In the UK, changes in central government agendas and policies can be seen to have influenced the practice of community archaeology. This paper examines the politics which have affected the development of community archaeology in the UK over the last two decades and aims to promote understanding of the character and extent of its impact. It will, through an analysis of period-specific case studies, provide evidence of this development and suggest what the next stage of progression should be for this form of archaeological outreach. These case studies chart the movement from the amateur-led, informal, ‘community archaeology’ of the 1980s and early 1990s, to the institutionally organized and professional ‘community archaeology’ of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, considering today’s current hybridity of archaeological outreach. The paper draws on global examples to suggest the future of community archaeology projects in the UK.

Politics and the Development of Community Archaeology in the UK

In the contributions that follow seven archaeologists, of different backgrounds and working in different ways and places, attempt to answer the question ‘Can an archaeologist be a public intellectual?’ This discussion follows a special forum, sponsored by this journal, held at the European Archaeologists’ Association annual conference in Helsinki in 2012. The participants in that forum were Asa Larsson, Layla Renshaw, Ghattas Sajey, Audrey Horning and Thomas Meier, who was unfortunately unable to offer his contribution for publication. The published discussion is supplemented by contributions from Cornelius Holtorf, Fredrik Svanberg, Nathan Schlanger and Jaime Almansa Sanchez. We hope that this special section captures some of the spirit of lively debate that characterized the forum.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F45893DF633663C4437D99AA3545D83E/S1380203813000032a.pdf/div-class-title-can-an-archaeologist-be-a-public-intellectual-div.pdf

Can an archaeologist be a public intellectual

Anecdotal evidence suggests that most active members and committee members of community archaeology societies are retired or near retirement. This study, based on the dissertation for my MA in Community Archaeology, provides systematic statistical data for the age demographics of community archaeology societies, explains why groups are attractive to the over fifties, and suggests hypotheses as to why there are not more people in their twenties and thirties involved in these societies.

‘Becoming History Ourselves’: A Study of Age Demographics in Community Archaeology Societies

This paper argues that less known archaeological sites on marginalized or non-touristic areas can contribute to the formation of local economies that can benefit from alternative heritage tourism and public participation in the archaeological excavation process. The discussion of a proposal for turning two archaeological sites on the Greek islands of Kythera and Anitkythera respectively (Paleokastro and Kastro) into living archaeological parks serves as an example that highlights the possibilities for the creation of self-sustainable heritage projects that need not rely on direct state funding.

Archaeological Sites as Self-Sustained Resources for Economic Regeneration: Towards the Creation of Living Archaeological Parks on the Islands of Kythera and Antikythera

In this article we discuss the motivations, aims, and preliminary results of working with a local community in Ethiopia. Trying to escape from the (neo)colonial archaeology that is still practised in Africa, this project aims to achieve a cooperative and participative archaeology. This work with the community has been one of our main priorities in our last seasons, and although we have focused on elementary school and university students, we have opened up a number of different paths to follow in future years. The experience has been very positive, and engagement with local people has helped us to create awareness about the importance of cultural heritage, hopefully ensuring the future protection of the sites.

The Azazo Project: Archaeology and the Community in Ethiopia

Community archaeology claims to offer the public an opportunity to become engaged with and involved in the interpretation and understanding of the past. It has been claimed that this interactive approach, one of participation in the archaeological process, develops both intangible and tangible values from the past for individuals and communities in the present. Such values range from educational to economic and from political to social; however, these supposed results of community archaeology have yet to be critically analyzed.This paper focuses on assessing the values of community archaeology excavations from a range of contexts in both the UK and USA. Case studies include Shoreditch Park (London), Grosvenor Park (Chester), Hungate (York), and Brayford (Devon) in the UK, and Mitchell (South Dakota) and Muncy (Pennsylvania) in the USA. It sets out a self-reflexive, ethnological methodology for evaluating what community archaeology really does. Furthermore, this paper assesses whether the theoretic...

Community Archaeology Under Scrutiny

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Community Archaeology Under Scrutiny