Pursuing Heritage and Engaging Communities Article Overview Assignment please remember cite the at least two source from the document that I provided, do n

Pursuing Heritage and Engaging Communities Article Overview Assignment please remember cite the at least two source from the document that I provided, do not cite the source that I did not provide.the requirements and reading material are below, you also need to limit the number of words about 200. Silverman (2011) and Shackel (2011) overview and provide definitions for
public archaeology and the “civic engagement” of historical research with
contemporary communities. In what ways do the authors illustrate the importance
and outcomes of publicly engaged archaeology? Provide concrete examples from
the texts that suggests this methodology has benefit to populations of the present.
After the third week of class, students will be required each week to respond to a question
prompt about the week’s readings. Links to the discussion board forums for each week can
be found in each week’s folder on blackboard and the course calendar outlines when each
post is due. See Deadlines below about late responses. Posts to the discussion board should
be approximately 200–300 words and cite information from at least two of that week’s required
readings (citations from separate chapters are fine). These citations should include an in-text
citation, e.g. (Woodard 2019), and a page number if you cite a direct quote, e.g. “Dr. Woodard
said to cite a reading” (Woodard 2019:411).
Pursuing Heritage, Engaging Communities
Author(s): Paul A. Shackel
Source: Historical Archaeology, Vol. 45, No. 1, Archaeologies of Engagement,
Representation, and Identity (2011), pp. 1-9
Published by: Society for Historical Archaeology
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23070199
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Paul A. Shackel
The fact that archaeologists are increasingly
paying attention to community needs is a
relatively new phenomenon. Lynn Meskell
Pursuing Heritage, Engaging (2005:123) reminds archaeologists that while
Communities
the New Archaeology was a dominant force in
the discipline, for a long time they operated
ABSTRACT
under the assumption that they should not be
involved in the representation and struggles of
Archaeologists involved in heritage studies and civicliving
engagement
people. Archaeologists who became the
movements are working to make a difference in the public
authority of a place’s past believed that their
lives of communities. They are helping to promote improved
work contributed to the overall knowledge
quality of life through both political and nonpolitical processes.
of humankind,
and they often did not place
Meaningful historical awareness coupled with varying
kinds
and degrees of empowerment can provide a new
their
sense
work
ofin the contemporary local, social,
community building. The articles in this volume
andprovide
politicala context. The positivist approach
variety of approaches that address community, representation,
in archaeology did not foster any disciplinary
and social-justice issues. They provide strategies for how
engagement, nor did it address ethical issues.
archaeology can be more engaged in community-heritage
the past few decades archaeologists
building, in some cases providing a sense of place Within
for those
have become concerned with the development
who have been forgotten in the dominant narratives.
of heritage sites and the understanding that their
Introduction
work has social and political ramifications in
local and national communities. Public outreach
and the involvement of descendant communities
This volume contains an array of case studies
and interested stakeholders occurred early in
that address issues related to heritage develop
ment, such as the meaning and uses of places,
the development of the discipline of historical
archaeology.
The work at Weeksville in Brooklyn
the importance of engaging communities, and
the
(Bridges
and
Salwin 1980), and Parting Ways
disagreements that may arise over controlling the
Plymouth, Massachusetts (Deetz 1995) are
narrative of a community. While scholars in
some
early examples of professional outreach. Public
times address these subjects independent of each
archaeology became a mainstay of large, long
other, they are connected in many ways. Engaging
communities is now an important part of term
manyprojects in the 1980s (Leone 1983; Cressey
1987).
research designs, although differences usually exist With the passing of NAGPRA (Thomas
over which values should be emphasized and 2000;
made Killion 2008) and the events surround
ing of
the African Burial Ground in the 1990s
public for a wider audience. Those in control
(LaRoche and Blakey 1997; Cantwell and Wall
the dominant narrative may insist on reinforcing
2001), practitioners became increasingly aware
their views of history, which sometimes supports
thatAt
archaeological and ethnographic practice can
previously known prejudices and inequalities.
playto
a role in the creation of a community’s past
the same time, subordinated groups may try
and present cultural heritage. Growing ethical
claim a more inclusive past. The scale of heritage
accountability makes archaeologists responsible
may also be a concern for communities. Whether
to many more stakeholders as the needs and
to emphasize a local community’s unique character
desires
istics or to highlight the community’s heritage
that of the communities with which they work
are taken into consideration (Swidler et al. 1997;
addresses universal values is an important decision
et al. 2000; Watkins 2001; Little 2002;
for many groups. The issues are complex andDongoske
the
Derry and Malloy 2003; Shackel and Chambers
situations are always in flux. While the outcomes
of engaging communities with these heritage 2004;
issuesVitelli and Colwell-Chanthaphonh 2006;
Little and Shackel 2007; Colwell-Chanthaphonh
may be quite productive, these results are neither
and
Ferguson 2008).
automatic nor guaranteed.
Historical Archaeology, 2011, 45(1): 1-9.
Permission to reprint required.
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HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(1)
Contesting Heritage
context. Authenticity is ascribed value, and once
an object, place, or culture is assumed to be
I he development ot heritage and the promo authentic it becomes associated with a sense of
tion of heritage sites are essentially political the past (Glover 2008:117).
acts. Heritage connotes authenticity, although Thomas Patterson (1986) provides an important
the way it is developed and negotiated is often example of how the Latin American past became
about a group’s relationship to power. Places of politicized with U.S. intervention in the early
heritage can be centers that heighten dialogue or 20th century. By the 1920s, U.S. corporations
create great rifts between groups that may have had a major influence in Latin America and the
very different memories of a place or events. Caribbean, controlling about 95% of the area’s
Decisions are made to promote one form of
investment; at about the same time the Carnegie
heritage over another, and academics, politicians, Institution of Washington’s Maya Project focused
or influential community leaders often influence its research in Guatemala, where it had close ties
and support these decisions. In many instances to the United Fruit Company. By focusing on the
minority voices are muted, and sometimes a Maya, Patterson (1986:12) explains, “the archae
form of heritage is privileged over a community’s ologists were implicitly questioning the unity of
living cultures. As practitioners, archaeologists the Mexican state and the cultural attainments
have a choice whether or not to support the of the ancient societies of central and northern
ideal of ethical absolutism, which is the uncriti Mexico—the regions that controlled the modern
cal subscription to the dominant perspective of state.” The research by the Carnegie Institution of
a heritage site, imposing or reinforcing a single Washington became the authoritative voice, which
system of moral values. An alternative mode separated the modern residents from their past.
of operating is to support the concept of moral They imposed an ethical absolutism that empha
relativism, which allows for cultural differences sized the Maya period and noted its outstanding
and accepts the fact that different cultures follow achievements, which ceased with the Spanish
different rules (Meskell 2005:127). It allows for Conquest. Contemporary Mayan culture was
the possibility of a multivocal past.
insignificant when compared to its predecessors.
Glover (2008:117) writes that the struggle
These interpretations were reinforced by ethno
over the control of a place’s meaning often historical research in Latin America in the 1930s
comes down to the issue of authority versus and 1940s. “It was used by states to defend the
authenticity. The concept of authority is con status quo and legitimate the oppression of the
nected to a form of education, critical thinking, vast majority of their citizens, preventing their
and the globalizing uses of heritage. Authenticemancipation” (Patterson 1986:13). For a long
ity is linked to the local dimension of the site.time the authority of the U.S. capitalist ven
Glover explains that locals can claim knowledgetures held sway over what heritage would be
associated with authority and authenticity; butdeveloped in Latin America. The voices of the
in internal struggles the polarization is oftenindigenous peoples were not heard, and moral
clearer. In many postcolonial societies a large relativism did not exist.
majority of academic experts will belong to the More recently, Helaine Silverman (2006c)
ruling ethnic group—for instance the white Creoleshows how postcolonial governments marked
population in South America. The claim to pro their place in the global society by emphasizing
fessional authority will, in such cases, be aligned and celebrating their own heritage as part of the
along ethnic lines, as the indigenous groups layprocess of nation building. Many Latin American
counterclaims in terms of authenticity (Glovergovernments supported national museums and
2008:117).
controlled messages about the past in order to
Scholarship and claims to authority are always
develop nationalist messages. For instance, in
apen to contestation. While subjugated people
Peru, the National Institute of Culture actively
may not be in command of the authority or
manages Cusco’s cultural patrimony. Silverman
the claim to authenticity, they can decide what
describes two museums in Cusco, Peru: the
Museo Inka and the Museo de Arte Precolumbino.
they accept and how to use the narratives of
the past. At the same time, authenticity is never
The former museum does not necessarily have
inherent in a place or culture, but is created by
exquisite artifacts on display, and its message
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PAUL A. SHACKEL—Pursuing Heritage, Engaging Communities
is about the struggle and resistance to the
that Americans seldom travel to poor countries,
Spanish and republican regimes. Authenticitybut when they do they want to experience places
and cultural continuity is emphasized in thisthat reinforce their experiences and values. For
exhibit. The latter museum’s message is frominstance, many African Americans, and those
the perspective of authority, and it has artifactsblack people who are part of the diaspora, want
displayed for the sake of art and the celebration places like the Ghanaian slave coast to interpret
of artistic achievement. The artifacts are without
the slave trade. The remains of dungeons that
context, and the museum’s message emphasizes
held enslaved people still exist on the landscape,
Peru’s modernity, transnational engagement, and
making these tangible forms of material culture a
form of heritage that is ready to be interpreted to
developmental promise for the future. National
visitors. On the other hand, Ghanaians want their
leaders see the celebration of heritage as important
because it brings value to communities, ethnic
places interpreted for their rich and deep history
groups, and countries in today’s global society
(Glover 2008:114).
(Silverman 2002, 2005, 2006a, 2006b).
Lynn Meskell (2005:133-134) also provides
Inclusive representation on the landscape in the
an example of how the Egyptian government is
United States is often not easy to achieve since
trying to create a sense of an authentic heritage
landscape while facing resistance from the local
it usually means challenging the authority of the
message. Antoinette Jackson (2008) notes that community.
at
The heritage of Gurna, which sits on
the tombs of the nobles between the Valley of
many plantation sites considered nationally signifi
cant the public discourse is often about thethe
cul Kings and the Valley of the Queens, dates
back some 3,500 years. The region embraces
ture, traditions, and life experiences of plantation
owners. Those who were enslaved often receive
a heritage that celebrates its deep past and its
little more than a few generic words (Jackson
ancient Egyptian landscape. Recently, the gov
ernment has evicted hundreds of citizens from
2008:131). Jackson explains the horrendous condi
tions that African Americans endured while labor
this village under the premise that their mud
brick houses, which sit on top of ancient tombs,
ing on rice plantations. Many died from diseases
were leaking sewage onto priceless antiquities.
resulting from living and working in conditions
Hundreds of families have resettled elsewhere,
of high temperatures, high humidity, and standing
water. Over half of the children born did not live
although 80 are holding out for a better price.
The authoritarian government has not used force,
past age 15 (Jackson 2008:144). Conflict often
since it does not want to spark widespread
arises when different descent groups try to have
in an area that thrives on tourism (Slack
input in how this past should be interpretedunrest
to
man 2007). While the new resettlement area has
the public. The descendants of the planters are
concerned about how their families will be treated.
electricity, running water, and sewers, relocation
means that the people of Gurna no longer have
Often, the presence of African culture is silenced,
access
and the struggle to place African Americans
in to the tourist trade.
Above are several examples that describe the
the center of the discourse takes time, energy, and
political nature of heritage development. The
persistence (Jackson 2008:149).
examples show how the past and the develop
Heritage places oftentimes become destinations,
ment of heritage sites are influenced by social
and having outsiders experiencing these places
and political forces. Many articles in this volume
helps increase “cultural capital.” The places
become destinations that are perceived as pristine,are self-reflexive in nature; the authors describe
with unspoiled cultures and landscapes (Würz and their role in heritage development and their part
Van der Merwe 2005:11). Lucien Anshworth and in helping to empower subordinated groups.
J. E. Tunbridge (1990:68) describe the complexOther articles describe the role of archaeology
ity of understanding a community’s heritage,in communities in which the past is contested.
however. They explain that many places have aProviding a voice to traditionally subjugated
form of “heritage dissonance” which is causedgroups allows them to contest the dominant nar
by selectively using a heritage for the purposerative, and it can also lead to a more inclusive
of catering to tourism. The place “reflects back” and beneficial research project.
For instance, Martin Gallivan, Danielle Moretti
the visitor’s experience rather than the local
community’s heritage. For example, they note Langholtz, and Buck Woodard use archaeology
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HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 45(1)
to help empower American Indian descendants
Timothy Baumann provides an important case
in the Tidewater Virginia region. Their collabora study of the changing heritage of Arrow Rock, a
tive archaeological research focuses on Werowosmall but influential American town in the 19th
comoco—the capital of the Powhatan chiefdomcentury. In the early 20th century, the town began
when Jamestown was settled. The Werowoco
to decline and it struggled to reinvent itself and
moco research group is working to connect
the on the historic role it played as a river
capitalize
past and the present, which allows the researchers
port on the Santa Fe Trail. Baumann shows how
to evaluate critically biases of colonial writings,
the citizens worked to preserve and reinvent the
search for community construction after the
end
place
with an effort to make it a tourist destina
tion. The National Old Trails Road Association
of the colonial era, and explore ways to decolo
nize the past and present. The archaeological
and the Daughters of the American Revolution
site serves as an important place, since
it is
provided
the leadership for this revitalization
where six of the seven Powhatan descendant
movement. Initially, a form of ethical absolutism
left African Americans out of the narrative. Even
tribes have become reconnected. The Virginia
Indian Advisory Board meets regularly with
the
today
the community struggles with the concept
of into
moral relativism and has a difficult time inter
participants in the project to provide input
the program’s research designs, funding preting
plans, the stories of race, class, and the impact
of enslavement, and the effects of Jim Crow are
public outreach programs, and research reports.
Within the American Indian community there
are to find on the landscape. While virtually
difficult
differences in how they want to remember all
Wero
of the African American community left the
wocomoco. Some believe the site represents
area aby the end of the 20th century, the white
bulwark against Jamestown and English colonial
community is working diligently to reincorporate
expansion. Others would rather not emphasize
the African American story into its local narrative.
the English arrival in the region, but would
The celebration of Juneteenth and homecoming
rather focus on the deep, precontact history
of of the new traditions in the community
are part
the place. Werowocomoco serves as an example
as it struggles to be more inclusive. There are,
in which communities are negotiating the past
in
however,
other opportunities to create a more
the present. In this case Indian descendants
are
inclusive heritage of the place.
constructing new forms of postcolonial identity.
Chidester and Gadsby focus on a former
Carol McDavid explains her role in the preser
vation of places and the depth of her engagement
in organizations and communities. Moving from
Jordan’s plantation, where she worked mostly in
industrial community known as Hampden, which
is now incorporated into the city of Baltimore.
Labor interests in Hampden were strong until
after the 1923 strike, when factories began to
the 1990s, to the city of Houston, where she is leave for the South, where labor tended to be
currently involved in preservation efforts, she has unorganized and less expensive. Today, the story
been met with challenges in this prodevelopment of Hampden’s working class is not part of the
municipality. In Houston, heritage organizati…
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