Theorizing the Archive and Ethics of Open Access Archaeology

Abstract

Both the Chaco Research Archive (CRA) and the recently launched Salmon Pueblo (SPARC) project focus on the cultural heritage of the American Southwest. But cultural heritage, in this context, is far from a singular proposition. Ancestral connections to places like Chaco Canyon and Salmon Pueblo are historically complex and, at times, divisive among contemporary stewards of this landscape and among the 26 culturally affiliated Tribes and Nations. The 15-year arc of these two projects has brought a range of responses from descendent communities. For while web-accessible data projects may enhance access to archives and cultural heritage materials, such projects also promulgate certain ways of understanding the past. In this chapter, the author discusses the evolving ethical concerns that have informed the evolution of these efforts as well as the inherent perils and potential of open-access, cultural heritage materials.

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