The Oxford Handbook of Museum Archaeology

by Alice Stevenson (Editor)

Overview

This Handbook provides a transnational reference point for critical engagements with the legacies of, and futures for, global archaeological collections. It challenges the common misconception that museum archaeology is simply a set of procedures for managing and exhibiting assemblages. Instead, this volume advances museum archaeology as an area of reflexive research and practice addressing the critical issues of what gets prioritized by and researched in museums, by whom, how, and why. Through twenty-eight chapters, authors problematize and suggest new ways of thinking about historic, contemporary, and future relationships between archaeological fieldwork and museums, as well as the array of institutional and cultural paradigms through which archaeological enquiries are mediated. Case studies embrace not just archaeological finds, but also archival field notes, photographic media, archaeological samples, and replicas. Throughout, museum activities are put into dialogue with other aspects of archaeological practice, with the aim of situating museum work within a more holistic archaeology that does not privilege excavation or field survey above other aspects of disciplinary engagement. These concerns will be grounded in the realities of museums internationally, including Latin America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Europe. In so doing, the common heritage sector refrain 'best practice' is not assumed to solely emanate from developed countries or European philosophies, but instead is considered as emerging from and accommodated within local concerns and diverse museum cultures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198847526
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/22/2022
Series:	Oxford Handbooks
Pages:	624
Sales rank:	228,117
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 7.10(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Alice Stevenson, Associate Professor, UCL Institute of Archaeology

Alice Stevenson is an Associate Professor of Museum Studies at UCL Institute of Archaeology. She has previously held positions as Curator of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology in London and Researcher in World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. Her specialist area of expertise is Egyptian archaeology collections and she has led the major research projects 'Artefacts of Excavation' and 'Egypt's Dispersed Heritage'.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Museum Archaeology, Alice StevensonA. Collecting, Categorizing, and Challenging Histories1. Recovering the History of Archaeology in Museums, Géraldine Delley and Nathan Schlanger2. Emotion, Affective Practice, and the Taking of Indigenous Ancestral Remains, Cressida Fforde, Jilda Andrews, Edward Halealoha Ayau, Madalyn Grant, Laurajane Smith, and Paul Turnbull3. Emotion and the Return of Ancestors: Repatriation as Affective Practice, Cressida Fforde, Jilda Andrews, Edward Halealoha Ayau, Laurajane Smith, and Paul TurnbullB. Contemporary Agencies of Curation and Communities of Practice4. Museums and the Market: Passive Facilitation of the Illicit Trade in Antiquities, Donna Yates and Emiline Smith5. Affective Museums: The practice of Collecting Archaeological Artefacts in the Brazilian Amazon, Marcia Bezerra and Luzia Gomes Ferreira6. De-centring Museums in Indigenous Community Engagement: Contemporary Maya Art, Thought, and Archaeological collections, Laura Osorio Sunnucks7. Enabled Archaeology in the Field, in Museums, and the Visitor Experience, Abigail Hunt and Tom Kitchen8. Conservation after Conflict: Rebuilding A Heritage Community in Iraq, Jessica S. Johnson and Brian Michael LioneC. Locating Museums and Collections9. Site Museums and Archaeology, Georgios Papaioannou10. Contested Heritage and Absent Objects: Archaeological Representation at Ghana's Forts and Castles, Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann11. Finding Space to Store Archaeological Collections: Challenges and Progress in the United States, S. Terry Childs12. Victims or Victors: Universal Museums and the Debate on Return and Restitution, Africa's Perspective, George Okello AbunguD. Alternative Materialities: Beyond Finds13. Unlocking the Potential of Archaeological Archives, Gail Boyle14. Museum Replicas: Recovering the Work of Making Plaster Casts of Pre-Columbian Art, Jennifer Reynolds-Kaye15. Photographic Practices in Museum Archaeology, Stephanie Klamm16. Listening to Archaeology Museums, John KannenbergE. Fieldwork in the Museum17. Recreating Context for Museum Collections Using Digital Technologies as a Form of Curation, Simon Holdaway, Josh Emmitt, and Rebecca Phillipps18. Ethnographic Collections and Archaeological Analysis, James L. Flexner19. Scientific Investigation of Museum Objects: Planning, Analysis, and Wider Impact, Patrick Sean Quinn20. Conservation and the Care of Human Remains in Museums, Barbara WillsF. Exhibitionary Cultures21. Museums and Archaeological Exhibitions: History, Institution and Reality in China, Siyu Wang and Kan Hang22. Telling stories at the Ashmolean Museum: An Ancient Middle East gallery for the Twenty-First Century?, Paul Collins23. The Archaeology of Qatar Gallery at the National Museum of Qatar, Karen Exell24. Representing Field Practices in Display: The Curious Case of Çatalhöyük, Duygu Tarkan and Syda Çetin25. Archaeology Displays in Universities: The Role of Museums and Archaeology Displays in Ghana, Gertrude A. M. Eyifa-DzidzienyoG. Expanding and Transcending the Museum: Social Justice and Digital Frontiers26. Engaging Contemporary Social Issues in the Museum Through Archaeological Collections, Paolo Del Vesco27. Transcending and Expanding the Walls of the Museum: Digital Pivot, Digital by Default, Digital Transformation, Daniel Pett28. Cooperative Platforms for Curating and Managing Digitally Recorded Finds Data: Metal-detecting and FindSampo in Finland, Ville Rohiola and Jutta Kuitunen