Additional Information

Available Through

erudit

Language

English

Notes

Abstract:

"As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep our archaeology dead. From an epistemological perspective, alienation from the dead seems almost inevitable; otherwise, we would only project today’s conditions onto the past. Therefore, the past must be, and must remain, a foreign country. These alienating processes have ethical implications, however, especially when it comes to the study of human remains. In this article, we analyze the structures within the scientific discipline of archaeology that normalize practices, such as the labeling of human bone material during excavations and the object-like display of skeletons in museums. We argue that archaeologists have an – often rejected – ethical responsibility towards subjects from the past. We, therefore, seek to open up a debate concerning alternative strategies for the treatment of the dead."

Taxonomies

CIfA Codes

• Principle 1: Adherence to ethical and responsible behaviour in archaeological affairs

Keywords & Terms

• Anti-Commercialization
• Burials and Human Remains
• Conflicts of Interest
• Do No Harm
• ICOMOS
• Impact on Communities - Local, Descendant, etc.
• Repatriation
• Respect for and Responsibility to Affected Groups
• Storage of Data, Specimens, and Records

Topics & Issues

• Decolonizing Archaeology
• Descendant, Resident, and Stakeholder Communities
• Ethical Dilemmas
• Ethical Responsibilities of Archaeologists
• Ethics of Collecting
• Human Remains and Ethical Practice
• Indigenous Archaeology: Perspectives and Issues
• Museum and Display Ethics
• NAGPRA, Repatriation, and Indigenous Rights