Archaeology, Material Culture, and the New Utopias of Universalism

Abstract

The legacy of countless observations over the material remains by archaeologists, accumulated over the last centuries, created the unique western tradition of empiricist interpretation of the past and the present, and transformed the archaeology into the most empirical and most scientific tool for exploring and comprehending cultures and history developed by the modern West. As “science is still (perceived by many as) the last bastion of the colonialist defense”, this essay analyzes if archaeology is still frequently, deliberately or through methodological inertness, misused as an effective tool in favor of the traditionally dominant western narratives. I argue that any recidivism of this artificial “objectiveness” creates constrains even for the most noble and elaborate efforts for new multi-perspective knowledge and understanding of our world and its identities.

Keywords:

Archaeology, classical world, globalization, objectiveness.