The Plastic Bag Paradox: Taphonomy and Complicity in the Archaeological Archive

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Storeroom Taphonomies: Site Formation in the Archaeological Archive" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Plastics present a paradox for archaeology. They are ubiquitous and inevitable, taking myriad forms—bags for artifacts, tarps for units, containers for storage, etc.—in excavation and archival settings. Their utilitarian value is predicated on the presumption of durability and stability. But for how long and in what kind of conditions? Evidence marshaled highlights the inconvenient truth of plastics’ degradations (plural, for not all plastics are built the same), as well as the discipline’s analytical inattention to their taphonomic transformation. (This inattention is a special kind of irony for a field that prides itself on studying the preservation of material culture over the longue durée.) With a growing awareness of plastics’ ties to global pollution and climate change, archaeologists’ continued reliance may be read as complicity. The identification of sustainable alternatives is one possible solution. Though it is one not easily realized. Perhaps more realistically—and more in line with decolonial work—the plastics paradox nudges archaeologists to assess the unsustainability of our disciplinary ethos, especially those practices that promote endless excavation, storage, and curation of archaeological materials.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Storeroom Taphonomies: Site Formation in the Archaeological Archive   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39188.0