Combating Inequality: Archaeology and the Production of Capital in the 21st Century

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Americans are in the midst of an intense debate over inequality. As wealth and status become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, many are asking how this situation came to be. In a post Occupy Wall Street era, Thomas Piketty’s economic treatise Capital in the Twenty-First Century has topped the New York Times nonfiction Best Seller List. Moviegoers have flocked to economic documentaries, such as Robert Reich’s Inequality for All. And, television pundits refer frequently to the 1% and the 99%, a new shorthand for the haves and have-nots. Pierre Bourdieu has suggested that such inequity derives, in part, from the unequal distribution of capital, be it economic, cultural, or social. According to Bourdieu (1986: 83), capital is "a force inscribed in the objectivity of things so that everything is not equally possible or impossible." Participants in this session examine whether archaeology can combat some aspects of contemporary inequality by producing forms of capital that benefit the communities for which we work. By doing so, participants explore concrete ways practicing archaeology can promote public welfare and foster social change.

Other Keywords
community archaeology • inequality • Ideology • Maya • Mesoamerica • Economic Development • Capitalism • Experimental Archaeology • Tourism • Public Archaeology

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica • Arctic • West Asia

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-8 of 8)

  • Documents (8)
Documents
  • Archaeology and Economic Development (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Arlene Fleming.

    Archaeology contributes to local, national and international economic development in numerous respects, a fact that is gaining increasing attention through study and analysis. For years, large-scale multi-year excavations provided seasonal wages to local workers and supported community craft industries, although the revenues were rarely quantified or regarded as local economic development. Archaeological sites, when featured as tourist attractions, can comprise a lucrative source of revenue for...

  • Archaeology and the Production of Capital in the 21st Century (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sarah Kurnick.

    Over the last two decades, archaeologists have increasingly debated whether and how archaeology can be used to promote public welfare and foster progressive social change. Some scholars have emphasized the methodological importance of praxis. Others have emphasized the pragmatic need for public intellectuals. And, still others have emphasized the ethical necessity of community engagement. In this paper, I maintain that archaeology can and should be an ally in the effort to understand, and...

  • Can Archaeology Slow Down Fast Capitalism? (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Randall McGuire.

    The great intellectual myth of the end of the 20th century was that the 21st century dawned in a world of "posts"; post industrial, post colonial and most importantly post capitalist. The sociologist Ben Agger has argued that we do not live in a post capitalist world but rather in a world of hyped up Capitalism or Fast Capitalism. More recently, the economist Thomas Piketty has redirected economic research back to the study of wealth and Capital. his work sustains Karl Marx's fundamental...

  • Decision-making and the Practice of Community Archaeology in southern Belize (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Claire Novotny.

    In the Maya region, sometimes communities are not consulted about access to archaeological sites, research programs, or the management of local heritage once research is completed. Consequently, one source of inequality between archaeologists and local communities is access to decision-making as a form of cultural capital. By positioning ourselves as primary decision-makers, archaeologists can inhibit access to knowledge about the past. The Aguacate Community Archaeology Project, conducted in...

  • Heritage That Gives Back: Community Development and Heritage Preservation in Tihosuco, Mexico (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kasey Diserens. Tiffany Cain. Richard Leventhal.

    The Heritage Preservation and Community Development Project in Tihosuco, Quintana Roo is a community based anthropological program that seeks to combat the visible economic and social inequality in the region. Such inequalities exist both between the tourists and laborers as well as between the larger economic centers and peripheral indigenous communities. While the project seeks to bridge some gaps by creating jobs and a small-scale tourism market, we also explore ways to have an impact upon...

  • Protecting cultural heritage by promoting community welfare in the Syrian conflict (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Brian Daniels.

    The recent conflict in Syria and Iraq has upended all aspects of aspects of daily life. There are now over 250,000 dead, and millions have been displaced. Famous heritage sites embedded within the region’s cultural landscape have been damaged or destroyed. In the face of such human tragedy, what can archaeologists do? This paper discusses the efforts of the Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq (SHOSI) Project, which are aimed at both alleviating human suffering and protecting heritage...

  • Sámi Boat Building in a Cultural Revitalization Context: Unifying Community and Anthropological Goals (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Matthew Magnani. Natalia Magnani.

    The arctic indigenous people known as the Sámi inhabit northern Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden, comprising distinctive cultures and languages. The group has experienced a legacy of subjugation strongly evidenced to this day. In northern Finland, the expansion of community-driven cultural heritage revitalization programs have focused on the reclamation of traditional knowledge perceived as lost or disappearing. This remembering is an active process which involves engagement with past material...

  • Using Archaeology to Pursue Social Justice at Punta Laguna, Mexico (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only David Rogoff.

    Over the last several decades, the citizens of Punta Laguna, Mexico have developed a successful ecotourism venture in the spider monkey preserve in which they live. However, recent challenges to the usufruct agreement through which the preserve operates have jeopardized the future of the community's business. At present, the archaeological site of Punta Laguna, which lies within the preserve's boundaries, is little more than a passive backdrop to other tourist activities. We propose developing...