Archaeology is commonly thought of as a Western science. Certainly, the archaeology practised by university-trained professionals and enthusiasts around the world today has its intellectual roots in northern and central Europe. Historians of archaeology such as Bruce Trigger have explored how this methodical, earthy science emerged in the 19th century from the antiquarianism of previous centuries. Alongside other key developments, Danish scholar Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (1788-1865) was among the first to develop relative chronologies using artefacts alone (without the aid of written records). Archaeology became professionalised across much of the globe during the 20th century, spurred on by major scientific developments such as radiocarbon dating.
Today, archaeology is a globalised discipline with diverse cultural influences. In countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA, many research projects are directed by Indigenous community members, who may incorporate cultural protocols and rituals to engage with their ancestors during excavations or surveys. While the archaeological work is conventional, ‘the past’ is treated as a living dimension of the present. The narratives that are then written about the past may incorporate Indigenous oral traditions and ecological knowledge. These diverse cultural perspectives enrich archaeology: they contribute new angles from which to see the evidence and new ways of telling stories about the past.
The Western origins and recent transformations of archaeology are well known. But just how novel is using the traces of earlier activity to develop understanding of the roots of current societies? Are there other forms of what could be considered archaeology – on the basis that they are ways of reading the past through things and landscapes – that developed independently?
