Archaeology and New or Alternative Religious Movements

New and alternative religious movements make copious use of ancient symbols, beliefs, and practices. From the use of the Egyptian ankh in the Western occult tradition to the creation of Neo-Pagan Druidic orders and identities, these symbols, beliefs, and practices hold potent meanings to those who employ them today—meanings that are grounded in a perceived authenticity derived from their antiquity. The act of reuse, however, resituates and thereby alters the meanings and significance of these things. For many archaeologists, this shift in meaning creates a tension with the representations of ancient cultures as produced by the academy. Our session will explore this tension through analyses of newly creative or appropriative religious and spiritual behaviors involving archaeological materials, as well as the ramifications of these acts for public archaeology.