Ethics, Etiquette and Engagement: The Role of Archaeologists in Active Opposition

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interactions with Pseudoarchaeology: Approaches to the Use of Social Media and the Internet for Correcting Misconceptions of Archaeology in Virtual Spaces" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Stewardship in archaeology has had it's run around the debate block regarding definitions and scope as to whom and what archaeologists are exactly protecting and promoting out of the archaeological record. Ethical principles of public outreach, accountability, preservation and reporting coincide with an archaeologists responsibility to utilize their specialized training to promoting understanding and support within the greater community. Todays efflusive information accessibility and the popularity of well produced psuedoscientific infotainment have created bottlenecks of misinformation that have an insidious effect on the public intellect. It is therefore the ethical responsibility for the professional engagement of archaeologists to actively oppose psuedoscience in the media. As false news is passed as educational material, we owe it to the scientific community, the public, and the archaeological record to be stewards on the front line against alternative facts, biased histories, and ancient aliens. This presentation will exhibit the ethical imperative for the professional engagement of archaeologists with psuedoscience in public venues in order to improve and progress scientifically accurate community outreach and social understanding.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Interactions with Pseudoarchaeology: Approaches to the Use of Social Media and the Internet for Correcting Misconceptions of Archaeology in Virtual Spaces

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26229