The Public Archaeology of Death by HowardWilliams, BenedictWills‐Eve, and JenniferOsborne Sheffield: Equinox, 2019. 212 pp.

This Introduction to AP’s third special issue seeks to provide context and rationale to the study of ‘public mortuary archaeology’ before reviewing the development of the volume. Building on the presentations of the first Public Archaeology Twitter Conference of April 2017, these articles comprise a wide range of original analyses reflecting on the public archaeology of death, including evaluations of fieldwork contexts, churches and museums. These articles are joined by discussions of the digital dimensions to public mortuary archaeology, an appraisal of ancient and modern DNA research as public mortuary archaeology, and the relationship between mortuary archaeology and palliative care. Together, the articles constitute the state of current thinking on the public archaeology of death, burial and commemoration.

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The public archaeology of death

Mortality ◽

10.1080/13576275.2019.1662384 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 251-252

Author(s):

Faye Sayer

Keyword(s):

Public Archaeology ◽

The Public ◽

Archaeology Of Death

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Touching the Past to Remember the Past

Advances in Archaeological Practice ◽

10.1017/aap.2020.38 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 389-397

Author(s):

Meghan J. Dudley ◽

Jenna Domeischel

Keyword(s):

Social Memory ◽

Special Section ◽

Daily Basis ◽

Public Archaeology ◽

Human Condition ◽

The Other ◽

Archaeological Theory ◽

The Public ◽

The Past ◽

Introductory Article

ABSTRACTAlthough we, as archaeologists, recognize the value in teaching nonprofessionals about our discipline and the knowledge it generates about the human condition, there are few of these specialists compared to the number of archaeologists practicing today. In this introductory article to the special section titled “Touching the Past to Learn the Past,” we suggest that, because of our unique training as anthropologists and archaeologists, each of us has the potential to contribute to public archaeology education. By remembering our archaeological theory, such as social memory, we can use the artifacts we engage with on a daily basis to bridge the disconnect between what the public hopes to gain from our interactions and what we want to teach them. In this article, we outline our perspective and present an overview of the other three articles in this section that apply this approach in their educational endeavors.

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How to Podcast in Archaeology

Advances in Archaeological Practice ◽

10.1017/aap.2018.20 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 259-266

Author(s):

Colin P. Amundsen ◽

Cristina Belmonte

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Digital Media ◽

General Public ◽

Public Archaeology ◽

Social Media Marketing ◽

Public Outreach ◽

Trial And Error ◽

Business World ◽

The Public ◽

Broad Approach

ABSTRACTThe problem for archaeologists doing public outreach could be that we do not know who our audience is. Marketing to just the public at large is an extremely broad approach filled with the pitfalls of not engaging enough of the public, so it might be necessary to first find out who within the general public would have the most interest in your discovery and then tailor your presentation to that audience. At the podcastCooking with Archaeologistswe are using digital media, social media marketing, and our experience from the business world to do just that. Podcasting has been a trial-and-error project filled with uncertainty and doubt, and for archaeologists engaged in public archaeology it might be a practical approach to reaching the public and a medium to build an engaged and interested audience. In this “how-to” article, we will reveal what we have learned from this exciting and somewhat demanding venture and suggest how podcasting is a democratizing venture that connects the public to archaeology and the archaeologist.

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No news is better than evil news. Clearing up the way to face Alternative Archaeologies

AP Online Journal in Public Archaeology ◽

10.23914/ap.v2i0.17 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 122

Author(s):

Jaime Almansa Sánchez

Keyword(s):

Everyday Life ◽

Public Archaeology ◽

The Political ◽

The Public ◽

Professional Discipline ◽

The Past ◽

Political Interpretation ◽

Better Than ◽

The Way

While Archaeology started to take form as a professional discipline, Alternative Archaeologies grew in several ways. As the years went by, the image of Archaeology started being corrupted by misconceptions and a lot of imagination, and those professionals that were claiming to be scientists forgot one of their first responsibilities; the public. This lack of interest is one of the reasons why today, a vast majority of society believes in many clichés of the past that alternative archaeologists have used to build a fictitious History that is not innocent at all. From UFOs and the mysteries of great civilizations to the political interpretation of the past, the dangers of Alternative Archaeologies are clear and under our responsibility. This paper analyzes this situation in order to propose a strategy that may make us the main characters of the popular imagery in the mid-term. Since confrontation and communication do not seem to be effective approaches, we need a change in the paradigm based on Public Archaeology and the increase of our presence in everyday life.

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Public Archaeology in Nepal: Now and in the next 10 years

AP Online Journal in Public Archaeology ◽

10.23914/ap.v10i0.297 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 73

Author(s):

Neel Kamal Chapagain

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Critical Mass ◽

Public Archaeology ◽

Primary Reason ◽

Asian Countries ◽

The Public ◽

General Lack ◽

Crisis Situations

In Nepal – and perhaps true in other South Asian countries as well, the term ‘public archaeology’ is not very frequently used among heritage professionals. Though it exists in limited use, largely the heritage practice including archaeology in Nepal is experts or authority driven. Perhaps the primary reason for this is the lack of a critical mass of archaeologists and broader heritage practitioners as well as a general lack of awareness among the public. There are disciplinary crisis situations prevalent across heritage related studies and practice areas in Nepal. However, with the increasing landscape of academic programmes and professional awareness among younger generations, we can be hopeful. Hence, I would expect that we will be able to create sufficient interests among students and younger professionals towards archaeology and heritage.

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Dealing with a hangover of Public Archaeology: Scattered thoughts on the Italian ‘Archeologia Pubblica’

AP Online Journal in Public Archaeology ◽

10.23914/ap.v10i0.294 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 53

Author(s):

Francesca Benetti

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Public Archaeology ◽

The Public ◽

National Conference ◽

The Subject ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

University Of Florence ◽

The University ◽

First Time ◽

Scientific Topic

Public Archaeology is a young discipline, we all know that. It’s even younger in Italy, where public archaeology has not even reached ‘adulthood’. Cited for the first time by Armando De Guio in 2000 (De Guio and Bressan 2000), it was only a decade later that Public Archaeology has started to become ‘a thing’, thanks to some pioneering experiences at the University of Florence (Bonacchi 2009; Vannini 2011), and especially after a national conference in 2012 (in Florence: see Zuanni 2013 for a summary). Italian archaeologists’ first reaction was to overlap the new discipline with the experiences already in place, which in Italy were under the category of ‘valorizzazione’ (enhancement). They were not exactly the same: while Public Archaeology is characterised by a reflection on the objectives of the research from the very start, a focus on having a reliable methodology, and a strong element linked to evaluation, ‘enhancement’ experiences – while often valuable and successful – lacked the same structure and reliability. This is probably due to an underestimation of these practices as a scientific topic, thus deserving the same structure required for any other type of research. Often this resulted in a mere description of the activities carried out, with a generic objective like ‘increasing the knowledge of archaeology in the public sphere’ without really evaluating if the activities worked or not. Public Archaeology became a sort of a trendy subject, outdating the term ‘valorizzazione’, at least in most of the university milieu, and creating confusion on the subject and the methodology. This sometimes has led to a sort of ‘hangover’ effect, similar to what happens with summer songs: they sound fun when you first hear them, but after months you just want to move on! Few doctoral theses awarded in Archaeology have been devoted to topics related to Public Archaeology up to the present date and the risk is that after this ‘hangover’ the subject will be penalised in comparison to others.

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Communicating Cultural Heritage Resources to the Public: Experiences from the Makonde of Mtwara Region, Tanzania.

AP Online Journal in Public Archaeology ◽

10.23914/ap.v8i1.220 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

Festo Wachawaseme Gabriel

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

General Public ◽

Local Communities ◽

Public Archaeology ◽

The State ◽

African Countries ◽

The Public ◽

The World

Communicating cultural heritage to the public has gained popularity in many African countries and the world at large. However,little efforts have been done to promote the practice of public archaeology in Tanzania. The main reason is the dominance of conventional archaeology which is mainly meant for academic consumption. In this kind of practice, the participation of local communities has been passive. This paper explores local communities’ understanding of cultural heritage resources focusing on local communities in the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. The results of this study reveal that little effort has been made by archaeologists and cultural heritage professionals to create awareness among local communities on matters related to archaeology and cultural heritage resources. Apart from discussing the state of local communities’ awareness on archaeology and cultural heritage resources, the paper also discusses the importance of communicating cultural heritage resources to the general public and the need to engage local communities in the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage resources.

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