Unmasking Ideology in Imperial and Colonial Archaeology: Vocabulary, Symbols, and Legacy [Paperback]

This volume addresses the entanglement between archaeology, imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, and war. Popular sentiment in the West has tended to embrace the adventure rather than ponder the legacy of archaeological explorers; allegations by imperial powers of discovering archaeological sites or saving world heritage from neglect or destruction have often provided the pretext for expanding political influence. Consequently, citizens have often fallen victim to the imperial war machine, seeing their lands confiscated, their artifacts looted, and the ancient remains in their midst commercialized. Spanning the globe with case studies from East Asia, Siberia, Australia, North and South America, Europe, and Africa, sixteen contributions written by archaeologists, art historians, and historians from four continents offer unusual breadth and depth in the assessment of various claims to patrimonial heritage, contextualized by the imperial and colonial ventures of the last two centuries and their postcolonial legacy.Addresses the entanglement between archaeology, imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, and war. Contributions from archaeologists, art historians, and historians from four continents offer unusual breadth and depth in the assessment of various claims to patrimonial heritage.Table of Contents Ch. 1: Archaeology and Imperialism: From Nineteenth-Century New Imperialism to Twentieth-Century Decolonization by Margarita Diaz-AndreuCh. 2: German Archaeology in Occupied Europe during World War II: A Case Of Colonial Archaeology? by Hubert FehrCh. 3: Problematizing the Encylopedic Museum: The Benin Bronzes and Ivories in Historical Context by Neil BrodieCh. 4: Digging up China: Imperialism, Nationalism, and Regionalism in the Yinxu Excavation, 1928-1937 by Guolong LaiCh. 5: They have not changed in 2,500 years : Art, Archaeology and Modernity in Iran by Talinn GrigorCh. 6: The Entanglement of Nativl3