ARCHAEOLOGY AND COMMUNITY IN JORDAN AND GREATER SYRIA: Traditional Patterns and New Directions

Abstract

From its inception, archaeology was perceived as the domain of expert practitioners of the scientific method. The history of disjuncture between archaeological site research and local community development springs from the myths of Western scientific superior knowledge. The archaeologist-scientist-expert came armed with scientific method to excavate samples and take his reports back to Europe/America for fellow scholars. This early stereotype of the negative relationship between archaeology and community was passed on from the colonial period to the era of nationalization. The new national antiquities authorities inherited the disconnection between archaeology and local communities as the status quo. Though treated in a global context, this paper focuses on the history of this stereotype in the Levant, but gives an optimistic view of the present and future trend towards greater inclusion, using the Umm el-Jimal Project as a case in point.

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