ARCHAEOLOGY AND CAPITALISM: FROM ETHICS TO POLITICS [Hardcover]

The editors and contributors to this volume focus on the inherent political nature of archaeology and its impact on the practice of the discipline. Pointing to the discipline’s history of advancing imperialist, colonialist, and racist objectives, they insist that archaeology must rethink its muted professional stance and become more overtly active agents of change. The discipline is not about an abstract “archaeological record” but about living individuals and communities, whose lives and heritage suffer from the abuse of power relationships with states and their agents. Only by recognizing this power disparity, and adopting a political ethic for the discipline, can archaeology justify its activities. Chapters range from a critique of traditional ethical codes, to examinations of the capitalist motivations and structures within the discipline, to calls for an engaged, emancipatory archaeology that improves the lives of the people with whom archaeologists work. A direct challenge to the discipline, this volume will provoke discussion, disagreement, and inspiration for many in the field.

The contributors to this volume focus on the inherent political nature of archaeology and its relationship to power, and explore how archaeologists can become more overtly agents of social change for individuals and communities.

This collection of papers represents a thoughtful endeavor to grapple with the question, as McGuire phrases it, archaeology for whom? This volume is a welcome addition to the literature on archaeological ethics, public archaeology, and practicing archaeology.

Yannis Hamilakis is Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton and has taught at the University of Wales Lampeter (1996-2000) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2005). He has held a number of research fellowships with most recent a residential scholarship at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2005-2006). He has published extl3½