the extent to
which archaeologists are becoming increasingly aware ofthe importance ofin-
volving themselves locally in issues and practices related to the management of
heritage resources.He suggests that much ofthis interest on the part ofthe ar-
chaeological community is motivated by an interest in associating themselves
with community-based activities that seek to empower historically subordi-
nated groups.Shackel traces this commitment to the ideologies that helped fos-
ter the American Civil Rights movement.
Introduction
About a decade ago Laurajane Smith (1994:300) remarked,“Archaeologi-
cal theory falls short in addressing heritage management and how archae-
ological knowledge is used within the management process.” Since that
time some archaeologists,including the authors in this book,have taken
strides to become part of the local decision processes,working with com-
munities and stakeholders in heritage management issues.We are now be-
coming aware that archaeologists are in a clear position to go beyond what
Smith (1994:301) remarked as “archaeologists writing about archaeolo-
gists, writing about archaeologists ... with little engagement with con-
crete, practical problems posed within heritage management.” The
discipline is in a good position to understand the role of archaeologist as
participant and collaborator working on issues related to cultural identity
and heritage development.Barbara Little’s (2002b) volume on the Public
1
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2 • Paul A.Shackel
Benefits of Archaeology shows how archaeology is becoming much more
broadly perceived by the public and practitioners.Archaeologists are in-
creasingly using the discipline for “purposes ofeducation,community co-
hesion,entertainment,and economic development”(Little 2002a:1).While
archaeologists have come a long way in a short time since Smith described
the state ofthe discipline,it is important to realize that we are still far from
fully integrating archaeology into the heritage management of places and
communities.
One cause for the development ofa new community-based archaeology
program is that a growing number ofprofessionals now accept the fact that
archaeology is more than implementing scientific methods to collect and
interpret data.While the New Archaeology placed academically trained pro-
fessionals in positions as gatekeepers ofarchaeological knowledge,archaeol-
ogists are increasingly relying on community input for their projects.The
volumes by Nina Swidler et al.(1997),Joe Watkins (2001),and Kurt Don-
goske et al.(2000) are all timely and groundbreaking approaches that show
how archaeologists can work with American Indian communities.
While many American archaeologists have focused their attention on
working with American Indian communities,there is a need for more di-
verse case material related to the public contexts of applied archaeology.
There are many other ethnic and social groups that want to participate in
the development of their own heritage.The case studies presented in this
book are about African Americans,American Indians,Irish Americans,im-
poverished industrial communities,immigrant communities,and commu-
nities in Ireland and Australia.The individual chapters represent a variety
ofconditions and approaches that advance our knowledge ofthe field and
place these efforts within the larger context ofanthropology.
The authors show that an increasing number ofarchaeologists are com-
mitted to the idea that communities have a sense of their own past and
they want to be part of the decision-making process regarding their own
heritage development.This changing perspective in the discipline is paral-
leled by changes in anthropology as a whole,and while the discipline has
changed significantly,archaeologists are only beginning to realize the im-
portance of community involvement. Community participation means
that scientists are no longer the cultural brokers.Practitioners are begin-
ning to recognize that many histories can exist in any one place,and these
stories ofthe past are continually being shaped and reconstructed.Archae-
ologists are in a good place to address these changing perspectives, and
they need to respond effectively to these challenges and opportunities.
There are three main themes in this book,and while these may serve as
an organizational structure,several ofthe chapters could easily fit into more
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Working with Communities • 3
than one section,as many of the ideas are interrelated.The first theme is
about recognizing the social and political structures of communities and
empowering subordinated groups.Archaeologists work with groups to pro-
vide a more inclusive history of the past, and they work with minority
groups to create the group’s own heritage.The second theme is about mak-
ing archaeology applicable to nontraditional communities.Often,the offi-
cial meaning ofplaces no longer addresses the needs ofa new and changing
community population,and archaeology is one vehicle to make local his-
tory relevant to a nontraditional group.The third theme is about how pro-
fessionals use archaeology to understand and create a sense of heritage.
Heritage often means integrity,authenticity,and stability,and it is a way for
communities to make a claim to a past and assert themselves in the present
political and social landscape.
The contributors are from a variety of backgrounds,working in acade-
mia,nonprofit groups,and local governments.The latter groups are under-
represented in the archaeological literature even though they are part ofthe
most rapidly growing sector in the field.The conditions and circumstances
faced by these contributors provide an important perspective for under-
standing the direction ofapplied archaeology.They provide discussions on
how archaeologists can take a role in either a participatory or a collabora-
tive approach.The former develops from the outside,while the latter is part
ofa shared activity (see Chambers this volume).These approaches need to
be developed within the context oftheir projects,and practitioners need to
remain flexible and have the ability to change directions.
All ofthe authors in this book provide a voice to communities that have
been underrepresented in official histories. They are working with these
subordinated groups to give them a voice in how their past is created.The
authors share their perspectives on and challenges in working with com-
munities and other stakeholder groups who have a special interest in the
uses ofthe past.They have taken great strides to democratize archaeology
and allow for a more diverse past to be constructed.
Archaeology and Empowering Subordinated Groups
Historian Eric Hobsbawm (1983:13) writes,“The history which became part
ofthe fund ofknowledge or the ideology ofnation,state or movement is not
what has actually been preserved in popular memory,but what has been se-
lected,written,pictured,popularized and institutionalized by those whose
function it is to do so.”Traditions,meanings,and memories are invented,
and they become legitimate through repetition or a process offormalization
and ritualization characterized by reference to the past.By implying continuity