Wicked Problems in Archaeology: Applying a Social Impact Framework and Entrepreneurship Mindset to Cultural Heritage Management

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeologists operate within a conflicted position in the commercial business of cultural heritage management. As collaborators with industry and as players within a state bureaucracy, they are beholden to regulations and complicit in the destruction of sites. While archaeologists aim to produce practical benefits for society in general, or at the very least, minimise the impacts on heritage and communities, commercial archaeologists must recognise their position in the neoliberal framework and leverage their role to produce economic outcomes for Indigenous communities involved in commercial archaeological engagements. Archaeologists must seek alternatives to the wicked problems of inequality and disadvantage in Indigenous communities. Applying a social impact framework and an entrepreneurial mindset to cultural heritage management can produce social outcomes and systemic change, rather than focus on single-issue activities and projects. By advocating for collaborative, holistic and adaptive problem solving approaches which emphasise empathy and a more compassionate form of capitalism, archaeologists can pursue innovative solutions which close the gap on social inequality while achieving the commercial outcomes expected of them.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24596