Archaeology in Public and Media: A short introduction to theoretical premises of the dialogue on heritage
Keywords:
archaeology and the public,
heritage,
social memory,
identities,
media
Abstract
Along with many different definitions of archaeology, from the inception of the discipline to the present, it may be valid to assert that it is a kind of complex dialogue on heritage with the public of contemporary societies. In this dialogue, archaeologists have directly constructed social memories and modern identities, this being an exceptional responsibility, and have at the same time been susceptible to ethnocentric transfers of modern values and expectations into the images of the past. In this respect, it may well be said that the public is not only the most important consumer of cultural heritage, but also an active participant indirectly influencing the shaping of archaeological interpretations of the past. Thanks to the global trends in the discipline, but also due to the administrative decisions of the Ministry of Culture and Information, archaeology in Serbia is compelled to intensify contacts with the public and to make the results of our work more readily accessible and economically sustainable. The paper aims to offer a short overview of theoretical premises of various models of collaboration of archaeology and the public, to point to the advantages and shortcomings, as well as the consequences of these approaches, thus warning of the many potential problems stemming from the uncritical dissemination of information on the past and heritage to the general public.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Alcock, E. Susan. 2002. Archaeologies of the Past: Landscape, Monuments, and Memories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bandović, Aleksandar 2013. Arheologija u kadru: predstave arheologije u srpskom filmu. Etnoantropološki problemi 8 (3): 845−863.
Barth, Fredrik, Andre Gingrich, Robert Parkin and Syndel Silverman. 2005. One Discipline, Four Ways: British, German, French, and American Anthropology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Britain, Marcus, Timoth Clack. 2007. “Introduction: Archaeology and the Media”. In Archaeology and the Media, eds. Clack Timothy & Marcus Brittain, 11−66. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Clack Timothy, Marcus Brittain (eds.) 2007. Archaeology and the Media. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Diaz-Andreu, Margarita. 2007. A World History of Nineteenth-Century Archaeology: Nationalism, Colonialism, and the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Diaz-Andreu, Margarita, Sam Lucy, Staša Babić and David N. Edwards. 2005. The Archaeology of Identity. London: Routledge.
Džonson, Metju. 2008. Arheološka teorija: uvod. Clio: Beograd.
Fitzpatrick, Martin, Peter Jones, Christa Knellwolf and Ian McCalman (eds.) 2004. The Enlightment World. London: Routledge.
Gosden, Chris. 1999. Anthropology and Archaeology: a changing relation. London: Routledge.
Gramsch, Alexander. 2000. ‘Reflexiveness’ in archaeology, nationalism, and Europeanism. Archaeological Dialogues 7 (1): 4–19.
Graves-Brown, Paul, Sian Jones and Clive Gamble (eds.) 1996. Cultural Identity and Archaeology: The Construction of European Communities. London: Routledge.
Hodder, Ian. 1997. Always momentary, fluid and flexible: towards a reflexive excavation methodology. Antiquity 71 (273): 691–700.
Hodder, Ian. 2003. Archaeological reflexivity and the ‘local’ voices. Anthropological Quarterly 76 (1): 55–69.
Holtorf, Cornelius. 2007. Archaeology is a Brand: The Meaning of Archaeology in Contemporary Popular Culture. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Holtorf, Cornelius. 2008. Can you hear me at the back? Archaeology, communication and society. Journal of European Archaeology 10 (2−3): 149−165.
Insoll, Timothy (ed.) 2007. The Archaeology of Identities: A Reader. London: Routledge.
Janković, Marko, Zorica Kuzmanović (ur.) 2014. Srpska arheologija između teorije i činjenica II, Arheologija i javnost u Srbiji, Knjiga apstrakata. Beograd: Filozofski fakultet, Odelјenje za arheologiju, Centar za teorijsku arheologiju.
Kobialka, David. 2014. Archaeology and communication with the public: archaeological open-air museums and historical re-enactment in action. European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies 4: 313−332.
Kuzmanović, Zorica. 2010. Refleksivno mišljenje – zamena za analogiju. Етноантрополошки проблеми 5 (1): 151–164.
Kuzmanović, Zorica, Ivan Vranić. 2013. On the reflexive nature of archaeologies of the Western Balkan Iron Age: a case study of the “Illyrian argument”. Anthropologie (Brno) 51 (2): 249−259.
Lowenthal, David. 1998. The Past is a Foreign Country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lucas, Gavin. 2005. The Archaeology of Time. London: Routledge.
Merriman, Nick. 2004a. “Introduction: diversity and dissonance in public archaeology”. In Public Archaeology, ed. Nick Merriman, 1−18. London: Routledge.
Merriman, Nick. 2004b. “Involving the public in museum archaeology”. In Public Archaeology, ed. Nick Merriman, 85−108. London: Routledge.
Merriman, Nick (ed.) 2004c. Public Archaeology. London: Routledge.
Meskell, Lynn. 2002. The Intersection of Identity and Politics in Archaeology. Annual Review of Anthropology 31: 279−301.
Morley, Nevill. 2009. Antiquity and Modernity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Olsen, Bjornar. 2002. Od predmeta do teksta. Beograd: Geopoetika.
Shanks, Michael. 1992. Experiencing the Past: on the character of archeology. London: Routledge.
Shanks, Michael. 2007. “Digital Media, Agile Design, and the Politics of Archaeological Authorships”. In Archaeology and the Media, eds. Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain, 273−289. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Shanks, Michael, Christopher Tilly. 1987. Social Theory and Archaeology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Silverman, Helaine (ed.) 2011. Contested Cultural Heritage: Religion, Nationalism and Exclusion in a Global World. New York: Springer.
Thomas, Julian. 2004. Archaeology and Modernity. London: Routledge.
Trigger, Bruce. 2006. A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van Dyke, Ruth M., Susan E. Alcok 2003. “Archaeologies of Memory: An Introduction”. In Archaeologies of Memory, eds. Ruth M. Van Dyke and Susan E. Alcok, 1−14. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Vasiljević, Vera. 2012. Princess Ru and Papyrus: Stereotypes on ancient Egypt in graphic novels. Etnoantropološki problem 7 (3): 763−807.
Walsh, Kevin. 1992. The Representation of the Past: Museums and heritage in the postmodern world. London: Routledge.
Witmore, Christopher. 2004. On Multiple Fields. Between the Material World and Media: Two Cases from the Peloponnesus, Greece. Archaeological Dialogues 11(2): 133−164.
Bandović, Aleksandar 2013. Arheologija u kadru: predstave arheologije u srpskom filmu. Etnoantropološki problemi 8 (3): 845−863.
Barth, Fredrik, Andre Gingrich, Robert Parkin and Syndel Silverman. 2005. One Discipline, Four Ways: British, German, French, and American Anthropology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Britain, Marcus, Timoth Clack. 2007. “Introduction: Archaeology and the Media”. In Archaeology and the Media, eds. Clack Timothy & Marcus Brittain, 11−66. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Clack Timothy, Marcus Brittain (eds.) 2007. Archaeology and the Media. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Diaz-Andreu, Margarita. 2007. A World History of Nineteenth-Century Archaeology: Nationalism, Colonialism, and the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Diaz-Andreu, Margarita, Sam Lucy, Staša Babić and David N. Edwards. 2005. The Archaeology of Identity. London: Routledge.
Džonson, Metju. 2008. Arheološka teorija: uvod. Clio: Beograd.
Fitzpatrick, Martin, Peter Jones, Christa Knellwolf and Ian McCalman (eds.) 2004. The Enlightment World. London: Routledge.
Gosden, Chris. 1999. Anthropology and Archaeology: a changing relation. London: Routledge.
Gramsch, Alexander. 2000. ‘Reflexiveness’ in archaeology, nationalism, and Europeanism. Archaeological Dialogues 7 (1): 4–19.
Graves-Brown, Paul, Sian Jones and Clive Gamble (eds.) 1996. Cultural Identity and Archaeology: The Construction of European Communities. London: Routledge.
Hodder, Ian. 1997. Always momentary, fluid and flexible: towards a reflexive excavation methodology. Antiquity 71 (273): 691–700.
Hodder, Ian. 2003. Archaeological reflexivity and the ‘local’ voices. Anthropological Quarterly 76 (1): 55–69.
Holtorf, Cornelius. 2007. Archaeology is a Brand: The Meaning of Archaeology in Contemporary Popular Culture. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Holtorf, Cornelius. 2008. Can you hear me at the back? Archaeology, communication and society. Journal of European Archaeology 10 (2−3): 149−165.
Insoll, Timothy (ed.) 2007. The Archaeology of Identities: A Reader. London: Routledge.
Janković, Marko, Zorica Kuzmanović (ur.) 2014. Srpska arheologija između teorije i činjenica II, Arheologija i javnost u Srbiji, Knjiga apstrakata. Beograd: Filozofski fakultet, Odelјenje za arheologiju, Centar za teorijsku arheologiju.
Kobialka, David. 2014. Archaeology and communication with the public: archaeological open-air museums and historical re-enactment in action. European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies 4: 313−332.
Kuzmanović, Zorica. 2010. Refleksivno mišljenje – zamena za analogiju. Етноантрополошки проблеми 5 (1): 151–164.
Kuzmanović, Zorica, Ivan Vranić. 2013. On the reflexive nature of archaeologies of the Western Balkan Iron Age: a case study of the “Illyrian argument”. Anthropologie (Brno) 51 (2): 249−259.
Lowenthal, David. 1998. The Past is a Foreign Country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lucas, Gavin. 2005. The Archaeology of Time. London: Routledge.
Merriman, Nick. 2004a. “Introduction: diversity and dissonance in public archaeology”. In Public Archaeology, ed. Nick Merriman, 1−18. London: Routledge.
Merriman, Nick. 2004b. “Involving the public in museum archaeology”. In Public Archaeology, ed. Nick Merriman, 85−108. London: Routledge.
Merriman, Nick (ed.) 2004c. Public Archaeology. London: Routledge.
Meskell, Lynn. 2002. The Intersection of Identity and Politics in Archaeology. Annual Review of Anthropology 31: 279−301.
Morley, Nevill. 2009. Antiquity and Modernity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Olsen, Bjornar. 2002. Od predmeta do teksta. Beograd: Geopoetika.
Shanks, Michael. 1992. Experiencing the Past: on the character of archeology. London: Routledge.
Shanks, Michael. 2007. “Digital Media, Agile Design, and the Politics of Archaeological Authorships”. In Archaeology and the Media, eds. Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain, 273−289. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.
Shanks, Michael, Christopher Tilly. 1987. Social Theory and Archaeology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Silverman, Helaine (ed.) 2011. Contested Cultural Heritage: Religion, Nationalism and Exclusion in a Global World. New York: Springer.
Thomas, Julian. 2004. Archaeology and Modernity. London: Routledge.
Trigger, Bruce. 2006. A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van Dyke, Ruth M., Susan E. Alcok 2003. “Archaeologies of Memory: An Introduction”. In Archaeologies of Memory, eds. Ruth M. Van Dyke and Susan E. Alcok, 1−14. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Vasiljević, Vera. 2012. Princess Ru and Papyrus: Stereotypes on ancient Egypt in graphic novels. Etnoantropološki problem 7 (3): 763−807.
Walsh, Kevin. 1992. The Representation of the Past: Museums and heritage in the postmodern world. London: Routledge.
Witmore, Christopher. 2004. On Multiple Fields. Between the Material World and Media: Two Cases from the Peloponnesus, Greece. Archaeological Dialogues 11(2): 133−164.
Published
2014-09-22
How to Cite
Vranić, Ivan. 2014. “Archaeology in Public and Media: A Short Introduction to Theoretical Premises of the Dialogue on Heritage”. Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 9 (3), 597-607. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21301/eap.v9i3.3.
Section
Thematic Issue
Copyright (c) 2014 Ivan Vranić
All articles in Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License which allows authors and users to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the article under the same conditions as in the licence.
The CC BY SA license permits non-commercial and commercial re-use of an open access article, as long as the author is properly attributed.
Copyright on any research article published by Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology is retained by the author(s).
Authors grant to the Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology the right to publish the article, to be cited as its original publisher in case of reuse, and to distribute it in all forms and media. Copyright and source must be acknowledged and a link must be made to the article's DOI.
Open Access
DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals
ROAD - Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
World Cat 
AnthroSerbia
![Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>.){kind=link}