1. Introduction Geoffrey Scarre and Robin Coningham; Part I. Claiming the Past: 2. The values of the past James O. Young; 3. Whose past? Archaeological knowledge, community knowledge, and the embracing of conflict Piotr Bienkowski; 4. The past people want: heritage for the majority? Cornelius Holtorf; 5. The ethics of repatriation: rights of possession and duties of respect Janna Thompson; 6. On archaeological ethics and letting go Larry J. Zimmerman; 7. Hintang and the dilemma of benevolence: archaeology and ecotourism in Laos Anna Källén; Part II. Problems of Meaning and Method: 8. What is a crisis of intelligibility? Jonathan Lear; 9. Contesting religious claims over archaeological sites Elizabeth Burns Coleman; 10. Multivocality and 'wikiality': the epistemology and ethics of a pragmatic archaeology Alexander A. Bauer; 11. 'Do not do unto others …': cultural misrecognition and the harms of appropriation in an open-source world George P. Nicholas and Alison Wylie; 12. Should ruins be preserved? David E. Cooper; Part III. Problems of Ownership and Control: 13. Legal principles, political processes, and cultural property Tom Allen; 14. Monuments versus movables: state restrictions on cultural property rights David Garrard; 15. Looting or rededication? Buddhism and the expropriation of relics Robin Coningham and Prishanta Gunawardhana; 16. Partitioning the past: India's archaeological heritage after independence Nayanjot Lahiri.
An international and multidisciplinary team addresses significant ethical questions about the rights to access, manage and interpret the material remains of the past.
Geoffrey Scarre is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University and the co-founder and director of the Durham University Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage. He is the editor (with Chris Scarre) of The Ethics of Archaeology: Philosophical Perspectives on Archaeological Practice and author of several books including, most recently, Death, Mill's 'On Liberty': A Reader's Guide and On Courage. Robin Coningham is Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Archaeology at Durham University and co-founder of the Durham University Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage. Active as a field archaeologist in South Asia and Iran, he currently leads a UNESCO archaeological team which is excavating inside the temple of the Buddha's birth at Lumbini in Nepal.
“In our complex world, archaeological work has become a unique
focal point for the clash of cultures that occurs when different
stakeholders view culturally significant material in very different
ways. I highly recommend Appropriating the Past as an essential
interdisciplinary volume that addresses the deep and controversial
issues that this raises.” – Leo Groarke, University of Windsor
“Professors Scarre and Coningham have assembled a crack team of
lawyers, historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, and
philosophers to deal with cutting-edge ethical issues affecting all
disciplines that study the human past. What happens, and what
should happen, when invasive archeological techniques intrude on
sacral objects and sacred ground? When historical research
discredits stories that form the basis of cultural identity? When
indigenous peoples find their ancestry challenged by population
studies? Must we choose between treating the departed as subjects
due respect or as objects of research? Is the Enlightenment
command, ‘dare to know,’ a moral imperative or a ruthless warrant
for cultural vandalism? This book is a wake-up call that probes the
dark sides of scientific work in disciplines that have rarely been
exposed to ethical inquiry. The editors are to be congratulated on
breaking new ground.” – Douglas Lackey, Baruch College and the
Graduate Center, City University of New York
“This sophisticated volume brings together a stellar and
interdisciplinary group of cultural heritage specialists to address
ethical issues in contemporary archaeology. However, the
contributions of this book go well beyond archaeology, to address
issues of ethics, theory, and practice in cultural heritage. Their
use of the term ‘appropriation’ includes the uses, abuses, and
control over ‘the past’ more broadly. The volume makes an important
and timely contribution to the burgeoning field of international
heritage studies.” – Elizabeth S. Chilton, University of
Massachusetts Amherst
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