Archaeology after Nationalism: Globalization and the Consumption of the Past
Author(s)
Baram, Uzi; Rowan, Yorke
Abstract
The issues surrounding the interpretations and presentations of past peoples and institutions is one made complex by the number of implications it makes. Archaeology used to be the tool of the state, used to strengthen conceptions of nationality and statehood, though it is increasingly becoming a matter of education and the intersection that researchers encounter with increasing globalization. Heritage has now become a commodity, as in the post-national world the complexities of claiming ownership are shown to be far more involved than previously thought. Heritage sites, the product of archaeological excavations and historical investigations, are now a serious commodity in the global tourist market. Though some claim that the power relations involved in globalization are integral to the United States hegemony in world affairs, this seems to ignore the fact that globalization has considerable impact both on the United States and on the tourists that visit it. The tension between the unique and the common that form the past raises an important challenge, is a site and its stories unique, open for use in the marketplace of global tourism or universal for all people? This volume offers the concerns, themes, and examples; the studies in it point out problems, pressures and possibilities in the marketing of heritage around the world.
