Comunity Archaeology

Over the past few decades, China has gone through a number of changes, and no community has been more impacted by these changes than the rural community. This paper takes a look at how heritage influences rural communities in these turbulent times. The paper focuses on three ways in which heritage is present in rural communities: Ecomuseums, rural tourism and archaeological heritage. While there are differences between all three modes, their similarities are defined by common issues addressed in this paper, such as the persisting top-down approaches, traditions in government systems, and issues native to rural areas that prevent active participation in heritage and sustainable tourism.

Terra Levis es un proyecto de arqueología cuyo objetivo fundamental es la supervivencia del medio rural. Para ello, contamos con las comunidades que han construido su paisaje cultural, que viven o vivían en el, que lo sienten y se emo- cionan..., que pasan a ser partes activas en la elaboración del propio proyecto y la generación de nuevas narrativas.

Stone wall fish weirs and traps were once an important means for inland and coastal communities to catch fish.  In many places the weirs and traps have been left to deteriorate and other more productive but less sustainable practices have taken their place. It was considered that they have fulfilled their historical and economic role and it was the loss of community spirit that has contributed to their decline. A recent survey in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia found a diverse and extensive number of fish weirs and traps, and a community keen to restore and reinvigorate their associated cultural practices and community spirit. The paper draws on comparative data from other places of the world to investigate weirs and traps, and to see if a similar revival could be observed. Of importance was a need to highlight the value of pursuing this type of research for contemporary communities and maritime archaeological practitioners in the current international management framework for underwater cultural heritage.

La Arqueología es percibida por la sociedad de forma muy variable aunque, en muchas ocasiones, adquiere un carácter peyorativo, quizás vinculado a la falta de pedagogía en su explicación, la incomprensión de su utilidad o la ausencia relativa de rentabilidad. En este sentido, la práctica de la Arqueología, en todas sus vertientes y aplicaciones, debe perseguir unos objetivos que trasciendan la investigación histórica propiamente dicha. El problema se plantea cuando queremos buscarle un beneficio que sea exclusivamente cuantificable en términos económicos, sin tener en cuenta otros ámbitos de transferencia del conocimiento a la sociedad y de rentabilidad social y cultural.

En esta memoria se recogen las actividades desarrolladas durante el año 2019 en el MASAV -Museo Abierto de las Sierras de Ávila y el Valle Amblés-. Un proyecto participativo de gestión de un paisaje cultural único, con una evolución tranquila durante milenios, que permite reconstruir la vida de los hombres desde la prehistoria más antigua hasta nuestros días.
Arqueología, paisaje y paisanaje son los sustentos de este proyecto impulsado por y para le gente del territorio.

El estudio de los paisajes culturales desde una perspectiva arqueológica requiere de una metodología compleja, con un enfoque integrado. En este análisis entran en juego los aspectos inter y transdisciplinares que nos permitan comprender formas de relación del ser humano con el medio ambiente, pero también otros elementos como el uso de las nuevas tecnologías y las implicaciones sociales. Este trabajo pretende poner en conexión dos aspectos que son fundamentales dentro de la estrategia de trabajo en Sierra Nevada: el uso de la teledetección y la relación con las comunidades locales.

This article presents the different socialisation methods of the excavation of two archaeological sites: the “Pago de Jarafí” (Lanteira, Granada), and “Mojácar la Vieja” (Mojácar, Almería). The projects involved the excavation of medieval Islamic settlements between 2014 and 2018 in two different social, economic and cultural contexts. The first, Lanteira, is a rural area of the Province of Granada that suffers from depopulation and ageing and a primary sector in economic crisis. The second, Mojácar, along the coast, has experienced a boom of tourism and the arrival of many foreign residents since the 1960s. This study analyses the methods and techniques to communicate and involve the local population during the entire archaeological excavation process and how these methods were adapted to each social reality. The research goes further to explore the link of the two local communities with their sites since the outset of the archaeological research and how they changed during the course of the excavation following application of a Community Archaeology.

In questo articolo presenteremo le diverse metodologie che abbiamo applicato per la socializzazione di due siti archeologici durante il nostro intervento: il “Pago de Jarafí” (Lanteira, Granada) e “Mojácar la Vieja” (Mojácar, Almería). I progetti sono stati condotti tra gli anni 2014 e 2018 in insediamenti islamici medievali, in due diversi contesti sociali, economici e culturali. Il primo, Lanteira, si trova in una zona rurale della provincia di Granada che soffre di un problema di spopolamento e invecchiamento e con un’economia in crisi basata sul settore primario. Il secondo, Mojácar, in una zona costiera con un grande sviluppo del settore turistico e con un elevato numero di residenti stranieri dagli anni ’60 del XX secolo. Il lavoro analizza le metodologie e le tecniche per comunicare e coinvolgere la popolazione locale durante l’intero processo di scavo archeologico e come queste metodologie si siano adattate alla realtà sociale di entrambi i comuni. Esporremo il legame che queste comunità locali hanno avuto con i relativi siti fin dall’inizio della ricerca archeologica e come tale legame sia cambiato durante lo scavo a seguito dello sviluppo di un’archeologia pubblica e comunitaria.

Community engagement is a growing aspect of archaeological practice; not only are archaeologists realizing that these kinds of projects are increasingly important to the movement of decolonization in regards to the histories of under-represented communities, but also that these relationships produce valuable knowledge about sites and their life histories. This paper specifically examines the unique ethnographic moment that arises when descendants and archaeologists come together in the practice of archaeological investigation. I assert that the sensory experience of the materialities of the past create a moment for engaging with memories, ideas, and emotions about sites, their inhabitants, and their artifacts which cannot be accessed or explored any other way. As such, this requires a re-orientation of research design and theoretical interpretations to account for this knowledge. To discuss implications of this reorientation, I’ll present examples from my work on the Historic Archaeology Project of Lawrence County, a project which examined processes of racialization during the 19th and early 20th century through excavations centered around rural Black-owned farmsteads in Southeastern Illinois. I will conclude by asserting that collaborative community archaeology offers a rich anthropological opportunity to examine how we, as both archaeologists and community members, know and reproduce our histories.