The Gods die in museums

Recently, Johannes Neurath’s book, titled Subdue the gods, doubt the images (2020) was published, which, among other things, warns that, in the archaeological museums of Mexico, including the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico City, there has been an “ontological mistreatment” of the sacred images of the pre-Hispanic era through their removal from their original locations and indistinct placement in large and cold rooms packed with monoliths, without any consideration for the fact that some were – and continue to be – images bestowed with power and influence by many communities today.

Objects as battlefields in the struggle for civil rights: The archaeology and analysis of contemporary material culture and heritage in Chile

In October of 2019 began, as a manifestation of growing discontent, in Santiago de Chile a movement of social protests popularly known as “Estallido social”. This movement marched against social inequality and high cost of living, targeting the neoliberal system established during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet as responsible. Although Chile has been a democracy since 1990, inequality and social injustice has perpetuated in democracy. We reflect on the role of the contemporary objects, their contexts and the position of archaeology in revealing current struggle discourse of civil rights, social diversity and social conflicts. Likewise, we analyze the transformation process of cultural heritage meanings through time, observable both in the appropriation of quotidian objects as way as protest as the resignification of the traditional monuments erected in the city.

Review: Educación y divulgación del patrimonio arqueológico

A popular proverb states ‘Don't play with your food’. This maxim that not only concerns those of us who have the immense fortune of dedicating our working hours (and more if possible) to the noble discipline of archaeology and historical research. If anything is really clear to us, it is that Heritage (from the perspective of investigation, safeguard and management) is more than the ‘food’ of a couple of professors and four tourist guides, but of many thousands whose income depends on it essentially through tourism. In fact, tourism in Spain in 2019 before the pandemic yielded 154,487 million Euros to the economy, representing 12.4% of its GDP. In fact, dear reader, please reflect on what drives you to go on vacation? And what leads you to choose one tourist destination over another? The response is simple: diversity. It represents a search for something that is unknown where you reside, something unique and unrepeatable that is only found at a particular destination, a unique setting offering an aesthetic or gastronomic experience that otherwise would not be worth the visiting. This book under review delves precisely into the question of this diversity we seek when traveling as it is Heritage (either material or intangible, artistic, monumental, archaeological or natural) that gives an identity to each city, each community. Heritage renders them different from other neighbouring cities. From a material point of view, Heritage is what attracts tourists and, even more, from a sentimental point of view, it is what offers signs of identity to locals. Thus in the end we are not only talking about ‘things to eat’.

Assessing endangerment of archaeological heritage in Latvia: legal framework and socio-economic aspects

The aim of the article is to reflect the currently existing regulatory environment for damages caused to archaeological sites by illegal human intervention and its implementation by law enforcement sector and the courts in Latvia. The article is mostly focused on legal and socio-economic consequences of endangerment of archaeological sites. It analyses liability aspects, examines case law, determines the existing challenges and proposes basis for improvement in administrative and legal procedures. Methods applied in the research are literature review, legal framework and documentary analysis, statistical and case law analysis. The results of the research could be used inter alia for the purposes of criminal, civil and administrative proceedings, amending legal regulation and damage assessment mechanisms.

Editorial: 2021, a new decade starts

We have just celebrated ten years of open access public archaeology, and now we carry on with our venture. Volume 11 brings with it a new layout and format, as well as a new timing for publication. Since our inclusion in Scopus, improving quality goes in hand with the improvement of publication time. This is why, from now on (although this year is still a transitional period), volumes will open in January and close in October, with articles being published when they are ready. We are also starting a new section for shorter articles, aimed at the reporting of projects or ideas with a more formal format than our section Points of You, which will continue to retain its op-ed style. Of course, the philosophy does not change. We want to continue to be an opportunity of wider accessibility for authors and readers, and to continue exploring the physical and thematic frontiers of the discipline.

Modeling Municipal Heritage Management

The resources medium-sized municipalities allocate in the process of both creating and maintaining instruments for heritage management have increased in the last decades. There are first and foremost legal reasons for this, as European national laws translate societal concerns on the preservation and commodification of the past. Sustainable solutions may be achieved through the understanding of heritage assets, and their use in the support of responsible, data-driven choices. This paper analyses a case of local tangible heritage administration in Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal.

Entertainment outreach projects without losing scientific content: A Neolithic puppet show by senior citizens and Roma women

In this work, we present the genesis, development, and results of a set of inclusive outreach activities developed through a puppet theatre play about the Neolithic. We present our methodology and techniques for outreach activities, showing the advantages of collaborative work and bottom-up approaches. The text also explains how the initiative was born and how the contacts for its realization consolidated. All the activities were carried out with the utmost care for the scientific content since it is essential that the public comes to understand all the archaeological information and differentiates it from the entertaining and dramatic elements.

Public Archaeology in Nepal: Now and in the next 10 years

In Nepal – and perhaps true in other South Asian countries as well, the term ‘public archaeology’ is not very frequently used among heritage professionals. Though it exists in limited use, largely the heritage practice including archaeology in Nepal is experts or authority driven. Perhaps the primary reason for this is the lack of a critical mass of archaeologists and broader heritage practitioners as well as a general lack of awareness among the public. There are disciplinary crisis situations prevalent across heritage related studies and practice areas in Nepal. However, with the increasing landscape of academic programmes and professional awareness among younger generations, we can be hopeful. Hence, I would expect that we will be able to create sufficient interests among students and younger professionals towards archaeology and heritage.

Dealing with a hangover of Public Archaeology: Scattered thoughts on the Italian ‘Archeologia Pubblica’

Public Archaeology is a young discipline, we all know that. It’s even younger in Italy, where public archaeology has not even reached ‘adulthood’. Cited for the first time by Armando De Guio in 2000 (De Guio and Bressan 2000), it was only a decade later that Public Archaeology has started to become ‘a thing’, thanks to some pioneering experiences at the University of Florence (Bonacchi 2009; Vannini 2011), and especially after a national conference in 2012 (in Florence: see Zuanni 2013 for a summary). Italian archaeologists’ first reaction was to overlap the new discipline with the experiences already in place, which in Italy were under the category of ‘valorizzazione’ (enhancement). They were not exactly the same: while Public Archaeology is characterised by a reflection on the objectives of the research from the very start, a focus on having a reliable methodology, and a strong element linked to evaluation, ‘enhancement’ experiences – while often valuable and successful – lacked the same structure and reliability. This is probably due to an underestimation of these practices as a scientific topic, thus deserving the same structure required for any other type of research. Often this resulted in a mere description of the activities carried out, with a generic objective like ‘increasing the knowledge of archaeology in the public sphere’ without really evaluating if the activities worked or not. Public Archaeology became a sort of a trendy subject, outdating the term ‘valorizzazione’, at least in most of the university milieu, and creating confusion on the subject and the methodology. This sometimes has led to a sort of ‘hangover’ effect, similar to what happens with summer songs: they sound fun when you first hear them, but after months you just want to move on! Few doctoral theses awarded in Archaeology have been devoted to topics related to Public Archaeology up to the present date and the risk is that after this ‘hangover’ the subject will be penalised in comparison to others.