Heritage, Communities and Archaeology

This book traces the history of the development of 'community archaeology', identifying both its advantages and disadvantages by describing how and why tensions have arisen between archaeological and community understandings of the past, and the various uses that interpretations of the past are put to. The focus of the book is the conceptual disjunction between heritage and data and the problems this poses for both archaeologists and communities in communicating and engaging with each other. In order to explain the extent of the miscommunication that can occur between archaeologists and communities, the book examines the ways in which a range of community groups, including communities of expertise, define and negotiate memory and identity. Critical attention has been paid to the assertion of the 'local' in response to globalization processes, and this book examines how local communities and communities of shared cultural and social experiences mediate collective memory and identity. Importantly, the book explores the ways in which these expressions are used, or are taken up, in struggles over cultural recognition ' and ultimately, the practical, ethical, political and theoretical implications this has for archaeologists engaging in community work. Finally, it argues that there are very real advantages for archaeological research, theory and practice to be gained from engaging with communities.

Laurajane Smith is Reader in Heritage Studies, University of York. Emma Waterton is Academic Fellow in History and Heritage, Keele University.