De-Centering Expertise in Public Archaeology: Promises and Perils from the Great Bay Archaeological Survey

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Public Archaeology in New Hampshire: Museum and University Research" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Great Bay Archaeological Survey (GBAS) explores early colonial settlements in the Great Bay Estuary (1620-1750 AD). Public and community are buzzwords in conversations around the future of archaeology because there is a sense we must have real buy-in from the broader public to remain relevant. However, developing an actual public/community-engaged project is not straightforward. Our project works from the view that archaeologists cannot be the sole voice of local histories. Our project aims to actively decenter the expert/community divide long extant in the discipline by actively centering the public not just in fieldwork but also as essential team members actively contributing to the development of research questions and interpretation. This paper explores our approach to distributing voice and power, the strengths of our approach as well as pitfalls we have encountered.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Public Archaeology in New Hampshire: Museum and University Research   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 353