The Virtuous Archaeologist

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Research Hot Off the Trowel in the Upper Gila and Mimbres Areas" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeology is a scientific profession critical to understanding the story humans have written on the world over the course of our history. However, unlike many areas of scientific study, the “subjects” of that scientific inquiry are ultimately people, leading to a complex system of ethics surrounding the treatment of evidence and its place in the archaeological story. The ethics of telling that story are not only the archaeologist’s job but also must guide our choices on how data is gathered, what is done with it, and how we interact with living communities. Three virtues, already present in archaeological practices, could provide comprehensive moral guidance to the story we tell of the past as well. Whether we gather enough information to tell a more complete story as we understand it contributes to integrity. Thoughtful representations of past people and ensuring their legacy remains protected helps the profession to be just. Ensuring that the voices of past peoples’ descendants are heard, as they have knowledge of their ancestors’ culture necessary to tell a more complete story, could be termed professional collaboration. These virtues can provide moral guidance towards a method of archaeology that flourishes as a science of people, by people, for people.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Research Hot Off the Trowel in the Upper Gila and Mimbres Areas

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32980