Transforming Archaeology ─ Activist Practices and Prospects

Archaeology for whom? The dozen well-known contributors to this innovative volume suggest nothing less than a transformation of the discipline into a service-oriented, community-based endeavor. They wish to replace the primacy of meeting academic demands with meeting the needs and values of those outside the field who may benefit most from our work. They insist that we employ both rigorous scientific methods and an equally rigorous critique of those practices to ensure that our work addresses real-world social, environmental, and political problems. A transformed archaeology requires both personal engagement and a new toolkit. Thus, in addition to the theoretical grounding and case materials from around the world, each contributor offers a personal statement of their goals and an outline of collaborative methods that can be adopted by other archaeologists.

Sonya Atalay is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and received postdoctoral funding from the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Atalay’s primary research interests are related to engaged anthropology ? particularly the use of community-based research methodologies, intellectual property in relation to indigenous cultural heritage, and research ethics and protocols when working with indigenous communities. She has served on and chaired committees within the American Anthropological Association and the Society for American Archaeology, and two terms as a member for the National Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Review Committee. Her recent book, Community-based Archaeology: Research with, by and for Indigenous and Local Communities (2012, University of California Press) provides theoretical discussions and methodological guidance on conducting community based participatory archaeology and cultural heritage research. Lee Rains Clauss is an archaeologist and advocate for Native American communities' sovereignty and stewardship of cultural resources. She has 15 years of experience in historic preservation law and federal regulatory compliance, with a broad theoretical and technical background that also includes architectural history, Tribal heritage management, curation, and community-based participatory research. Her degrees include a B.S. in Historic Preservation from Southeast Missouri State University and an M.A. in Anthropology with an emphasis in Applied Archaeology from Northern Arizona University. Clauss currently works as a consultant for the Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo's Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) in California and was previously employed as the Historic Preservation Specialist for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina; a THPO interssistant for the White Mountain Apache in Arizona; and a curation and NAGPRA fellow for the US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (MCX-CMAC). Clauss also teaches courses in Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Native American History and Culture, and Tribal and Ethnic Religions. Clauss is actively involved in professional service and currently serves as the chair of the Society for American Archaeology Government Affairs Committee. Randall H. McGuire is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. He received his BA from the University of Texas and his MA and PhD from the University of Arizona. He has taught at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and at the Esquela Nacional de Antropologia y Historia in Mexico City. He has published extensively on Marxist theory and Indigenous archaeology. From 1996 to 2007, he and Dean Saitta of the University of Denver directed the Archaeology of the Colorado Coal Field War, 1913-1914 project near Trinidad, Colorado. He has worked with Elisa Villalpando of the Centro INAH, Sonora for 29 years investigating the Trincheras Tradition of northern Sonora, Mexico. The Spanish summary of their excavations at Cerro de Trincheras, Entre Muros de Piedra was published in Hermosillo, Sonora in 2010. The full site report on the excavations was published by the Arizona State Museum in 2011. His latest books include Archaeology as Political Action, The Archaeology of Class War with Karin Larkin, and Ideologies in Archaeology with Reinhard Bernbeck. He recently published ?Steel Walls and Picket Fences: Rematerializing the U.S.?Mexican Border in Ambos Nogales” in American Anthropologist (2013, 115(3):466-480). His webpage is http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~rmcguire/index.html. John R. Welch is a Canada research chair and associate professor, jointly appointed in the Department of Archaeology and School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon