If I was back in the USA and someone made Indiana Jones jokes to me because they knew I was on a dig, I would probably stare at them with a blank expression for several minutes and as my brain would try to comprehend why they would think that was funny. After I get past that, I would explain that obviously Indiana Jones is a fictional movie, but it does portray classical theory of archaeology that can cause a dominant narrative and feelings of possessiveness over pieces of past and cultures that do not belong to us.
Indiana’s line “It belongs in a museum!,” is a great example of why classical archaeology can lead to a possessive thought and power. It implies that we have the right and ownership of what we excavate and does not include the thought process that goes into why we chose sites to excavate. Nor does it respect that the artifacts that are found do not belong to us, but of the people of the past. With that, it also excludes questions about how archaeology affects cultures that continue today and the debates about that has ownership to what, and if anyone has ownership at all.
Along with this, I would explain that it is always important to question yourself as to why you are excavating and what you are doing with the site. At the end of the day, archaeologists change the landscape and sometimes the topography of the land in hopes to expose a glimpse of the past. We should have good reasoning and theories along with respect for the land’s past and current people. It is also not a treasure hunt; we should not be going into our excavations searching for walls, tombs, or gold. By searching for what you want, you miss what is in front of you and you forget to represent the past to the best of your ability.
By the end, I would explain that my goal with site AC6C is to level the area, articulate the walls, and be explicit about as much as I possibly can in my official site notebook. When you are explicit and note everything from soil change to the location of pottery or roof tile, you continue to give life to the objects and landscapes. As archaeologists, we are always “destroying” what is in our site, but by being explicit and giving noting what we do and see always for a sort of afterlife for the landscape and objects found.
