Community-Based Archaeology: Research With, By, and for Indigenous and Local Communities

by Sonya Atalay

Archaeology impacts the lives of indigenous, local, or descendant communities. Yet often these groups have little input to archaeological research, and its results remain inaccessible. As archaeologists consider the consequences and benefits of research, the skills, methodologies, and practices required of them will differ dramatically from those of past decades. As an archaeologist and a Native American, Sonya Atalay has investigated the rewards and complex challenges of conducting research in partnership with indigenous and local communities. In Community-Based Archaeology, she outlines the principles of community-based participatory research and demonstrates how CBPR can be effectively applied to archaeology. Drawing on her own experiences with research projects in North America and the Near East, Atalay provides theoretical discussions along with practical examples of establishing and developing collaborative relationships and sharing results. This book will contribute to building an archaeology that is engaged, ethical, relevant, and sustainable.

Genres: Archaeology, Nonfiction, Anthropology

328 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

My work is in the area of engaged (public) anthropology, particularly in community-university partnerships and utilizing community-based research methods to conduct research in full partnership with indigenous and local communities. I find value in working across disciplinary boundaries to incorporate aspects of cultural anthropology, archaeology, heritage studies, and native american and indigenous studies.

I am involved in research partnerships with Native American and Turkish communities, and include community members in all aspects of the research process, from development of research designs to grant writing, ethics and IRB review, fieldwork, analysis and mobilization of results. Research is at its best when everyday people are engaged in the work of studying, protecting and teaching about their own cultural heritage. The projects I’m involved with originate locally from within communities; they build capacity, and provide substantive benefits that contribute to community well-being.

I teach graduate and undergraduate courses that provide graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience partnering with communities to identify research needs and the core tribal and community values that should be utilized as guiding principles to produce rigorous research on projects

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those interested in decolonial approaches to archaeological research- this book is a must read. Atalay speaks from a wealth of experience and offers clear ways to wrangle with the problematic tendency of archaeologists and anthropologists to exploit communities and indigenous folks for research purposes.

[Anna P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Each chapter could probably stand alone for the most part, but that also makes each chapter quite repetitive minus some changing elements/focuses. Atalay’s work is phenomenal and this is an excellent teaching guide (hence why each chapter can probably be used independently).