The Development of Indigenous Archaeology
T. J. Ferguson
Hopi cultural advisors (from left) Stewart B. Koyiyumptewa, Kevin Crook, Austin Lomatewama, and Wilton Kooyahoema Sr. describe the relationship between ancient clan migrations and archaeology in the land they call Kawestima in northern Arizona while archaeologist Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh (right) takes notes.
For
decades
Native Americans
have felt that archaeology has ignored them. In the
1990s
a movement emerged, known as indigenous archaeology, that incorporated native culture.
As
the movement evolves, a
debate is taking place as to exactly what it is and if it’s good for archaeology.
By Wayne Curtis american archaeology archaeology american
Imagine
there are two archaeologists
examining an artifact. One is a traditional archaeologist who notes such facts as the material the object is made of, its size and shape, decorative elements, and so on. She feeds this and other data into a vast matrix of information. She and other archaeologists will use analytical methods honed and refined over the decades to reconstruct the material culture of the past as accurately as they can, building hypotheses from the data to better understand how these centuries-old tribal cultures were structured, and how their members lived. The other archaeologist is a Native American, a descendant of the people who produced these artifacts. He and fellow members of his tribe consider this and other artifacts their cultural patrimony. The artifact fits into a preexisting information matrix, one born of long traditions, and it may offer tangible evidence of a lore that has been passed down through song, or myths, or art, or all of these forms of cultural transmission. He views this item not just as data but as part of a larger story that his people have been telling for generations.
37 37
