Professional Archaeology Research Articles

Grey literature – grey sources? Nuancing the view on professional documentation

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to nuance the perception about professional documentation (a.k.a. “grey literature”), assuming perception of documentation being a cultural aspect of accessibility.Design/methodology/approach– The study explores variations within the archaeological report genre through a bibliometric analysis of source use. Source characteristics are explored as well as correlations between report authors and source originators. Statistical frequency distribution is complemented by a correspondence analysis and ak-means cluster analysis to explore patterns. The patterns are interpreted as “frames of references” and related to circumstances for archaeological work. The study also discusses source representations.Findings– The source use patterns reveal a latent variation, not visible in the general analysis: a professional/academic frame of reference (mainly among authors affiliated with incorporated businesses and sole proprietorships) and an administrative frame of reference (mainly among authors affiliated with government agencies, foundations, and member associations) emerge.Research limitations/implications– The study focuses on Swedish field evaluation reports. Future research could test the results in relation to other types of reports and go beyond the document perspective to explore source use in documentation practices.Social implications– The results on variations in frames of references among report writers have implication for report readers and user. The results should also be considered in archaeology management and policy-making. On the level of source representation the results call for clarifications of vague representations and possibly omitted sources.Originality/value– This study contextualizes archaeological information use and focuses on variations in professional archaeology which has received little previous research attention. The bibliometric approach complements previous qualitative studies of archaeological information.

A Tale of Mice and Men: The WPA, the LSU Indian Room Museum, and the Emergence of Professional Archaeology in the U.S. South

Los fondos de alivio federal distribuidos durante de la gran depresión proporcionaron un apoyo sin precedente para la arqueología en los Estados Unidos, resultando en una nueva comprensión de las formas de vida del los nativos americanos en el sureste. En última instancia, estos fondos llevaron a los estudios arqueológicos robustos en el estado de Louisiana y al establecimiento de un departamento interdisciplinario de geografía y antropología de la Universidad Estatal de Louisiana (LSU). El conocimiento obtenido de las excavaciones se compartió con el público a través de la creación de un museo, conocido cariñosamente como el Indian Room , ubicado en el Departamento de Geografía y Antropología. En este artículo, relacionamos la historia del desarrollo del museo, contestando a una llamada creciente en la disciplina para prestar más atención a la geografía del museo. Utilizando el enfoque del archivo desordenado de Hayden Lorimer y Chris Philo, discutimos también cómo los proyectos de alivio de la depresión llevaron a la aparición de la arqueología profesional, la formación resultante de un departamento a la Universidad Estatal de Louisiana y la transformación permanente del museo.

A working profile: The changing face of professional archaeology in Australia

Results from comprehensive surveys of Australian professional archaeologists undertaken in 2005 and 2010 are considered in the context of disciplinary trends, focusing on changes in access and participation, archaeological workplaces, qualifications and skill gaps. Strong growth is demonstrated in the professional archaeology sector between 2005 and 2010, showing substantial restructuring in the last five years, with an increase in Indigenous archaeology and a corresponding decrease in other subfields, especially historical archaeology. An analysis of self-assessed skill sets and skill gaps shows that the training of many professionals continues to leave significant gaps in core skill and knowledge areas which are consistent across industry subfields.

The Loss of Innocence: Political and Ethical Dimensions of the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project at the Fourth Nile Cataract (Sudan)

During the construction of the Merowe Dam, one of the largest development projects recently completed on the African continent, more than a dozen national and international archaeological salvage missions were active at the Fourth Nile Cataract in northern Sudan. In this context, many of the archaeological missions on the ground found themselves at an impasse between the political and economic interests of different stakeholders. On the one side these included the developer, the investors, and contractors, who had largely ignored international policies regarding development projects, including guidelines on involuntary resettlement and the management of cultural resources. On the other side were the affected communities as well as human rights organizations, concerned with the humanitarian shortcomings of the dam project. The often conflicting agendas of these various stakeholders eventually led to the premature, forced termination of archaeological salvage work in large tracts of the planned reservoir area. Soon thereafter, in 2008, this was flooded not only without adequate archaeological coverage, but also before many of its inhabitants had left the region. This study documents a hitherto unique attempt by local communities, namely the Manasir ethnic group, to use the banning of archaeologists from their land as a political strategy against the developer, in order to improve the terms of compensation and resettlement. It investigates political and ethical dimensions of rescue archaeology in a context where the motivation and legitimacy of professional archaeology is questioned by the very people whose heritage it claims to preserve.

Collection and Production: The History of the Institute of Archaeology through Photography

As the UCL Institute of Archaeology celebrates its 75th anniversary, it has begun to probe its role in the development of professional archaeology more seriously, a role illustrated (aptly) by the importance of photography and photographs at the Institute. This short article will explore two facets of the Institute’s relationship with photography – the acquisition of photographic collections and the investment made in photographic facilities. Amara Thornton begins with a short personal introduction to a photographic collection within the Institute’s archives, and Sara Perry continues with a history of the early years of the Institute’s photography department, giving special attention to its founder, Maurice ‘Cookie’ Cookson, the Institute’s first Lecturer in Archaeological Photography.

Inheriting the past: the making of Arthur C. Parker and indigenous archaeology

In recent years, archaeologists and Native American communities have struggled to find common ground even though more than a century ago a man of Seneca descent raised on New York's Cattaraugus Reservation, Arthur C. Parker, joined the ranks of professional archaeology. Until now, Parker's life and legacy as the first Native American archaeologist have been neither closely studied nor widely recognized. At a time when heated debates about the control of Native American heritage have come to dominate archaeology, Parker's experiences form a singular lens to view the field's tangled history and current predicaments with Indigenous peoples. In Inheriting the Past, Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh examines Parker's winding career path and asks why it has taken generations for Native peoples to follow in his footsteps. Closely tracing Parker's life through extensive archival research, Colwell-Chanthaphonh explores how Parker crafted a professional identity and negotiated dilemmas arising from questions of privilege, ownership, authorship, and public participation. How Parker, as well as the discipline more broadly, chose to address the conflict between Native American rights and the pursuit of scientific discovery ultimately helped form archaeology's moral community. Parker's rise in archaeology just as the field was taking shape demonstrates that Native Americans could have found a place in the scholarly pursuit of the past years ago and altered its trajectory. Instead, it has taken more than a century to articulate the promise of an Indigenous archaeology, n archaeological practice carried out by, for, and with Native peoples. As the current generation of researchers explores new possibilities of inclusiveness, Parker's struggles and successes serve as a singular reference point to reflect on archaeology's history and its future.

Industrial Archaeology and the Archaeological Community: Fifty Years On

This paper is an expanded version of the annual Beatrice de Cardi lecture presented at the Council for British Archaeology's weekend meeting held in October 2009 to celebrate both their involvement in the discipline of industrial archaeology and the 300th anniversary of the first successful smelting of coke by Abraham Darby at Coalbrookdale in 1609. It discusses in depth the CBA's championship of the fledgling discipline of industrial archaeology in the early 1960s, together with the highly significant but frequently neglected developments in Northern Ireland. The paper then considers the development of industrial archaeology in public and professional archaeology in the second half of the 20th century and concludes that the definition of industrial archaeology adopted by the CBA in 1959 helped to pave the way for its considerable growth in that period.

Meta-stories of archaeology

I argue that archaeologists contribute most to the contemporary ‘experience society’ when they tell stories. Such stories well told may be either about what happened in the past or about how archaeology proceeds. Far more significant, however, are the meta-stories of archaeology. These are defined as stories of archaeology in which contemporary audiences themselves feature as characters, engulfed in a plot about archaeology or the past that gives meaning and perspective to their present-day lives. Such meta-stories may draw on metaphorical meanings that resonate in the practices of professional archaeology. In this paper, however, the emphasis is put on another type of meta-story that explores, in relation to the past, what it means to be human, who we are as members of a particular human group and how we might be living under different circumstances. I argue that archaeologists need to get better at understanding and critically appreciating the overarching meta-stories they evoke. For archaeology matters when its meta-stories matter.

Reflections on an Archaeological Ethnography of 'Looting' in Kozani, Greece

The first part of this paper provides a concise overview of the ethnographies of 'looting', demonstrating the importance of this kind of archaeological ethnography in understanding the phenomenon; the paper also emphasizes the need to encompass reflexivity in terms of the impact and the sociopolitical dimensions of professional archaeology upon public perceptions and treatments of the material past. Such a reflexive archaeological ethnography of 'looting' is instrumental for two reasons: it allows for the recognition of the power imbalances in the production of the past; and, most importantly, it gives voice to unofficial, indigenous meanings of and engagements with material remains. In the second part of the paper, the author explores how her ethnography of 'looting' conducted in Kozani, Greece opened the way for reflecting on her relationship with the people she interacted with. In particular, she discusses her personal experience in wrestling with ethical dilemmas that emerged from the dual official role that she came to carry: that of the archaeologist and the ethnographer.

The Challenges of Enthusiasm

The Challenges of Enthusiasm

“If you can walk down the street and recognise the difference between cast iron and wrought iron, the world is altogether a better place”: Being Enthusiastic about Industrial Archaeology

“If you can walk down the street and recognise the difference between cast iron and wrought iron, the world is altogether a better place”: Being Enthusiastic about Industrial Archaeology

How effective is geophysical survey? A regional review

AbstractGeophysics is such an accepted part of British archaeology that its effectiveness seems obvious. Yet if there is no reason to doubt the benefits of geophysics why do some experienced archaeologists use it so rarely and why is it little used in some countries which, in other ways, have highly developed professional archaeology services? There are, often cheaper, alternatives for archaeological survey. Yet since the performance of different survey methods has rarely been studied systematically there is no objective basis on which to test which choices best meet archaeologists' needs. Moreover the geophysicists' understandable desire to present successful rather than unsuccessful surveys, and to discuss results in geophysical rather than archaeological terms, makes such assessment more difficult. Thus although geophysical surveyors have strong grounds to claim that their work benefits archaeology, those who pay for survey can reasonably ask that these benefits be clarified, quantified where possible, and compared with alternatives, such as aerial photography or surface artefact survey, so that they can make the best choices about its use.This paper summarizes a study of all the geophysical surveys carried out in the northwest of England before 2006. The study assessed the performance of geophysical surveys in archaeological terms and was centred on a detailed analysis of 35 sites for which there is good comparative excavation data or which have particularly illustrative case histories. The study concludes that, despite the doubts in this area, geophysics serves archaeologists well and provides greater certainty in both identifying where sites exist and where they do not exist than has been generally assumed. It therefore deserves more extensive and more rational use. Geophysics is, however, being underused because, although abundant, surveys are formulaic and commercial surveyors are rarely able to fit methodologies to sites by a programme of reflective project development. Thus, although currently effective, geophysics might be even more so if surveyors had the time and resources to do this and to answer more complex and specific questions. The paper considers how these findings relate to the use of geophysical survey in other countries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Forum: Ethical Issues in European Professional Archaeology

(2007). Forum: Ethical Issues in European Professional Archaeology. Public Archaeology: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 116-123.

Archaeology in the Third Reich. Academic scholarship and the rise of the ‘lunatic fringe’

In the 1920s, and especially during the Third Reich, the ‘lunatic fringe’ of prehistoric archaeology – in this case a group of pseudoscientists that used and created archaeological evidence to found their religious and political visions of the early past – has had a great influence on German archaeology. This group, often called archaeological Schwarmgeister (‘fanatic dreamers’), attempted with varying success to gain influence by occupying party positions and by initiating excavations that might not have occurred otherwise. By focusing on the activities of two pseudoscientists – Wilhelm Teudt and Hermann Wille – as case studies, it becomes clear that they reinforced the existing division (Ahnenerbe versus Amt Rosenberg) within professional archaeology. The reactions from academic archaeologists turn out to have been diverse. The theories of Wilhelm Teudt on the Germanic Externsteine were accepted by some professional archaeologists. At the megalithic graves in the Oldenburg area, where Hermann Wille was active, this did not happen. After 1945 their work was used in the accusations that the assistants of Amt Rosenberg especially had been involved in unscientific research. This accusation did not correspond with contemporary reality but was the result of the struggle for power and influence within the group of academic archaeologists that continued in post-war Germany.

Os obradoiros de impacto arqueolóxico: síntese de resultados

This paper aims to offer a summary of a process that took place at the Landscape Archaeology Laboratory (Institute of Galician Studies «Padre Sarmiento»), between 2002 and 2003: the Archaeological Impact Workshops. The Archaeological Impact Workshops involved a forum, halfway between a discussion group and a workshop, amongst different sectors working in professional archaeology (the public, private and academic sectors). The aim was to reach common agreement on methods for the management of archaeological impact, aimed at progressively harmonizing archaeological practice in Galicia.

A manufactured past: virtual reality in archaeology

Virtual reality and visualisation technologies developed over the past thirty years have been readily accessible to the archaeological community since the mid 1990s. Despite the high profile of virtual archaeology (Reilly 1991) both within the media and professional archaeology it has not been taken on board as a generally useful and standard technique by archaeologists. In this article we wish to discuss the technical and other issues which have resulted in a reluctance to adopt virtual archaeology and, more importantly, discuss ways forward that can enable us routinely to benefit from this technology in the diversity of archaeological practice.

Training Professional Archaeologists in the UK - meeting the crisis of success

In the UK, increased levels of developer funding has led to increased demand for archaeological fieldworkers, the producers of the primary data upon which all archaeological work and research depends. But archaeologists entering the profession are underskilled while increasing numbers of students are receiving archaeological degrees, recent graduates do not have the levels of practical knowledge that are required to work on major projects. This skills shortage is not restricted to junior fieldstaff. Throughout the profession there is a lack of structured vocational learning, and training is undervalued both by organisations and individuals. This article discusses archaeologists' engagement with the challenge of creating a skilled archaeological profession in the UK. The Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA), as the professional association for all archaeologists in the UK, advocates the development of a co-ordinated training structure in archaeology which connects skills across a range of disciplines with formally recognised qualifications and defined professional roles. It envisages that this structure should have the potential for a link with pay and conditions and could lead to the development of a stronger career structure in professional archaeology. The IFA has set out an agenda, identifying that structured training is required in terms of basic training (e.g. for undergraduates); entry-level (equipping graduates for the workplace) and progressive training through continuing professional development (enabling practitioners to progress in their careers by maintaining and updating their skills). This recognises that it is widely accepted that the status of a professional depends upon his or her skills, and the qualifications that ratify those skills. The mechanism by which a professional is able to maintain and update their skills is continuing professional development; the IFA's guidance on continuing professional development establishes that it is the professional obligation of an individual archaeologist to maintain and update their skills, but this is anticipated to move towards a system whereby this will become a mandatory requirement for members of the professional institute. To date, the IFA has launched a series of projects under the auspices of the Archaeology Training Forum (ATF) to address the issue of training in professional archaeology. Potentially the most significant of these is a project to define professional functions and skills. This has identified the specific (archaeological) and generic skills archaeologists need. It has produced an 'occupational map' of archaeology, which will enable people to see where they are on that map (in terms of the role they fulfil and the skills they have) and to identify the role or roles that they want to fulfil in the profession - and the skills that they need to get there. It is anticipated that a structure of formal vocational qualifications, in combination with informal learning frameworks (including opportunities for focused coaching and mentoring) will emerge from this project. Currently the ATF is endorsing specific courses that aim to meet recognised needs within archaeology, and some of these have then been subsidised by the national heritage agencies, presenting opportunities for archaeologists at all stages of their careers. TORC, a training course web portal, providing information on all archaeological courses running in the UK, has been established by the Council for British Archaeology. To have a trained and skilled workforce would enhance and guarantee the quality of the work being undertaken by archaeologists, presenting ways that archaeology can be shown to provide better value for the other stakeholders in archaeologists' work. This would also lead to the retention of that workforce, forming a key step on the route to the development of a career structure within professional archaeology.

More time please

This further comment on Geoffrey Wainwright's retrospective ‘Time please’ (ANTIQUITY 74: (2000): 909–43) is written from the perspective of someone who has been actively involved in professional archaeology since the creation of the first county ‘units’ in 1973, who helped to promote a professional institute and its codes of contractual behaviour, and who has directed an independent Trust through the transition from state funding to private funding.

Time please

Professional archaeology in Britain has changed out of all recognition over the last 40 years, from an amateur world with a few paid professionals, to a fully professional activity. The changes have come about through different intiatives — popular and bureaucratic — and have led to new organizational structures, new funds, new people and different approaches. Few individuals have bridged this dynamic period as close to the driving seat as Professor Geoffrey Wainwright, or been able to see from where the many pressures for change came. Rarely were the initiatives widely published or documented, and the present state of things often seem to bear little relation to what went before. We have commissioned Professor Wainwright to review the changes and developments in the archaeology of England — from his perspective — and explain how and why many of the changes that underlie archaeology in 2000 have come about.

The funding of professional archaeological practice in England

Professional archaeology in England is funded from a variety of sources. This chapter of Cultural Trends presents research tracing the route by which this has developed, examining and quantifying the sources of funding for professional archaeological practice in 2000. This is the first study to quantify archaeological funding from all sources in the last decade. Since 1990, governmental planning advice has switched the financial burden of recording archaeological remains from the state to private sources. This has allowed a great expansion of archaeological work to take place, through the requirements of the planning system, and funded from private sources. While central government funding has remained static (falling in real terms) over the last decade, private ‐ developer ‐ funding has become the norm. It is calculated that approximately £120 million was spent on professional archaeological practice in 2000, with over half of that sum coming from private sources. This chapter examines and quantifies all the sources of funding for professional archaeology, considering developer funding in detail. Undoubtedly the expansion of developer funding has brought great benefits to professional archaeology, not least in terms of the greater scale of work required, but it has also raised problems, allowing archaeological practice in 2000 to become a weakly regulated, market‐led activity. Local government, as the regulator of the planning system, has a key role to play. As archaeological services in local government are not maintained on a statutory basis, they are open to budgetary pressures. The chapter concludes by examining the key issues relating to development and archaeology in the near future, and suggests an alternative approach to funding that might better suit developers, planners and archaeologists alike.