Community-Based Archaeology and the SAA Ethics Principles
Maria Franklin (UT-Austin) Presentation November 7-11, 2001
I. Introduction
A. What is Community-based Archaeology?
We often use "community" and "public" interchangeably with little opposition, and this was admittedly the first time I've had to put in writing, or commit myself to a definition of community.
Defining "community":
-Can be a question of scale and location in space (local = neighborhood, citizens of a town or city; transnational or global where electronic media or cyberspace serves to connect ideas and people)
Examples: Levi Jordan Plantation Website, TARL and THC Historic Atlas website
-As bound by a shared identity along lines of ethnicity, race, nationality, gender, sexuality, etc. across space.
Examples: African Burial Ground project, Rich Neck Slave Quarter excavations
-As defined by a common heritage and ancestry tied to a specific locale and/or individuals that usually involves a shared identity along various vectors of socially-constructed differences (e.g. race, ethnicity), but not always (e.g. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings descendants: some of these descendants position themselves as white and some as black, but acknowledge that they are part of the same descendant community or family).
Example: Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery project.
I attempted first to emphasize the "local" because it is at this scale where we seem to be able to work most effectively in establishing partnerships where community members are involved in the actual investigation of the site. But of course, there was the added pressure of integrating these with the ethics principles, and here's where sticking to our definition of community as "local" became problematic. For example, for Principle #7 (Records and Preservation), some of the best examples involve the internet to achieve timely reporting and maximum public access. The archaeologists involved in the case studies I use certainly had local community interests in mind, but they were also thinking on a much larger scale that is arguably not what we might define as "community-based".
I simply used the "Teaching Archaeology in the 21st Century" as a guideline for choosing case studies, and for creating assignments for possible course work. The articles helped immensely in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each case study, and for developing strategies for incorporating the principles for curricular reform developed at the Wakulla Springs workshop into assignments.
B. The Case Studies
1. Casting the net widely…
Pam and I cast the net as widely as possible:
-Archaeology and Histarch listserves (word of mouth)
-SAA Public Education committee (Maureen Malloy)
-Contacted colleagues
-Searched the internet
I will need to work harder on developing case studies. I know that for historical archaeology, a lot of the community-based projects are simply carried out but left unrecorded. Regretfully, much like a number of our sites! We hear about many such projects at the annual SHA conference, and people are choosing to develop websites on local outreach efforts. I got almost no replies from archaeologists working outside the U.S., or on prehistoric sites. So, I ended up in very familiar territory, as the case studies I'll be discussing are all from historical archaeology, and involve African Americans. But I will work to rectify this so that in the end we have a far more representative group of case studies that can be used for teaching.
2. Rationale in selecting case studies
a) These are long-term projects that will continue for some time to come. So they'll still be relevant case studies for at least as long as our MATRIX project. And because they've been active projects for a while, there's been a lot of information generated that can be used for instruction.
b) There were a variety of sources associated with each that made them far more flexible for classroom use. These include websites, academic articles and conference papers, site reports, newspaper and magazine articles, slides or enough graphic material to produce slides, and for the African Burial Ground there's a video (Bill Kurtis Productions, "New Explorers" series for PBS).
c) Where I clearly didn't succeed was in trying to develop case studies that would be of use to every proposed course, since almost all the case studies involve historical archaeology. But hopefully, now that you know what we're looking for, you can help direct us to potential sources to compile a more diverse set of case studies.
II. The SAA Ethics Principles, Case Studies, and Assignments
For the remainder of my talk I'll discuss the case studies and assignments for three of the ethics principles: accountability, public reporting and publication, and records and preservation. I came up with a possible assignment for each ethics principle, and along with my cases, the principles for curricular reform are highlighted as "teaching objectives". To recap, these are:
-Stewardship
-Diverse interests
-Social relevance
-Professional ethics and values
-Communication
-Basic archaeological skills
-Real world problem-solving
#1 STEWARDSHIP (covered by P. Cressey)
#2 ACCOUNTABILITY
Responsible archaeological research, including all levels of professional activity, requires an acknowledgment of public accountability and a commitment to make every reasonable effort, in good faith, to consult actively with affected group(s), with the goal of establishing a working relationship that can be beneficial to all parties involved.
With this principle, it was easy to identify examples that emphasized local interaction. The ones that I'll discuss involved a great deal of initial conflict between the community and archaeologists. These can be used in a classroom to illustrate the potential conflicts that arise when archaeologists fail to put this principle into action and continue to conduct business as usual. In contrast, Pam's examples are good for demonstrating how archaeologists should proceed.
A. The Wake-up Call: ABG Project
While a number of texts regarding the ethics and sociopolitics of archaeology have been in circulation since at least the 1980s, American historical archaeology largely entered this domain when the events surrounding the African Burial Ground project hit them square in the face.
In 1991, the U.S. General Services Administration's plan to erect a 34-story, office building in the heart of Manhattan included a contract to remove a number of burials on the building site. Historical documents indicated that the interments marked the "nation's earliest and largest African burial ground," dating from before 1712 to 1794. The excavations eventually sparked the most public, heated debate to date over archaeological remains from a historic site. In response to what was perceived as the blatant mishandling of ancestral remains, and the failure to communicate with anyone within the black community about this significant find, New York's African American community mobilized and went into action. Through a petition drive, repeated protests, and the involvement of prominent blacks - including former mayor David Dinkins — black New Yorkers succeeded in overtaking the project, and remained involved in all subsequent analysis and treatment of the remains. The despondent archaeologists were wholly unprepared for the charges of racism, and this challenge to their authority to write the past as they saw fit.
Some of the decisions arrived at by the black community included:
- Michael Blakey at Howard University was chosen to head up the project
- the remains were to be re-interred after their study, and a museum and historic marker were to be created.
- black community were instrumental in devising research question: country or tribe of origin, health issues.
- Insisted that public outreach be done, and that educational programs for school kids be implemented.
B. Case Study: Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery, TX
Freedman's town (North Dallas) established soon after emancipation; people moved there in search of family, and gainful employment. It stood on the outskirts of Dallas proper, as freedmen faced harsh discrimination. Blacks faced fines and 6 month prison terms just for walking Dallas streets via a vagrancy ordinance (1865) put in place to discourage blacks from entering town.
Previously, people were buried in the Old Dallas Burial Ground (1840s-1869; integrated). But with heightened segregation, the Freedmen's Cemetery went into operation from 1869-1906, spanning Reconstruction and the Jim Crow eras. Blacks of all socioeconomic backgrounds, from affluent businessmen to indigents were laid to rest there. It was condemned several years before its closing by the Sanitary Committee which complained that the cemetery was overcrowded (not true).
When the city of Dallas decided to expand the North Central Expressway (Hwy 75), in the 1980s, construction compromised the burial ground. By the time archaeologists were called in to salvage the site a number of burials had already been bulldozed, and it was discovered that highway construction during the 1940s had paved over an acre of the site. Further, no dated tombstones were found in situ: the site had been desecrated over the years and the city was responsible for breaking up tombstones to use as roadfill. Although TxDot initially contacted members of the black community as early as 1986 to ask for their blessings in conducting excavations, the relationship between archaeologists and black Dallasites was generally rocky early on in the process. Descendant community members sought more involvement.
Example: In searching for an area in which to rebury human remains, land was stripped via backhoe. Unfortunately, the thousands of artifacts and shells which were bulldozed turned out to be the material vestiges of black ancestral veneration that we find is a well-know practice amongst some African Americans.
The Dallas Freedmen's Cemetery project is the most expensive and one of the largest historic cemetery removal projects ever to be undertaken in the US: 1150 burials excavated. TXDot eventually invested a roughly 12 million dollars to have the site properly excavated and analyzed, to collect oral histories from the descendants, and to ensure that public education, especially outreach to Dallas school kids, was a major part of the project.
To oversee the project a steering committee was created in 1997 comprised of members of the descendant community (some who were direct descendants), black academics, and archaeologists with the new CRM firm hired to do the work. A traveling exhibit dedicated to Black Dallas with artifacts from the excavations were recently on display at the African American museum in Dallas, and a memorial has been set up honoring the site and community (last remains were reinterred in 1995). Black Dallasites were instrumental in bringing these accomplishments about (Black Dallas Remembers, The African American Museum).
C. Alternative Case Study: The University of Southern Mississippi Archaeology Program: The Mound Bayou and Saragossa Plantation projects.
USM's Amy Young has been conducting archaeology throughout Mississippi in the hopes of investigating the diverse pasts of African Americans during and after slavery. In doing so, the objective of USM's archaeology program is to conduct community-based archaeology in full partnership with the local descendants. She admits that it's been a difficult road to travel, as there have been mixed reactions. At Saragossa Plantation, a number of black residents were reluctant to talk with archaeologists, finding little of value in archaeological research. Some have expressed shame in the subject of slavery, no doubt compounded by the fact that outsiders, white university students and teachers, are the ones involved with investigating this past. But there have been black residents who've eagerly shared oral histories, and who are involved with the ethnoarchaeological aspects of the project. Perhaps the archaeologists learned a number of lessons at Saragossa, for the subsequent project at Mound Bayou was carried out quite differently, and with far more success in terms of community partnering. Also could do with the fact of the status of locals, depressed economy.
Mound Bayou was a black freedmen's town established by a former slave in 1887 specifically to serve as a self-suficient haven for blacks in the Delta region. While the town thrived during its early decades, with black-owned businesses and black leadership, political and economic pressure from surrounding white towns resulted in Mound Bayou's town. Today, young black residents eventually leave looking for opportunities elsewhere.
In order to instill revitalize community pride and to the young about their history, the "Digging for the Dream" project was initiated by the community itself. They chose the theme, the site, research questions, and the direction of the project which was to be a public excavation that would eventually become part of a traveling exhibit. Volunteers from the community comprised the bulk of the field crew. As Young relates, "The public dig at Mound Bayou was a success. Not only were I and the USM students able to more fully appreciate the history of Mound Bayou and the importance of this history to many residents, but the town of Mound Bayou began to learn of another means of preserving and passing along their heritage, to their youth, and to outsiders. I plan to continue to work at Mound Bayou as long as the residents are interested and continue to invite us back."
Assignment: Real World Problem Solving: Decision-making on the Contested Plains of Archaeological Practice
Teaching objectives:
-Diverse interests: understanding multi-vocality; addressing the concerns of diverse voices within the same community.
-Social relevance of archaeology: issues of race and power, community empowerment, social justice, historical memory and consciousness and their role in identity formation.
-Ethics and values of archaeological practice.
-Real world problem-solving: dispute resolution.
#3 COMMERCIALIZATION
#4 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH (P. Cressey)
#5 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
#6 PUBLIC REPORTING AND PUBLICATION
Within a reasonable time, the knowledge that archaeologists gain from investigation of the archaeological record must be presented in accessible form (through publication or other means) to as wide a range of interested publics as possible. The documents and materials on which publication and other forms of public reporting are based should be deposited in a suitable place for permanent safekeeping. An interest in preserving and protecting in situ archaeological sites must be taken in to account when publishing and distributing information about their nature and location.
A. Case Study: Levi Jordan Plantation, Brazoria County, TX, Website
The internet has made it possible to reach many more people than has ever been possible. In the hands of the right person, it can work wonders in desseminating information generated from archaeological investigations to a wider range of publics. The Levi Jordan plantation project team collaborated on a website that it uses as a forum for public reporting, but not in the usual manner. The site, which dates from 1848 to 1890, was first home to enslaved blacks and slaveowners, and then later to black sharecroppers and white landowners. I chose this particular case study because the website evolved out of a community-based archaeology program that was driven by the objective to be as inclusive as possible, and accountable to the descendant community. Both white and black descendants of the site's former occupants have formed the Levi Jordan Plantation Historical Society and serve as the steering committee that helps to guide the research, interpretation, and presentation of the project. Thus, they also played a role in the development of the website along with local school teachers and other community groups.
As the web author states, "one reason we created this site" was that "we wanted to learn if computers can be used to create "conversations" about archaeology and history among lots of different people." To this end, people are invited to respond via discussion forums, a feedback form, and questionnaires for both kids and adults. In essence, this is a community-based archaeology website that attempts to de-center the authority of the archaeologists. The web author, Carol McDavid, has approached the construction of this site from a standpoint that is self-reflexive, that privileges multi-vocality and interaction, and that attempts to present their findings in as transparent a form as possible by eliminating technical jargon, opening up space for others to challenge their interpretations, and by incorporating the insights of community members.
Assignment: Archaeology, Community Accountability, and the Internet
Teaching objectives:
-communication: writing for the public
-diverse interests: collaboration with local schools, black and white descendants, community organizations; different perspectives of the past
-social relevance: Levi Jordan's history as a means of strengthening community identity; empowering black descendants and importantly, this project has served as a vehicle for creating dialogue between black and white community members.
-stewardship: preserving the past.
#7 RECORDS AND PRESERVATION
Archaeologists should work actively for the preservation of, and long term access to, archaeological collections, records, and reports. To this end, they should encourage colleagues, students, and others to make responsible use of collections, records, and reports in their research as one means of preserving the in situ archaeological record, and of increasing the care and attention given to that portion of the archaeological record which has been removed and incorporated into archaeological collections, records, and reports.
For this principle, I once again turned to the internet for selecting case studies. TARL, which is our state repository, recently completed a project placing on line all of the records, maps, etc. of every site recorded with the state.
A. Case Study: Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at UT
Austin
(http://www.utexas.edu/research/tarl/)
Texas Beyond History http://www.utexas.edu/research/tarl/tbh/index.html
Texas Historic Sites Atlas http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/index.html
(Restricted and Public site uses.)
B. Alternative Case Study: Digital Archaeological Archive of Chesapeake Slavery (DAACS)
http://www.monticello.org/icjs/archaeology/daacs/
Assignment: Have students write a methodological or interpretive report/paper using archaeological data from one of these websites. Alternatively, they could learn how to add maps, drawings, forms, etc. to the database.
Teaching objectives:
-diverse interests: facilitating public access to archaeological collections and publications/reports.
-stewardship: use of excavated data for student papers and assignments (i.e. conservation)
-fundamental archaeological skills: teaching students how to digitize maps, records, etc., create digital photo archive, standardization of artifact categories increasing utility of comparative database
-ethics and values: preservation laws.
#8 TRAINING AND RESOURCES (P.Cressey)