From Tomb Raider to Indiana Jones: Pitfalls and Potential Promise of Archaeology in Pop Culture

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "From Tomb Raider to Indiana Jones: Pitfalls and Potential Promise of Archaeology in Pop Culture," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this symposium, we will examine the ways in which preconceptions about history both influences and has been influenced by the discipline of archaeology. It will address the dialogical relationship of cultural heritage between archaeologists, academics, indigenous groups, and non-archaeologists as mediated through the lens of popular culture. Functioning as one way in which history is transformed into heritage, pop culture within our modern era is also the main focal point of interaction that the general public has in perceptions of the past. This symposium will address how pop culture presents both "history" and those who are intimately tied to it, looking to understand how various representations in media—from television shows, film, books, video games, and more—has functioned to either perpetuate stereotypes or how it can be used as a means of regaining narrative control by these groups.