Between consumption and extermination: archaeologies of modern imperialism

Summary

In this introduction to the session, an outline of the existing and possible archaeologies of imperialism will be sketched. Emphasis will be put on the potential of archaeology to construct alternative narratives on Western colonialism from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. It will be argued that this kind of archaeology has to take into account violence (both physical and symbolic), but also forms of hybridization, war as well as trade and exchange, open and subtle resistance, and hegemonic practices. Furthermore, an archaeology of imperialism has to look beyond the colonized nations and examine the effects of empire within the metropolis, both during the period of colonization and afterwards. Finally, archaeology is in a good position to undertake a long-term study of the phenomenon, as it can look at the roots of imperialism in previous colonial projects and examine present imperial or neoimperial material practices.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Late Empires: the archaeology of recent colonialism and imperialism - 1860s to the present   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 144